More bishops are joining Archbishop Socrates Villegas in offering any help they can for those who want to testify against cases of summary killings in the country.
Bishop Roberto Mallari of San Jose said that, if there is anything the diocese could do, it is to provide refuge to those who fear for their lives.
“I’m really one with him [Villegas], and we are opening our doors as sanctuary to those who want to stand for the truth,” Mallari said over Church-run Radio Veritas on Thursday.
Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga also agreed to shield people whose testimonies could shed light on the wave of drug-related killings.
“We support and we are in solidarity with Archbishop Soc,” Santos said.
Offering sanctuary for the Church is not new.
In recent years, the Church has protected real and potential victims of human-rights abuses, including people on the run because of their political beliefs, especially during the martial-law period.
It has been a long practice of the Church, said Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz and Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani. During the Arroyo administration, Cruz provided sanctuary to whistleblowers against jueteng, a multimillion-peso underground lottery, while Bacani protected Sammy Ong, who testified on the alleged cheating in the 2004 elections.
The issue of church sanctuary has come out recently when Villegas offered protection for some policemen who want to testify against summary executions.
However, his offer is very clear. He said, “We will look prudently into the sincerity of their motives and veracity of their stories.”
“Within the bounds of church and civil laws, we express our willingness to grant them accommodation, shelter and protection, including their families, if necessary,” Villegas added.
In the Diocese of Kalookan, some witnesses to the killing of a 17-year-old-student Kian Loyd de los Santos during a police antidrug operation have sought protection from the church.
Image credits: Glenn Muñoz Lopez