Much work to be done

In her solidarity message, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chairperson Leila de Lima said, “Much has been said about the efforts of the government to curb crimes of impunity. There remains so much dissatisfaction in the outcome 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.”

She continued, “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.”

De Lima congratulated the NCCP for the launch of Let the Stones Cry Out! She said, “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.”

De Lima said, “On the part of the CHR…we continue to struggle, as there is much, much more to be done in the fulfillment of our protection mandate.”

“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,” she added.

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