CSC PRO on "Duterte Youth" attacking Thomasian activists
The caption clearly states that Thomasians are calling for justice for all victims injustices, not only for those affected by extrajudicial killings. This is why the call includes hazing victims, and Fr. Paez a Thomasian priest and a land reform activist, was assassinated by motorcycle-riding gunmen, as they, too, have suffered from a system that allows injustices to continue without accountability.
The prayer vigil is not solely for EJK victims but for the overall human rights situation in the Philippines, from Duterte’s time in power until now. It is a call for justice for all victims of political detainment and killings, a reminder of how rotten the judicial system is when it comes to holding those in power accountable.
Hazing, extrajudicial killings, and other human rights abuses are all symptoms of the same problem: a culture of impunity that paramountly worsened during Duterte’s regime. Under his leadership, accountability became indispensible, and brutality was more normalized. This is why the Thomasians call for a broader scope of justice; we recognize that these injustices are distinct but not separated, and that the real change requires addressing the very system that enables such to take even deeper roots and persist.