HKCAHRPP Statement on the Killing of Bishop Ramento
6 October 2006
Hong Kong SAR
Reference:
Bruce Van Voorhis (26986913)
Rev. Dwight Q. dela Torre, IFI/PIC (98105070)
Eman C. Villanueva (97585935)
Convenors
Justice for Bishop Ramento
Bishop Alberto Ramento, a leader of his church, a key figure of the ecumenical movement in the Philippines, an advocate for the poor, a worker for justice, a promoter of peace¬such a man was suddenly awakened at about 4:00 a.m. in his room in the convent in Tarlac City and brutally stabbed to death on October 3. Why was a bishop of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), or Philippine Independent Church¬a man of God and the people¬killed so violently?
The initial explanation of the police is robbery and homicide. Why though would robbers go to the second floor of a convent to rob a bishop who had lived simply all his life and who had been a champion of the poor? What valuables would such a man possess? To steal goods from a 69-year-old man in his sleep, why would he have to be stabbed seven times?
The explanation of the churches and human rights groups in the Philippines and around the world is that Bishop Ramento’s violent death rather fits the pattern of hundreds of others in the Philippines over the past few years, i.e., another extrajudicial killing. The common denominator of the death of these priests and church workers, journalists, lawyers, peasants, workers and students is that they have upheld the rights of the poor, the majority of the population in the Philippines, and consequently, they have been critics of the policies of the Philippine government and the actions of the country’s vested economic interests. Like many of the other victims, Bishop Ramento had also received death threats prior to being killed.
Why then did the police not reach the same conclusion as well? The country’s extrajudicial killings are not a secret. What do the police have to fear? Who are they trying to protect? Are the police not implicating themselves or the military in Bishop Ramento’s death by claiming it was a robbery and homicide?
Thus, the Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP), a local coalition of concerned human rights, migrant and student organizations and individuals, joins others in the Philippines and throughout the world in condemning the violent death of Bishop Ramento and calls for an immediate and independent investigation into his killing. This case is an opportunity for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to honor her pledge in September to invite a delegation from Europe to monitor the Philippine government’s response to the country’s extrajudicial killings. The European monitors should play a proactive role in the process to ensure that a proper and impartial investigation is conducted.
Bishop Ramento was a church leader who sought to give witness to his faith by seeking justice for the poor. Like the Christ he followed, he was crucified by the powerful forces of his time for his words and deeds. President Arroyo though cannot wash her hands and deny her responsibility for ensuring that his case ends with justice. Bishop Ramento’s death is an opportunity for President Arroyo to prove to all Filipinos and the international community that she truly wants to solve the scourge of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.
HKCAHRPP members: Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC); Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body (AMCB); Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM); Asian Students Association (ASA); Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers (ATKI); Christian Conference of Asia – Decade to Overcome Violence (CCA-DOV); Hong Kong Christian Institute (HKCI); Justice and peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese; Mission for Migrant Workers (MFMW); Iglesia Filipina Independiente (PIC) Hong Kong; Thai Regional Alliance in Hong Kong (TRA-HK); United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK); World Student Christian Federation – Asia Pacific (WSCF-AP) and individuals from the media, the academe and non-governmental organizations.
Hong Kong SAR
Reference:
Bruce Van Voorhis (26986913)
Rev. Dwight Q. dela Torre, IFI/PIC (98105070)
Eman C. Villanueva (97585935)
Convenors
Justice for Bishop Ramento
Bishop Alberto Ramento, a leader of his church, a key figure of the ecumenical movement in the Philippines, an advocate for the poor, a worker for justice, a promoter of peace¬such a man was suddenly awakened at about 4:00 a.m. in his room in the convent in Tarlac City and brutally stabbed to death on October 3. Why was a bishop of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), or Philippine Independent Church¬a man of God and the people¬killed so violently?
The initial explanation of the police is robbery and homicide. Why though would robbers go to the second floor of a convent to rob a bishop who had lived simply all his life and who had been a champion of the poor? What valuables would such a man possess? To steal goods from a 69-year-old man in his sleep, why would he have to be stabbed seven times?
The explanation of the churches and human rights groups in the Philippines and around the world is that Bishop Ramento’s violent death rather fits the pattern of hundreds of others in the Philippines over the past few years, i.e., another extrajudicial killing. The common denominator of the death of these priests and church workers, journalists, lawyers, peasants, workers and students is that they have upheld the rights of the poor, the majority of the population in the Philippines, and consequently, they have been critics of the policies of the Philippine government and the actions of the country’s vested economic interests. Like many of the other victims, Bishop Ramento had also received death threats prior to being killed.
Why then did the police not reach the same conclusion as well? The country’s extrajudicial killings are not a secret. What do the police have to fear? Who are they trying to protect? Are the police not implicating themselves or the military in Bishop Ramento’s death by claiming it was a robbery and homicide?
Thus, the Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP), a local coalition of concerned human rights, migrant and student organizations and individuals, joins others in the Philippines and throughout the world in condemning the violent death of Bishop Ramento and calls for an immediate and independent investigation into his killing. This case is an opportunity for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to honor her pledge in September to invite a delegation from Europe to monitor the Philippine government’s response to the country’s extrajudicial killings. The European monitors should play a proactive role in the process to ensure that a proper and impartial investigation is conducted.
Bishop Ramento was a church leader who sought to give witness to his faith by seeking justice for the poor. Like the Christ he followed, he was crucified by the powerful forces of his time for his words and deeds. President Arroyo though cannot wash her hands and deny her responsibility for ensuring that his case ends with justice. Bishop Ramento’s death is an opportunity for President Arroyo to prove to all Filipinos and the international community that she truly wants to solve the scourge of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.
HKCAHRPP members: Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC); Asian Migrants’ Coordinating Body (AMCB); Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM); Asian Students Association (ASA); Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers (ATKI); Christian Conference of Asia – Decade to Overcome Violence (CCA-DOV); Hong Kong Christian Institute (HKCI); Justice and peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese; Mission for Migrant Workers (MFMW); Iglesia Filipina Independiente (PIC) Hong Kong; Thai Regional Alliance in Hong Kong (TRA-HK); United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK); World Student Christian Federation – Asia Pacific (WSCF-AP) and individuals from the media, the academe and non-governmental organizations.
posted by HKCAHRPP @ 5:13 PM
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