'Shrine of Healing' inaugurated for EJK victims in Laloma cemetery

A memorial site called “Dambana ng Paghilom” (Shrine of Healing) has been established at the Laloma Cemetery in Caloocan City on Wednesday, according to a report posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website.

The shrine is the grave site for "the victims of extrajudicial killings (EJK) during the drug war waged by former President Rodrigo Duterte."

Fr. Flavie Villanueva SVD said that the site is also "a statement of hope.”

“Evil will never persist if men, women, senators, ambassadors, people of good conscience, human rights advocates, seminarians, sisters, religious, people at the margins will continue to stand firm for life, truth, and peace," Villanueva was quoted as saying.

The land on which the site was built was donated by the Diocese of Caloocan and was initiated by the Arnold Janssen Kalinga Foundation Inc (AJKFI).

Present during the inauguration, which included inurnment rites for 11 urns, were former senator Leila De Lima, European Union Ambassador Luc Veron, German Ambassador Andreas Michael Pfaffernoschke, Dutch Ambassador Marielle Geraedts, British Ambassador Laure Beaufils, and Senator Risa Hontiveros. — BAP, GMA Integrated News