Bishop tells govt: promote and defend human rights

Being at the service of the people, government officials are duty bound to promote and defend human rights, a Catholic bishop said.

As public servants, government officials must have as their goal the common good and not their own personal gain, said Jaro Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Alminaza.

Alminaza, who is also head convenor of Visayas Clergy Discernment Group made the statement in anticipation of the 63rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, also celebrated worldwide as International Human Rights Day.

Denouncing the culture of death and impunity, he noted how justice has remained elusive to the victims of human rights violations.

“We condemn the extra-judicial killings, whose latest victims in Mindanao include our brother priest Fr. Fausto Tentorio and peasant leader Ramon Batoy. The culture of impunity hounds us, as two years after the Maguindanao Massacre, justice remains elusive,” the statement partly read.

Alminaza said social doctrines consistently promote and defend the dignity of the human person and denounce human rights violations because “a just society can become a reality only when it is based on the respect of the transcendent dignity of the human person.”

He pointed out that without justice, peace will remain elusive because “peace is the fruit of justice.”

“We are then reminding concerned groups and institutions that peace is not a mere absence of war. Rather, a peaceful society is fulfilled through the defense and promotion of human rights,” he said, quoting Church documents.

The prelate also said that “human rights include the people’s right to development,” citing environmental destruction, landlessness, homelessness and joblessness, as some of the social problems that keep many people from living a dignified life worthy of a human person.

“We assert that economic development which is a right of all people, necessarily includes environmental protection,” he said.

He stressed the need for government to respect the rights of the people because peace is not possible if there is a continuous violation of human rights.