Archbishop Valles: ‘Fairness and integrity’ must prevail

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 19 March) — Fairness and integrity should prevail while seeking justice for the victims of the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) associated with the drug war policy of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles said.

Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles. MindaNews file photo by MANMAN DEJETO

In his pastoral message issued on Tuesday, Valles believed that justice should not be influenced by “partisan political motivations or personal vendettas.”

In pursuing accountability for the war on drugs, the prelate called on the government “to uphold the right to due process, adhere to the rule of law, and respect the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence.”

“Only through such commitment to justice can true peace be attained,” he added.

Valles also noted the impact of Duterte’s arrest on murder charges as a crime against humanity, which he said “deeply divided” the nation, strained relationships, and challenged the country’s unity.

The prelate encouraged Catholics “to reject hatred and division, choosing instead the path of dialogue over discord, and reconciliation over conflict.”

He added that the church’s mission of preaching the Gospel “urges everyone to uphold truth, safeguard human dignity, and promote the common good.”

Duterte was arrested upon arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Hong Kong on March 11. He was detained at Villamor Airbase and flown out to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands on the same day.

In a statement on March 12, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I found reasonable grounds to believe that Duterte, jointly with and through other persons, agreed “to kill individuals they identified as suspected criminals or persons having criminal propensities, including but not limited to drug offenders, initially in Davao and subsequently throughout the country.”

The Chamber found that there was an attack directed against a civilian population under an organizational policy while Duterte was the head of the Davao Death Squad (DDS), and under a State policy while he was the President of the Philippines.

Last March 14, Duterte made an initial appearance before the ICC. The ICC set the confirmation of charges hearing for September 23 this year.

Valles said the Catholic Church remains “steadfast as a beacon of faith, hope, and charity” in this time of uncertainty and discord.

“United as one people, we recognize the pain and frustration felt across the land, including the suffering of those who consider themselves victims of injustice in the past,” he said.

While acknowledging the importance of accountability, Valles said that the church extends its pastoral support and prayers to Duterte—longtime mayor of Davao who is widely supported by the Dabawenyos—and his family.

Before he was elected president in 2016, Duterte served as OIC vice mayor from 1986 to 1987, mayor from 1988 to 1998, representative of the first district from 1998 to 2001, mayor from 2001 to 2010, vice mayor from 2010 to 2013, and mayor from 2013 to 2016. Last Oct. 7, 2024, Duterte filed his certificate of candidacy for mayor with his youngest son, incumbent mayor Sebastian Duterte, as vice mayor.

Valles cited Micah 6:8, asking “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

“At this critical moment in our nation’s history, let us turn to prayer, seeking God’s mercy and guidance of the Holy Spirit. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, intercede for us and lead our country toward genuine justice and lasting peace,” he said.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas, of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, urged Filipinos to “pause and examine our sources of facts which should be the basis of our actions—facts first, facts only, facts always.”

He warned that there is “so much misinformation, disinformation and mal-information” in cyberspace, and encouraged Filipinos to rely only on “truth and nothing else.”

The result, Villegas said, is “a nation wrecked by division,” more so as the people are “divided by ethnic roots and languages, politics and economics, faith and religion, literacy and ignorance, prestige and anonymity, weaknesses and strengths.”

He asked the Filipinos’ “capacity to remember the pitiful tears and the restless moans of the victims of the bloody drug war whose blood continue to cry to heaven for vengeance. Our applause when they were being killed emboldened the murderers to kill, kill, kill.”

Villegas encouraged Filipinos to “look for what is right with those we disagree. Seeing our common ground, we can move forward to identify our differences [and] agree to disagree.”

Furthermore, he asked for “abstinence from desiring to destroy on another… Let us lower down our bows and arrows of legalese; lay down the guns of our tongues and see that, before these divisions of politics and opinions, we are one in humanity, one in nationhood and one lupang hinirang, one bayang magiliw.” (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)