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Congressman Beltran: A True Servant of the People
May 27, 2007
Statement of Katarungan: Center for Peace, Justice, and Human Rights
in the Philippines
Washington DC, USA
It is with a heavy heart that we extend our condolences to the family,
friends and colleagues of the Honorable Congressman Crispin Beltran,
better known as Ka Bel. The Philippines and human rights advocates
around the world have lost a staunch promoter and defender of all
human rights.
The Washington D.C. based Katarungan was created precisely because of
the glaring injustices and flagrant human rights violations in the
Philippines- from the extrajudicial killings, disappearances and, in
no small part, due to the indignation we felt from the illegal arrest
and detention of Ka Bel and the failed attempt on the Batasan Five. We
take note that KMU has pointed to his year and a half in illegal
detention as a cause of the physical d eterioration that contributed to
his fatal accident. We therefore find it revolting that the Arroyo
administration is now heaping praises on the person it cruelly treated
as an enemy of the state.
At the same time, based on Ka Bel’s character, we are not surprised
that even his adversaries would pay him the respect he deserves. Ka
Bel was never corrupted by the power that came with the positions he
held. He was a champion of workers rights and migrant rights, and in
choosing to live in the very conditions of the impoverished majority
in the Philippines, he proved that as a public official he was a true
servant of the people.
Awarded Most Outstanding Congressman for four consecutive years from
2002 – 2005 and in 2006, Ka Bel was adjudged part of the Congressional
Hall of Fame. One only need to review the numerous bills he introduced
or cosigned such as the P125 wage increase, genuine agrarian reform,
Anti-Enforced Disa ppearance Act and the and the repeal of the Human
Security Act and the Electric Power Industry Reform Act to see that Ka
Bel understood that human rights encompasses civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to self
determination and development.
The extraordinary number of letters and tributes that have poured in
from around the world speak volumes about the impact his life has had
to those fighting for a just world. As others have promised, we too
vow to carry on his legacy. It is a testament of Ka Bel’s life that
even in death he continues to inspire others to strive towards the
true fulfillment of peace, justice and human rights
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