Access to Justice Ministry

Last August 31, PRESO, Inc. took part in the first exploratory meeting convened by His Eminence, Ambo Cardinal David, to begin the formation of an Access to Justice Ministry within the Diocese of Kalookan. The gathering brought together lawyers, paralegals, and advocates committed to seeking justice for the marginalized—both victims and accused—who are often left without recourse in a legal system that is slow, costly, and stacked against the poor. This ministry, the first of its kind in the diocese, is envisioned as a concrete response to the suffering of families like that of Dion Angelo “Gelo” dela Rosa, the young altar server whose untimely death while seeking justice for his father became a painful symbol of systemic neglect and abuse.

Cardinal David called on the Church to move beyond mourning tragedies and into action—to become a living instrument of God’s justice, especially for those who have been silenced by poverty and oppression. He emphasized that the right to justice is not a privilege for the powerful but a dignity owed to every person, most especially the “poorest of the poor” who remain most vulnerable to unjust arrests, prolonged detention, and exploitative practices. By joining this initiative, PRESO, Inc. affirms its mission of accompanying Persons Deprived of Liberty and their families, while standing in solidarity with the Church’s renewed resolve to make justice flow like a river—reaching those who have long been denied its life-giving stream.