We, the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Commission of the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP), together with our Mission Partners, speak today with humility but also with urgency and conviction. In a time clouded by deception and complicit silence, we are called by the Gospel to stand up for truth and denounce injustice.
As consecrated men and women who have offered our lives to God in service of the Church and the nation, we cannot remain silent while the law is being manipulated and the truth distorted.
When truth is delayed, justice is denied
We strongly condemn the deliberate delay in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, enabled by political maneuvering within the Senate, led by Duterte-aligned senators and Senate President Chiz Escudero.
Because of his personal ambition to retain power, Escudero has allowed the Senate — once a respected institution of statesmanship and public service — to be turned into a playground for partisanship. This is not the kind of leadership our nation deserves. This is not the leadership that democracy demands.
When the Senate prioritizes the interests of a few over the welfare of the people, it betrays its constitutional duty and the trust of the Filipino people.
The prophetic duty of consecrated persons
We do not speak for any political party or candidate. We speak because faith has social consequences. We speak because our consecrated lives are not for personal gain, but for God and His people — especially the poor, the vulnerable and the deceived.
To remain silent in the face of corruption is to participate in sin.
To ignore the manipulation of truth is to turn our backs on the Gospel.
A call for justice and moral courage
To the Senate: Do not squander the people’s trust. Fulfill your constitutional duty to try the impeachment case with integrity, courage and transparency. If there is nothing to hide, then there is nothing to fear.
To Senate President Chiz Escudero: Leadership is not about self-preservation. Power is not to be used to protect the powerful, but to uphold justice. Now is the time to lead with moral conviction.
To Vice President Sara Duterte: Face the process. A true leader does not evade accountability. If you are innocent, prove it under the light of law and truth.
To the Filipino people: Take a stand, hold on to hope.
To all Filipinos, especially the youth: Now is the time to act. Now is the time to take a stand. Do not let deception win. Do not believe that honesty is useless. Do not lose hope in our nation’s future.
We are all called to be voices of truth, light in darkness and salt that heals the wounds of a broken system.
Our hope is not in politics, but in fidelity
Despite all this, we continue to hope. Not in leaders whose loyalties shift with the winds, but in the truth that comes from God. We believe the Filipino people still have the strength to rise again. We believe that every voice raised in truth is never in vain.
This is the witness of our consecrated lives.
This is the mission we cannot abandon.
This is the faith we live.
We choose to speak. We choose to stand. We choose to hope.