This statement comes from the Faith-based Working Group for Human Rights in the Philippines, representing faith groups and denominations including United Church of Christ-Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian Church USA, the United Methodist Church, various Catholic organizations and ecumenical advocates, in conjunction with the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, U.S.
As an ecumenical coalition of faith groups advocating in the United States for just and lasting peace in the Philippines, representing a diverse cross-section of Catholic and Protestant organizations with partners across the Philippines, we express our deepest concerns over the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflicts’ “whole-of-nation” approach to the ongoing armed conflict in the country. The whole-of-nation approach has resulted in the intensification of red tagging, intimidation, and human rights violations. We express solidarity with the religious groups and other peace and human rights advocates who have been targeted. We call for the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC, the repeal of Executive Order 70 under which it was established, and the resumption of inclusive peace talks that address the social and economic root causes of conflict.
We watched with concern as NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Usec. Ernesto Torres misrepresented the Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs’ recent efforts to engage with the task force, and expressed that NTF-ELCAC intends to involve more religious groups in its whole-of-nation program.
We were heartened by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ statement clarifying that it was not the CBCP itself, as Torres had implied, but one of over 30 episcopal commissions that had sought to engage with the NTF-ELCAC, in the interest of raising concerns over red-tagging. CBCP President and Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David indicated in the statement that the CBCP will continue to discern the best way forward, and the possibility of bringing concerns to NTF-ELCAC without having to join it as a member.
Signed in 2018 by then-President Rodrigo Duterte, Executive Order 70 replaced peace talks, from which the government had withdrawn the year before, by establishing NTF-ELCAC to oversee a whole-of-nation counterinsurgency program. This program has excluded key stakeholders from peacebuilding efforts, eroded trust, and been used to red-tag and otherwise persecute various faith groups and other unarmed civil society members. In light of such failures and abuses by NTF-ELCAC, its leadership’s attempt to misrepresent the Episcopal Commission for Public Affairs’ engagement with it, and in careful consultation with our partners on the ground, we must conclude that further engagement with NTF-ELCAC only serves to legitimize its abuses, thereby undermining work for true, sustainable peace.
At this crucial moment in the history of the Philippines, the prophetic witness of the church is essential to the establishment of just peace and respect for human rights. Even the perception of collaboration with NTF-ELCAC by church authorities threatens to undermine these efforts. We look to the CBCP for solidarity and moral leadership. We trust that any of the bishops’ concerns over red-tagging or other activities of the NTF-ELCAC can be expressed directly to government officials without participation or membership in the NTF-ELCAC. We seek the resumption of peace talks as the best hope for lasting peace with justice for all.
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