(NCCP STATEMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DAY 2025)
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) joins the global community in commemorating the 77th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This milestone calls us again to reaffirm our shared and sacred duty to uphold the inherent dignity and rights of all people, principles deeply rooted in the UDHR and in the Christian faith and tradition for justice, compassion, and truth.
We are witnesses to the continuing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. There have already been 1,125 drug-related killings1 under the Marcos Jr. government while there are 107 environmental defenders2 killed.
Then there is the deepening suffering of our people through corruption and the alarming failure of the government to uphold the responsibility to protect life, dignity, and creation. It is scandalous that the government continues to fail in prosecuting and jailing those involved in corruption, in stark contrast to President Marcos Jr.’s anti-corruption rhetoric. That rhetoric looks empty, especially as the 2026 budget reveals pork-barrel style allocations for lawmakers, bloated unprogrammed appropriations, and increased confidential and intelligence funds for the Office of the President.
This hypocrisy exposes the farcical nature of the administration’s anti-corruption claims. The president himself remains deeply accountable for perpetuating a system where pork barrel politics thrives, and where corruption is embedded in the very structure of governance remains intact.
NCCP reiterates the call for genuine accountability, one that truly dismantles the pork barrel system, halts anomalous budget insertions, ends the delivery of kickbacks, and prosecutes and jails the corrupt. The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has proven to be ineffective and superficial, only shielding the president from investigation.
NCCP calls on the Filipino people to sustain the demand for truth and justice by continuing organized peaceful collective action. Some sectors in our society are calling for the resignation of the President and Vice President and to establish a transition council to truly address the systemic, rampant corruption in the country. Such a proposal should be seriously studied and considered because similar processes have taken place in Bangladesh and Nepal.
As NCCP, we affirm such pathways, where the Filipino people can fully participate in holding those in power accountable. In this search for credible solutions, a people-led process can pave the way for transparent reforms capable of genuinely confronting and ending corruption in government once and for all. This requires persistent pressure, grassroots movement-building, and an informed and vigilant citizenry committed to institutional transformation. Dismantling political dynasties is also part of this process.
As we aspire for a future where human rights are upheld, we must also take part in shaping it. On Human Rights Day, we urge the Filipino people to remain vigilant and to press for full investigations, to speak truth to power, and to struggle for meaningful systemic change rooted in justice, participatory people’s governance, and love for neighbor.
May our prayers strengthen our resolve. May our faith guide our actions. But let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
(Amos 5:24, NRSV)
Signed:
December 10, 2025
(Sgd.) THE MOST REV. BRENT HARRY W. ALAWAS
Chairperson
(Sgd.) BISHOP JOSEPH G. AGPAOA
Vice Chairperson
(Sgd.) MS. JENNIFER FERARIZA-MENESES
Vice Chairperson
(Sgd.) REV. JON DAVE A. ANGELES
Vice Chairperson
(Sgd.) REV. LEONARDO R. MORADA
Corporate Treasurer
(Sgd.) MS. MINNIE ANNE MATA-CALUB
General Secretary
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[1] https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1417420647060630&set=a.472862228183148
[2] https://kodao.org/107-environmental-defenders-killed…/
