READ: Deputy Speaker Benny Abante’s privilege speech on the slain Samar Pastor

Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr.
Deputy Speaker
Our Brother’s Keeper

Thank you Madame Speaker, Majority Leader. Ngayon pong araw na ito, binabati ko muna kayo ng magandang hapon po sa lahat. Ang akin pong privilege speech ay binigyan ko ng pamagat na Our Brother’s Keeper. Palagay ko nandyan po yung picture ng pastor na aking tutukuyin po ngayong hapon.

This is the second time this month I have requested the use of this privilege––a privilege afforded to all the members of this chamber; a privilege we use to speak on behalf of our constituents, on behalf of our kababayan who are voiceless and defenseless, on behalf of those who need champions and advocates who will fight for them.

Madame Speaker, Rev. Dioscoro “Jet” Tan, Jr. is one of them. He needs someone to speak on his behalf because he cannot speak, and he requires someone to fight for him because he demands justice.

Ordinarily, Madame Speaker, Pastor Jet could speak for himself, could very well articulate the importance of the Rule of Law, and could tell us why as leaders we are responsible for our flock. He would tell those of us privileged to stand and speak at this venue why we are our brother’s keeper, and as such we are tasked to do everything within our power to look after the interests of our countrymen.

Pastor Jet could do all this, Madame Speaker, my colleagues, but he cannot. He cannot because in the early morning of Wednesday, in Barangay Labangbaybay, Tagapul- an, Samar, while jogging with his wife, Pastor Jet was mercilessly gunned down in front of his wife.
Pastor Jet was 55 years old.

According to the police report that documents thus this crime, and I quote: “the victim while jogging together with his wife and upon reaching at the descending and grassy portion of the barangay road… was shot by the suspect with the use of undetermined caliber of firearm, whereby hitting on the different parts of his body that resulted in his instantaneous death while said suspect got away right after the incident.”

Napakasakit po basahin ito, Madame Speaker. Napakasakit basahin na may isang pastor na pinatay sa harap ng kanyang mahal sa buhay; isang pastor na wala lang pong ibang gagawin kung ‘di magpahayag ng kapayapaan sa lahat. If those of us over six hundred kilometers away from the scene of the crime were shocked to hear this news, one cannot imagine the shock and pain and anguish felt by Pastor Jet’s wife as she saw bullets tear through her husband less than six feet away from her––as she saw her husband murdered in front of her.

Napakasakit din po basahin ang huling linya nitong police report, Madame Speaker. And I quote, “said suspect got away right after the incident.”

What makes this incident more painful and tragic, Madame Speaker, my dear colleagues, is that the murder of Pastor Jet is not an isolated incident. Again, may I say it again. Not an isolated incident. Just over a week before he was slain, Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino was ambushed and killed. Just a month before the death of Pastor Jet, Mia Mascariñas-Green, a lawyer for the NGO Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC), was ambushed while driving her three young children in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. And, earlier this month, nine activists were killed in what is now referred to as “Bloody Sunday.” My goodness.
Elected officials. Members of the bar. Community organizers. Men of the cloth.

The circumstances surrounding their deaths may differ, Madame Speaker, but they all shared a similar fate: their lives were cut short in a hail of bullets.

Kaya ito po ang tanong ko sa ating lahat ngayon dito: ganito na ba ka mura ang buhay sa ating bayan? Is this how cheap life is in our country?
Uulitin ko po ang huling linya ng police report: “said suspect got away right after the incident.”

Is this what we have come to expect when our kababayan are brutally murdered in our streets?

In Genesis 4:9 of the Bible, the Lord said unto Cain, and I quote: “Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”
That is the same question we must ask ourselves, Madame Speaker, in the face of the brutality, mayhem, and murder experienced by our countrymen. Whether we share their beliefs or disagree with them, these are OUR constituents being gunned down in OUR districts, in OUR country. These are crimes being committed in our midst, many of which remain unsolved. And we are even called the only Christian country in the Far East. These are crimes being committed by murderers and killers who do not value life, have zero disregard for the law, and have no fear of God nor man. It certainly appears that they do not fear our men in uniform or our law enforcement agencies, as these killings continue unabated, so much so that we have become desensitized to these crimes of the highest order.

Madame Speaker, I come in here today on behalf of Pastor Jet and all those whose lives have been violently cut short, to demand justice and to urge our law enforcement officials to take action. Those responsible must be held accountable for their crimes, Madame Speaker, because if these killers remain free and unpunished, more and more criminals will be emboldened to follow in their bloody footsteps.

At some point, my dear colleagues, we must say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We must stand up and say that the bloodshed must end. Abogado. Alkalde. Aktibista. Pulis. Pastor.

Maghihintay pa ba tayo na masama ang “Congressman” sa listahan na ito? Maghihintay pa ba tayo na mabiktima ang kaibigan, kamag-anak, o katrabaho?

We are, Madame Speaker, our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. We must continue to speak for those violently silenced by death, and we must continue to demand justice for all of them. They deserve no less.
Maraming maraming salamat po, Madame Speaker.