Good afternoon to one and all:

Human  rights cover all fundamental rights of citizens which must be protected against abuses by the State and its agents singularly or in cahoots with private violators.

The emergence of human rights defenders is both an indictment and a symptom of the failure and neglect of the government to fully protect, promote, and fulfill human rights. HRDs are surrogate defenders due to government’s default in its primary obligation as the official protector of human rights.

The tragic plight of Filipino HRDs as a result of the relentless persecution against them by the government shamefully aggravates the State’s culpable non-compliance with the constitutional mandate that the “State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights.”

On today’s celebration of International Human Rights Day, I commend I-Defend for all its efforts to defend and fulfill human rights and its crusade to promote “dignity, justice, and freedom for all”.

Enact the Human Rights Defenders Protection Act now!

Thank you.