THE Filipino people, as well as Christian churches, have to take a truthful examination of conscience when faced with the shocking truth that at least 30,000 Filipinos were summarily executed, and more of them were unfairly imprisoned without due process during Rodrigo Duterte's administration, when the rule of law was ignored.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines in January 2019 asked for forgiveness from the people for failing to speak out and apologized for their silence and failure to stand for life and to oppose attacks on the Church.There were a few brave Filipino Catholic priests, among them Albert Alejo, Robert Reyes and Flavie Villanueva; five courageous bishops; and laypeople who risked imprisonment and even death when they spoke out for life. They were isolated.But there was hope.