Prot. 2021-022

“The roads to Zion mourn, empty of pilgrims to her feasts. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her young women grieve; her lot is bitter” (Lamentations 1:4).

We, the members of the Association of the Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines, have found ourselves grieving like the author of the book of Lamentations.

                                                                                              We Grieve for the Pain of Those Unjustly Condemned

We grieve for countless injustices committed in the name of governance and leadership, unrestrained corruption, elected leaders whose hearts have been hardened by politicking, the utter disrespect for the rule of law and the sanctity of good governance, the worsening state of poverty and the continuing ecological destruction in the name of loans and profit. We grieve for the continuing arrests of human rights defenders and the persecution of activists tagged as terrorists.

We mourn government actions to quell democracy, to curtail peoples’ rights to freedom of speech and dissent. We mourn the loss of our precious natural resources, vast oceans and islands in our bid to please the super-power. We mourn the many suffering poor Filipinos, who in their quest for survival have lost their sense of identity and self-respect. We mourn the thousands of poor Filipinos who were summarily executed for allegedly being drug-users. We mourn the continued incarceration of opposition leaders like Senator Leila De Lima who dared to hold leaders accountable.

We mourn a country gone wrong, emptied of joy and deprived of healthy exchange of views.

We lament self-serving leaders, playing gods telling the people what is morally right and wrong. Our grief as consecrated persons springs from our hearts which have been formed and trained to distinguish good from evil, truths from lies. In our contacts with even the unschooled, the poor, the derelict, the simple folks, we have known that they have sense of justice and they cannot just fight back when injustice is done to them. We are also all in the same boat crying out for help, for vaccines and many other existential needs.

We plead to all those in government to heed the cry of justice, uphold the rule of law and respect the human rights of every Filipino. There will be more joy in our country when Senator Leila De Lima who has been incarcerated for four years will be freed. It will be the triumph of all of us Filipinos, including those serving in the government.

The passing of each day with Senator De Lima in jail is a day of mourning for the failure of justice.

Brothers and sisters, we would like to see you as wise servants who do not refuse freedom to all as in the book of Sirach that says, “Love wise servants as yourself; do not refuse them freedom” (7:21).

Signed: 

Fr.  Cielito R. Almazan, OFM                           Sr.  Marilyn A. Java, RC

                                         AMRSP Co-Chairpersons

23  February 2021