The call to action directed at the government, in the context of the Ecumenical Report, is not only a plea to compel our State to take drastic action against crimes of impunity. It is a call for the men and women in government to fall back in line, to return to values that define our society. It is a call to the government to take action that people everywhere, from the religious community, community organizations to human rights defenders, had already undertaken. We call on the government not to simply invent an intervention, but to uphold what we already know – the values upon which our freedom and democracy are founded upon.

Much has been said about the efforts of the government to curb crimes of impunity. There remains so much dissatisfaction in the outcomes of investigations. Many people remain missing, remain unvindicated. Many fathers and mothers still do not know where their children are held, or their fate. Husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, many colleagues remain without having attained justice.

But to understand the breadth of the violation against victims is to call all of us to action. If we have called out the government on these crimes, it is only because we have called on ourselves to address the same. The efforts of the religious communities and civil society, of every upstanding citizen, must continue – not because we cannot rely on the government – but because we have no choice but to uphold the values that comprise our faith and our society.

As the letter of Fr. Rex Reyes reads, this book that we launch today is “our small contribution in the furtherance of the quest for justice for all victims of human rights violations.” I ask you now – can there be anything more than our small contribution to a quest that is incumbent on all of us to undertake? Justice, as lofty and abstract as it may be, is for everyone and we all play a part in upholding it. It is not attained by some grandiose gesture, by government or otherwise. It is attained through the small efforts of everyone, crossing boundaries of secularism and sectarianism, rich and poor, educated and uneducated. The quest for justice, the quest to quell extralegal killings, the quest to find the missing, the quest to attain vindication for those who have died, continues… and our unfailing contributions must continue.

On the part of the Commission on Human Rights, while we attained much progress in the areas of promotion and advocacy of human rights, we continue to struggle, as there is much much more to be done in the fulfillment of our protection mandate. People have yet to see results, justice and vindication of the victims. On a personal level, and as I undertake my own struggles as CHR Chairperson, I have validated, what I’ve always believed- It’s more difficult to fight your own battles from within.

To the NCCP, I wish to express our solidarity with you and your efforts. Congratulation on the launch of your book “Let the Stones Cry Out”. May this contribution serve as reminder and an inspiration to all who endeavor to make their own contributions to our enormous struggle for justice and human rights.

Thank you and once again, good morning.(Bulatlat.com)

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