As the House Committee on Human Rights resumed its inquiry into the alleged extrajudicial killings that occurred during the previous administration’s bloody war on drugs, Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. said with the dead victims unable to testify, it was up to the panel to let the pieces of evidence “speak” for themselves to enable the legislators to assess and evaluate the veracity of the allegations.
Abante, chairman of the human rights panel, quoted Biblical passages stating “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, and “Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” The lawmaker reminded the committee members and resource persons that the objective of the inquiry was “to determine whether human rights violations were committed against our countrymen during the conduct of the war on illegal drugs.”
He pointed out that the ongoing hearings “also serve as a reminder to our people and state actors that human rights are not an inconvenience to be set aside in the pursuit of safety and security.”