“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”( John 8:30-32) The Clergy, the Consecrated Religious, the Seminarians and the Lay Faithful of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, fervently stand by our Socrates B. Villegas, DD and the other Bishops who are being persecuted and falsely accused for standing up against malicious insults to truth, justice, and freedom. The blurring and the shrouding of truth have left us nothing but bleakness. Nevertheless, there is much to be grateful for because people like Archbishop and the other advocates of truth, they uphold the preservation and perpetuation of the gospel values which protect the sacredness of human life and freedom. With our Church leaders, we stand on our sublime prophetic duty to be the incarnation of the uncompromising and unchanging truths of the love of God and love of others and the country. For this and no other reason, we are standing our ground in espousing the value of responsible freedom of expression to be ever present and always relevant at the service of truth and human dignity. With much urgency, it is our prophetic duty to God and to the Filipino people to advocate truth, justice, and peace in an environment shrouded with fear, bias and violence. We stand against acrimonious exploits which destroy the dignity of the Filipino people for we uphold the common good of all. We make this stand not as a political gesture but as a personal response to God's call for grace and compassion. It is our faith in true democracy that we stand together in the belief that the sedition charges filed against our beloved Archbishop Soc and the other advocates of truth are unfounded and untrue and we hereby petition its dismissal. We are certain that these advocates of truth only engage with other people to create a richer discourse in analyzing and understanding the situation of the country—they were merely exercising their constitutional right to freedom of expression and association. Archbishop Soc and his fellow advocates of truth share the same story with Christ: condemned and persecuted for expressing truthfulness. It is our hope that the sacrifice of Christ not go to waste. It is our hope that we have learned from the story of Jesus Christ. May we never again need to ransom people for our redemption. May we call on the Clergy, the Consecrated Religious, the Seminarians and the Lay Faithful of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan to continue to pray for strength and courage for our beloved Archbishop Socrates Villegas, other Church Leaders and other advocates of truth during this time of unwanted conditions in our Church. May St. John, the beloved disciple and Patron of the Archdiocese with Mary Help of Christians, inspire us with the same courage that they had when they both stood at the foot of the cross of Jesus. The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan stand for Archbishop Soc. We stand for the Truth. We stand for Jesus. Issued at St. John the Evangelist Cathedral on July 31, 2019, Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Dagupan City, , .