People around the world marked Dec. 10 as International Human Rights Day. That day not only commemorated the adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it also provided an opportunity to scrutinize the performance of nation-states as parties to various international human rights conventions.
Truth be told again, the Philippines lags behind in performance when it comes to respecting civil, socioeconomic and political rights. More than half of this nation’s population is living below the poverty line. Backward agriculture and insufficient local industrialization continue to swell the unemployed ranks, which in turn leads to the increasing number of people in constant state of hunger.
With a government prioritizing the interests of the so-called “haves,” it is no surprise that the beneficial trickle-down effects of economic growth have not eased the miserable condition of the poor. The severity of such inequality is easily seen in the fact that the wealth of the 25 richest persons of our nation equals that of the poorest 76 million Filipinos. Inadequate access to basic needs and essential social services, forced displacement, widespread landlessness and unemployment are everyday life for the majority.
With the majority of the population always struggling for survival, dissent and political upheaval are not only expected, they are just and moral options. The very fiber of our democracy is threatened by violations of civil and political rights. Detention of political prisoners, abductions and enforced disappearances, summary executions, extrajudicial killings and various forms of political persecution continue unabated. The unresolved cases of the killings of church people (e.g., Rabenio Sungit, Benjamin Bayles, Bro. Wilhelmus Geertman and Fr. Fausto Tentorio) are clear manifestations of State apathy and negligence, continuing human rights violations, and culture of impunity. And they have defined the character of the State under the Aquino administration.
However, the martyrdom of our missionaries and Church leaders continues to remind us that witnessing with the people can never be silenced through State terror.
The Aquino administration is clearly remiss in fulfilling its mandate to prioritize the wellbeing of the Filipino people. Culpable for gross human rights violations, it has become a threat to humanity—glaring facts from the ground plainly refute any feeble attempts of this administration to gloss over its failures, ineptness and outright negligence.
We cannot leave the respect and protection of our rights in the hands of elected officials alone. As true power emanates from the people, so must the responsibility for the fulfillment of social justice, genuine freedom and democracy. As advocates and defenders, the people will continue to champion human rights. The Church people stand in prophetic solidarity with them in a shared journey toward justice and peace, where one and all will enjoy the gift and basic human right of life with dignity.
—NARDY SABINO, secretary general,
Promotion of Church People’s Response, pcprnatl@gmail.com