ITO ang mensaheng binigyang-diin ni House Human Rights Committee Chair Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. nitong Lunes sa huling pagdinig ng House Quad Committee.

Sa kanyang pahayag, sinabi niyang ang 15 pagdinig ng komite ay “just the beginning—the beginning of justice. The beginning of reform. The beginning of national repentance.”

Ayon kay Abante, nagsimula ang mga pagdinig bilang isang paghahanap ng kasagutan ngunit nauwi ito sa isang paniningil. Dagdag niya, “Through these hearings, we have not merely uncovered wrongdoing; we have brought these evils into the light, where they can no longer hide behind rank, uniform, or position. These halls have heard the cries of the voiceless and the powerless—and their echoes will resound in the laws we have forged, and the path we have opened for the law to take its course.”

Ang kanyang pahayag, na binasa ni Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, ay tumukoy sa tapang ng mga whistleblower, ang tungkulin ng mga mambabatas, at ang responsibilidad ng estado na protektahan ang mga naaapi.

Binigyang-diin ni Abante na nagtagumpay ang Quad Committee “because good people chose not to be silent. All these—lahat ito—we owe to those who dared to speak when it was easier to remain silent.”

Nagpasalamat din siya sa kanyang mga kasamang chair at mga kapwa mambabatas “who stood firm through doubt and pressure; some of whom have paid the ultimate political price for their principles. I thank the brave witnesses—whistleblowers, survivors, patriots—who told the truth even when the truth could cost them everything.”

Mula sa mga pagdinig ng komite, ilang panukalang batas ang nabuo at kasalukuyang nakabinbin sa Kongreso. Kabilang dito ang House Bill No. 10986 na nagtuturing sa extrajudicial killings bilang heinous crimes at nagbibigay ng reparasyon sa mga pamilya ng biktima; House Bill No. 10987 na naglalayong ipagbawal ang lahat ng anyo ng offshore gaming operations at kabilang na ngayon sa LEDAC priority measures; House Bill No. 11043 na nagpapahintulot ng civil forfeiture ng mga real estate na ilegal na nakuha ng mga banyaga; House Bill No. 11117 na layong kanselahin ang mga birth certificate na pekeng nakuha ng dayuhan; at House Bill No. 10998 na nagpapataw ng parusa sa mga sabwatan at planong espiya laban sa bansa.

Muling iginiit ni Abante, “These halls have heard the cries of the voiceless and the powerless—and their echoes will resound in the laws we have forged. Hindi lang tayo nakinig, hindi lang tayo naawa; tayo ay kumilos.”

Nagbabala rin siya sa mga nagtangkang hadlangan ang hustisya o umiwas sa pananagutan. Aniya, “There were those who lied. There were those who fled. Those who twisted the truth, who buried evidence, who used power not to protect the people but to shield themselves from the people’s judgment.”

Ipinahayag niya: “To them, I say: your day will come. To them, we say this: you may escape our reach, but not the long arms of the law. The law may sometimes move slowly, but it moves. And justice—true justice—never forgets.”