“Living letters” (2 Corinthians 3:3) is a symbol of the living Church which we represent by coming together under the auspices of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and at the kind invitation of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP).
When asked by the disciples where He lived, Jesus answered, “Come and see” (John 1:39), then He commanded John, “write down what you see and send a letter to the churches” (Revelations 1:12). Every visit is a revelation when the knower and the known become one.
This visit has been an opportunity for us to come and see: to see a culture, to see a people, to see a church, to see concerns, turmoil and hopes. First we were warmly welcomed by the general secretary of the NCCP, Rev. Rex Reyes. With hospitality and assistance from him and his colleagues:
We saw and heard the heart-breaking stories of victims of human rights abuses and their family members. We saw and felt the pain of those who have lost loved ones by extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detentions, torture and enforced disappearances.
We saw, heard and felt the pain of the farmers in Hacienda Luisita in their struggle for just labour conditions and decent livelihoods, which have been denied to them as a result of land grabbing and unfair labour practices. We call for the immediate implementation of the decisions of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council to distribute the land to the farmers.
We saw and heard about the presence of local and foreign military personnel in Hacienda Luisita and in other parts of the country, posing a threat to the local communities. We call upon the Philippine government to repeal the Visiting Forces Agreement and withdraw all military presence from civilian communities.
We particularly saw and heard the pain, spirit and courage of the 43 health workers and their families. We question the legality of their arrest and continued detention, as do some officials of the country including the president. We strongly urge their immediate and unconditional release.
We saw, heard and rejoice in the resolve of the secretary of the Department of Justice to have the charges against the 43 health workers withdrawn by 10 December, United Nations International Human Rights Day and if not by then, at least before Christmas. We also rejoice in her recognition of the existence of a culture of impunity that has resulted in extra-judicial killings and massive human rights violations, and her resolve to put an end to it. We affirm her belief that there is no inconsistency between human rights and justice; when you serve one, you serve the other.
We saw and heard the desire of all Christian denominations, faith communities, social movements and all people of good will to unite together to recognise and promote the inherent value of life and human dignity.
We saw and heard deep hopes that the president will keep his electoral promises to put an end to impunity with regard to extrajudicial killings, disappearances and abductions, implement genuine land reform, work toward reconciliation with justice and peace, and live up to his expressed commitment to give top priority to the peace negotiations.
We write to the people of other nations to express solidarity with the Filipino people and express their concerns to the international bodies, the Philippine president, the Department of Justice and the Department of Foreign Affairs. We write to the people of the Philippines with gratitude and admiration for your courage and your hope for just and lasting peace.
May the Baby Jesus make us all Living Letters to prepare His Way by committing ourselves to prayer and action.
Glory to God and Peace on Earth. (Luke 2:14)
Philippine justice minister discusses human rights with WCC delegation
The group of church representatives from Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and Canada visited the Philippines, 1-5 December, with the aim of looking at the current human rights situation in that country. They spoke with the justice secretary prior to an encounter with participants in a hunger strike supporting parties involved in the "Morong 43" case.
The Morong 43 have been detained since February following their arrest during a workshop sponsored by an alliance of health workers in Morong, Rizal province. Authorities have claimed the health workers possessed firearms and explosives, but the detainees insist the evidence against them was planted.
De Lima has presented arguments in favour of the detainees’ release, and she told the Living Letters delegation that she will issue a second memorandum soon re-stating her position in the hope that it will bring about a positive solution for the prisoners and their families.
She confirmed a report on extra-judicial killings in the Philippines suggesting that most such crimes committed this year have never been properly addressed. She stated her intention of forming a special commission of the department of justice with the mandate to investigate extra-judicial killings. “This will be a response to the many cases not given enough attention, and a way of breaking the culture of injustice that is prevails,“ she said.
De Lima continued, “The best intentions are there, but we need actions that will bring an end to all the human rights violations and extra-judicial killings.“
“We look for more international calls to pay attention to this current situation, for dialogues and international public statements of support in relation to the present human rights situation and all forms of injustice against the Filipino people,” the secretary of justice said at the conclusion of the meeting.
Some members of the delegation then visited the defendants in the Morong 43 case, who for the past 10 months have been detained in Camp Bagong Diwa.
Meanwhile, farmers of the Hacienda Luisita community received other members of the WCC sponsored delegation. The farmers have been demanding land rights promised to them for the past fifty years.
Hacienda Luisita is in the central plains of Luzon. The land has been owned and controlled by the powerful Cojuangco family since 1957. T he current president, Benigno Cojuangco Aquino III, belongs to this family. Hacienda Luisita comprises 6,435 hectares of sugar cane plantations. Although the Cojuangco family took over the property on an understanding that the land would be given back to farmers after a period of 10 years, this has not happened and there is no sign that it will happen soon.
In a general strike in November 2004, the farmers of Cojuangco Hacienda Luisita united with sympathizers in peaceful protest, calling for an end to the injustices committed against them. The protest involved about 5,000 farmers. On 16 November 2004 seven farmers were killed and more than 100 wounded when the military dispersed the protesters. Six other farmers were killed during 2005 and 2006.
Talking to the delegation, farmers explained that they are compelled to work in a sugar mill and are paid the paltry sum of 9.5 Filipino pesos per day, and are allowed to work only once a week. This has a serious impact on their livelihoods and families.
In addition to their current struggle for decent livelihood, the farmers shared concern about the heavy military presence in the area, including that of foreign forces. This has resulted in the limitation of their right to assemble freely. They are not allowed to meet in public spaces or places where community gatherings would normally be held. These farmers are under constant surveillance resulting in them living in constant fear, harassed, oppressed and interrogated by militiamen (or CAFGU) that were recruited by the military.
The farmers have organized to provide a common voice against the politically and economically influential and powerful Cojuangco family, and to ask for better wages and regular work. None of their demands has been positively answered. Instead, more than 300 of the mill workers have been laid off, thus intensifying the community’s misery. The Cojuangco family continues to ignore orders from the government to distribute land to the farmers.
MANILA, Dec. 12, 2010—The current dismal situation of human rights in the country has made the Aquino government no different from the previous administration, a group of religious and clergy said.
The convenors of Religious Discernment Group, in a statement released on Dec. 4, has denounced the spate of human rights violations in the country.
They expressed shock at the fact that the new administration of President Benigno Aquino has an average of “one extra judicial killing per week.”
“The number of sectoral leaders, particularly peasants, jailed on false charges has continued to increase,” they said.
Illegally detained Morong 43 who have been in jail since February this year, were ordered released by Aquino on December 10.
The government’s failure to bring to justice the perpetrators of human abuses is an “indictment” of Aquino’s “and daan matuwid” (righteous path) mandate, the group said.
The continued implementation of the counter-insurgency program “Oplan Bantay Laya” also worries the group because of human rights violations associated with it.
“There will be no justice, freedom and peace for our people until the Government take the welfare of the people, especially [those] of the urban and rural poor instead of the interests of local elites and large foreign corporations, as the starting point for all development policies,” they said.
“We ask the Government to abandon plans to implement Oplan….but rather to resume peace talks with the NDFP and MILF to ensure that the roots of injustice are stamped out,” the group further said.
Signatories to the statement were convenors Fr. Wilfredo Dulay, MJ, Fr. Quirico Pedregosa, Jr., OP, Fr. Gregorio Obejas, OSM, Fr. Tito Maratas, MSC, Fr. Joselito Sarabia, CM, Sr. Ailyn Binco, RGS, Sr. Pat Fox, NDS, Sr. Angelita Navarro, ICM and Sr. Rebecca Pacete, MMS.
The group’s advent gathering was held to discern their prophetic role in promoting and defending human rights in the country. (CBCPNews)
MANILA, Philippines – A council of Protestant and other Christian churches in the Philippines has expressed its support for the controversial reproductive health bill in Congress, which would mandate government to promote artificial and natural birth control methods, to encourage couples to plan their family sizes.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NNCP) said the RH bill would be more than the promotion of artificial contraceptives.
"As a council, we support the spirit of the RH bill [because] it mainly talks about responsible family planning and giving the right to the couples to determine how they could plan their families," said Rev. Rex Reyes, NCCP secretary general, on Saturday.
But in agreeing with the family planning measure, which was still being heard in Congress, the NCCP did not view the country's swelling population as the root cause of poverty plaguing millions of Filipinos, said Reyes.
"Overpopulation is not the only reason why many Filipinos are poor. We also need to address the proper and just sharing of our resources because we are a very rich country," he added.
The RH bill, which the Catholic Church has stoutly opposed, would be one way of promoting responsible parenthood and a means for the government to ensure that each Filipino live a "decent life," said Reyes.
He added that the council was not linking the measure to abortion. "You don't necessarily equate it that way because with the church, teaching couples before they jump into marriage is very important," he said.
"Maybe its time for the Church to also affirm the emphasis that should be given to counseling prior to marriage," he added.
The NCCP is a large organization of Protestant and non-Catholic Churches and service-oriented organizations in the Philippines existing since 1963.
Its members include the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, the Apostolic Catholic Church, the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, among others.
The Catholic Church maintains that human life starts at conception and that contraception is a type of abortion, which is also banned by the Constitution.
The Catholic Church maintains that human life starts at conception and that contraception is a type of abortion, which is also banned by the Constitution.
December 05, 2010 Jocelyn Uy Philippine Daily Inquirer
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