Former education secretary Bro. Armin Luistro opened the whole-day “International Forum on Lawfare: Weaponizing the Law vs Democratic Dissent” and addressed over a thousand participants and called on his “comrades [that] it is time to fight, to stand up and resist.”

Addressing over a thousand lawyers, legislators, human rights experts, civil society leaders, and students, Luistro welcomed those who are not afraid even if the enemy is the devil _(“hindi takot kahit kalaban ay demonyo”)._

Resisting, he said, is the “only way to deal with a bully. While the forces of evil are winning the battle, we cannot give up on the war.”

Luistro said that the time to discern, pray, and debate is over because in the meantime, “truth is tweaked and faked, popularity is the north star, foul mouth is the exemplar of leadership, and impunity is the new normal.”

The current provincial superior of the De La Salle Brothers of East Asia said we must take up the cudgels of those killed in the name of peace and security.

He named the enemy as the seven things that God hates from the Proverbs:
“a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren.”

“We know their names. Evil is upon us. We have allowed them to rule.
We have seen and heard them in the Philippines and other parts of the world,” Luistro said.

Quoting Hosea, he said the enemy has “planted wickedness, reaped evil, eaten the fruit of deception” and warned that “the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be devastated because your wickedness is great. When that day dawns, you will be completely destroyed.”

In conclusion, Luistro called on the audience to “put on your battlegear” to fight the weaponization of law through the extra-judicial killings, the quo warranto, and the attacks on press freedom.

The forum on lawfare gathers foreign and local legal experts, including some United Nations Special Rapporteurs and other foreign parliamentarians. It intends to solidify multi-sectoral approaches and efforts in combating it.