Call for global action against ‘culture of impunity’ in the Philippines

‘Accountability is very important,’ said Rubylin Litao, coordinator of the human rights group Rise Up. ‘We have to uphold the dignity of life.’

Church groups appealed for the international community to act to end the culture of impunity and “unpeace” in the Philippines.

Addressing a solidarity event in Rome over the weekend, organised by the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) and attended by ecumenical representatives, the human rights activist Charmane Maranan said this state of “unpeace” – which she defined as “repression as law” – was maintained with the help of global powers.

Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos, the vice-president of Caritas Philippines, told attendees they must “accompany those under threat, listing political prisoners, searching for the disappeared, [and] advocating for peace talks, not surrender”.

He emphasised that the pursuit of justice was part of the theme of Jubilee, which offered an opportunity to “plant seeds of justice”.

Bishop Alminaza told The Tablet his participation in the ICHRP conference was “part of enlarging the space of our tent” and an expression of “faith solidarity” recognising that “everyone is interconnected”.

“If we don’t do that, I think our faith is questionable,” he said. “If we remain silent, we are complicit.”

He described the legacy of violence in the Philippines and the Church’s role as an advocate of minorities, recalling the “Negros Nine” – a group of missionary priests and lay leaders supporting poor communities on Negros Island, where the Diocese of San Carlos is located, who were imprisoned on trumped-up charges under the Marcos dictatorship in 1983. International pressure secured their release after fourteen months.

Widespread injustice persists, Alminaza said, with political leaders “keeping [people] poor, keeping them dependent”. He said the “built-in” violence of Filipino society was “precisely rooted in inequality”.

He described the trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) of the former president Rodrigo Duterte, on charges of crimes against humanity during his drug war in which thousands died, as an opportunity “to end the culture of impunity”.

It was once “an impossible dream” that Duterte would be brought to trial, he said: “For years people got away with this, the corruption, the killings.”

He also demanded that the Philippines’ senate advance the impeachment trial of Vice-President Sara Duterte, the former president’s daughter: “Let the truth come out.”

Rubylin Litao, coordinator of the group Rise Up for Life and for Rights which participated in the ICHRP event, told The Tablet that international support for the ICC case was essential to promote justice in the Philippines. “Accountability is very important,” she said. “We have to uphold the dignity of life.”

This followed a request last week from Duterte’s representatives for his temporary release from detention in The Hague ahead of his trial, which Rise Up opposed.

“Duterte must remain in detention, as this ensures the long-overdue trial proceeds. Anything less would dishonour the suffering of the thousands killed and the grief of those left behind,” said Litao, a deaconess of the United Methodist Church, in a statement on 25 June.

“We pray that the wheels of justice must remain moving as the machinery of impunity remains active. Witnesses are still under threat. His release would jeopardise both the investigation and the lives of those who speak out.”

Rise Up is a group of families of victims of Duterte drug war killings, who have been supported by church groups and other human rights advocates. The group began in 2016, the start of the six-year Duterte presidency. 

Duterte sought interim release from the ICC, where he has been detained for over three months. His representatives argued that the populist leader is not a flight risk and “will not continue to commit crimes” if he is released. They also said the court should give humanitarian consideration to the 80-year-old former president, whom an unidentified country is reportedly willing to host.

The prosecution, however, cast doubt on the claim: “Mr Duterte’s proclamations that he would rather die than appear before the Court, or would ‘finish’ ICC staff assisting with his arrest and transfer in ‘a shootout’, is not consistent with the behaviour of an individual committed to returning for his appearance at trial and casts doubt on his recently stated commitment.”

The ICC has not ruled on the former president’s request. 

Llore Pasco, a mother belonging to Rise Up, said the victims’ families “see hope in the prosecutor’s action” in opposing Duterte’s plea. “We pray that our call for justice will be heard until the very end,” Pasco said.

“If Duterte were granted temporary release, we, victims, would once again be left vulnerable,” Pasco added. “Even if this isn’t yet the final victory, we feel that justice is drawing near, and that is a continuing and pulsating hope.”

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