We received this week a message forwarded by a friend who had been following developments on the impeachment of VP Sara, which she hoped would prick the conscience of the Filipino people and, thus, act. The message referred to the June 5, 2025, meeting of religious leaders (priests and nuns) and lay partners at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila, which was preceded by a MISA NG BAYAN.
The group, which is identified as Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP) under its Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Commission, called for the meeting to denounce “the SENATE’s inaction on the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte which is a betrayal of duty, a manipulation of justice and a mockery of the people’s trust.” The group could no longer stay silent and must rise and act because the “truth is being buried.”
As requested, and with your kind indulgence, we hereunder share the CMSP statement, that also asks the readers to join them in prayerful resistance:
“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, 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 of 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 it constitutional duty and trust of the Filipino people.
As 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 Fulfil your constitutional duty to try the impeachment case with integrity, courage, and transparency, 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 it’s the time to lead for moral conviction.
To Vice-President Sarah 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 called to be voices of truth, light in darkness, and salt that heals the wound of a broken System.
Our Hope is Not in Politics but in Fidelity. Despite all this, we continue to hope. Not in the 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.”
