Walang ‘K’? San Beda Law school dean hits CBCP for making Leila poster girl for human rights

Despite being a man of cloth, the dean of the San Beda College of Law disapproves of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ (CBCP) choice of Senator Leila de Lima as its primary advocate of human rights. Fr. Ranhilio Aquino frowned on CBCP’s seeming glorification of De Lima, especially after a photo of the senator speaking at the pulpit after a mass was held at the CBCP headquarters’ chapel was posted on social media. De Lima spoke about her opposition to death penalty following the mass. To a netizen’s query on whether it was right for a politiko to use the chapel to speak on their advocacies, Aquino said: “There are others who could have been invited to speak against the death penalty.” “Why not invite a moral theologian? Why not invite an international law expert? Why de Lima at a time that she is under fire? The priests could have made a better choice,” he added. Since attending the mass at the CBCP chapel, De Lima has been visiting prominent Catholic schools in Metro Manila to talk about human rights and death penalty. Unsurprisingly, she also mentions in her speech her supposed vilification by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte and the administration’s alleged attempt to persecute her.