We live in dangerous times. Witnessing relentless attacks on life, livelihood and lifestyle, we, Filipino artists and cultural workers, strongly affirm the human rights of all - the fulcrum upon which hinges the possibility of a prosperous, humane, and fair society that we all aspire to have.

Today, we are hurtling towards another dark era. We live under threat of more surveillance, repression, arrests, killings and enforced disappearances. We are horrified by the terror that the brutal drug campaign sows to impoverished communities and how it has resulted to massive horrific loss of human lives. We lament on the state of our nation where the marginalized sectors suffer most from grave abuses if not massacred. We are angered by the orchestrated attacks to silence dissent, the disregard of the rule of law, the culture of misogyny and violence perpetrated and the legitimization of a tyranny that has historically wounded our nation.

As artists and citizens, we refuse to stay silent in the face of wrongdoings. We stand by the principles of human rights and dignity for all. Human rights must be protected, reclaimed and upheld to give voice to the millions whose freedoms are denied.

We express our commitment to action. We affirm the need for creative practice that pierces through the rhetoric of those in power and reflects the true conditions of society.

We invoke the power of art to unite a nation divided and to empower the people to reclaim rights, narratives and dignity in the face of inhumanity, inequity and injustice.

We call on our colleagues in the arts and culture community to defend our rights to freedom of speech and expression as we stand for justice. We urge other sectors and the rest of the Filipino people to do the same.

We stand in solidarity and gather our strength against attacks and threats to our humanity as Filipino people.

We are artists and cultural workers. We are citizens of this nation. We pledge to make art our weapon to uphold truth, freedom, human rights and dignity for all, at all times.