Biggest Protestant Group Scores
Corruption, U.S. Armed Intervention

Staying true to its 40 years of peace advocacy, the National Council of Churches of the Philippines (NCCP) has declared corruption and foreign military intervention as among the “forces of darkness” that threaten “the quest for peace.”

BY ROWENA CARRANZA
Bulatlat.com

The declaration was made during NCCP’s 21^st General Convention held Nov. 17-21 at the Trinity College, Quezon City. The 96 delegates to the convention, representing NCCP’s member churches, passed separate resolutions opposing graft and corruption and foreign military intervention.

Founded in 1963, NCCP is a fellowship of 10 mainline Protestant and non-Roman Catholic churches and 10 service-oriented institutions with an estimated 13 million members.

The convention, held every two years, capped NCCP’s 40th year celebration with the theme, “Vanquishing the Darkness, Ushering in a Dawn of Peace.” Elected new officers were: Prime Bishop Ignacio Soliba of the Episcopalian Church of the Philippines as chair; Bishop Elmer Bolocon, Judel Roman, Josita Alpha Jalandoon as vice chairpersons for clergy, youth and women, respectively; and Joey Caramanzana as corporate treasurer.

Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz-Duremdes, who in her first term set the record as being the first lay woman general secretary among the NCCs in Asia, was reelected. 

“Breeding unpeace”

In a resolution passed during the convention, the NCCP declared that the widespread graft and corruption under the Macapagal-Arroyo government “breeds unpeace.”

“In collective discernment,” the resolution read, “we determined the forces of darkness that is wreaking havoc and misery upon our people one of which is bureaucratic corruption, which robs our people of the blessings for a life abundant.”

It scored the “large scale stealing of public funds by the powers that be” as in the allegedly overpriced Diosdado Macapagal Blvd., corruption in the military hierarchy which junior military officers exposed, and the Jose Pidal money laundering controversy.

It also cited the Congressional Planning and Budget Office (CPBO) report that the government lost to graft and corruption P95 and 101.5 billion for the years 2001 and 2002 respectively.

NCCP said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s “failure to stop or at least limit the widespread graft and corruption within her government will place her administration in the same category as the previous one - unjust, immoral, corrupt and exploitative.”

On the Davide impeachment issue, the NCCP described as “very vexing” the way congressmen identified with Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco used the legitimate grievance of court employees and “milked it for what its worth.”

“While the impasse (on the Davide impeachment) is over, the issue of graft and corruption cannot be ignored. Though we do not condone the manner, we call to mind the latest show of protest against graft and corruption when former Air Transportation Office (ATO) Chief Panfilo Villaruel, took over the control tower in NAIA. It cost him his life.”

It added, “We take to task this administration for an honest to goodness campaign against graft and corruption in all branches of government especially in high places and prosecute offenders without fear or favor, neither with political fanfare nor for political mileage.”

“A threat to God’s gift of life”

In a separate resolution, the NCCP scored the increasing U.S. military intervention in the Philippines.

“We have discerned the forces of darkness that envelope our midst and we have identified foreign military intervention as one of the greatest threats to God’s gift of life and the quest for peace,” it said.

The NCCP scored the U.S. attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq, calling the U.S.’ “war on terror” as nothing but a means to expand U.S.’ domination.

“The US has used its imperial might to peddle economic globalization in the world, intensifying hunger, poverty and displacement. The expansion of its empire has put the whole world in a state of unpeace and darkness,” the resolution read.

It further said that the US’ declaration of Asia is its second front in the “war against terror” is a cause for alarm especially among Filipinos. It explained that the US has “secured its interventionist presence in the country particularly in Mindanao” through unequal arrangements such as in the US-RP Balikatan Exercises, Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), and Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement (MLSA).

The NCCP believes that foreign military presence in the country exposes the people to the danger of being caught in the crossfire. It cites displacement of civilians and divestment of properties as natural consequences, as well as the social costs on the women and children.

The convention delegates called on the abrogation of unequal treaties and agreements.

Quest for peace

That the NCCP has yet again taken such uncompromising positions on issues such as corruption and U.S. intervention is not surprising.

Unflinching in its almost activist stance on political and economic issues, the NCCP has chosen not to limit itself to spiritual concerns, as other church and church-based groups tend to do. During the martial law years, NCCP was among the Marcos regime’s vocal critics and gave assistance to anti-dictatorship groups.

After Marcos’ fall, NCCP continued to be critical of government and government officials, refusing to be lulled into silence by the so-called “democratic space.” It was also in this period, during the first round of talks between the government and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), that the NCCP more actively participated in the search for a peaceful solution to the armed conflict.

In January 1987, the council came out with the statement titled, “On the Search for A True and Lasting Peace,” in connection with the ceasefire agreement signed the month before. The NCCP expressed its support to the negotiations: “We are committed to peace. On this matter there can be no equivocation on our part. It is a commitment that is not born out of practicalities of political adjustment or of the vagaries of military strategy. It is a commitment rooted in our being Church.”

Since then, peace advocacy has been NCCP’s major undertaking. It has supported all efforts leading to the peaceful and lasting resolution of the civil strife, during the terms of Presidents Aquino, Ramos, Estrada and now, Macapagal-Arroyo.

In April 2001, it hosted, together with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the historic “Solidarity Conference for Just and Lasting Peace” in Manila, attended by government officials and representatives of the NDFP. In August 2002, it co-sponsored a forum commemorating the 10^th year anniversary of the “The Hague Declaration,” which set the framework for the GRP-NDFP negotiations.

The NCCP has engaged in peace education, forum-discussions and fact-finding missions related to the promotion of peace. It condemned the all-out wars launched by the Estrada and Macapagal-Arroyo administrations in Mindanao and spearheaded relief and rehabilitation work for the affected communities.

Under the first woman General Secretary

In the general secretary’s biennial report, Duremdes cited the International Ecumenical Conference on Terrorism in a Globalized World held in August last year as among the major accomplishments of the NCCP. The activity gathered over a hundred ecumenical leaders, peace activists and intellectuals from 28 countries representing all continents. It led to international recognition of the NCCP for bringing to fore a subject that many church people feel uneasy to tackle and blended faith with harsh realities.

The conference paved way to other similar efforts, including the People’s Forum on Peace for Life, a global coalition of ecumenical, multi-religious and inter-faith movements, opposing U.S. domination.

Meanwhile, Duremdes proudly noted how financial difficulties failed to keep the NCCP from doing its work and even helped to consolidate the group as it sought to find means to support its programs.

Also among her list of accomplishments is the “survival of a full four-year term under the leadership of the first woman General Secretary without so much of a trauma.”

She said, “It must have been difficult for church leaders to suddenly deal with a woman – a lay person at that. Her theology was strange…. Her posture and demeanor were different… her language was quite irreverent at times…. Her wave length (must have) caused some static… But, in fairness, they were gracious and tried so hard to make sense of what she was struggling to say. The four-year term of a lay woman General Secretary was a reflection of NCCP’s comprehension of empowerment. NCCP was saying: Feminist leadership is acceptable. Men-women partnership is possible in the Council.” Bulatlat.com

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