ARPON, FELISILDA, GAVIOLA, GAYAMO, JUACHON, VENTURA, VISTAN

2DMT

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SOCIAL ISSUE

In God’s creation of man, He endowed the gift of dignity which enables man to look
and treat others as equals. Despite dignity being inherent and universal, man’s ignorance
can sometimes go to the extent of inflicting harm to others. It is written in history the painful
events that took place due to lack of awareness on human rights. During Martial Law, the
government and military abused their power by arresting, torturing, and/or killing innocent
people in inhumane manner. Filipinos may have triumphed against an abusive authority,
but the scars remain up until this day. Sadly, lack of awareness on human rights is still
present as can be seen in the recent issue of Extrajudicial Killings (EJK). Every Filipino should
realize, especially in a Christian nation, that his/her dignity can never be lessened or taken
away and by all means should be respected, valued, and treated ethically.

EXCERPTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES

• Genesis 1:26 - And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth.

• Galatians 3:28 - There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no
male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

• Romans 2:11 - For God shows no partiality.

• Colossians 3:11 - here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised,
barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

• Micah 6:8 - He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the LORD
require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

• Proverbs 31:8-9 - Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are
appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of
the poor and needy.

GROUP'S STAND/STATEMENT

We are all born equal and blessed as God’s children made in his image and
likeness. As God’s beloved creation we have free will and the ability to reason, and
therefore make sound decisions. With this, we must enforce justice and equality for the
betterment of everyone. It is our duty to be compassionate and be a tool for peace. To do
this we must acknowledge each person’s unique qualities and respect their humanity. We
have inherent dignity and reason, let’s respect each other’s human rights, it is a must for
the greater glory of God and for the betterment of society.

SHORT PRAYER

Almighty Father,

We thank you for the gift of humankind. Our beloved Creator, help us to value one
another and make us see that we are all created equal in Your will. In Your mercy, guide us
and protect us from all harm. In Jesus' name, Amen.