Gentle hands and the  new meaning of DSWD

By Reni M. Valenzuela

In their hunger and thirst to be noticed, they have indeed ended up noticed – but as human rights violators and ruthless. Worse, they hang-tough and remain unrepentant.

I am talking about the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Should Secretary Rex Gatchalian persist in justifying their spiteful acts when they raided Gentle Hands, I suggest that Malacañang or Congress better change the meaning of DSWD into Department of Social Woes and Depravity.

This is ominous, let us not be surprised, my dear countrymen, if the benevolent, Christian-hearted people behind Gentle Hands will soon be red-tagged, like what happened to Patricia Non and others who sparked kindness in people through their “community pantry” at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

The video in the news report entitled, “Pulling out children from Gentle Hands to reactivate trauma” tells a volume about more of what I feel impelled to include in this piece, but I opted not to do so for lack of space.

I watched the video a number of times, and each time, I got heartbroken and couldn’t help but shed tears. It melts me with righteous indignation. What the DSWD exhibited is precisely the “imminent danger” (actual and real) that they are fearing about and what they did was already the “accident” (actual and real) that they predicted might occur in the future.

No, with DSWD “on top of the situation,” the hijacked children are not “in safe hands.”

Calling 911 or Jeremiah 33:3.

renivalenzuelaletters@yahoo.com