Walk the Path of Peace, Work for Justice

It is to peace that God has called us. (1 Corinthians 7.15)

We, the 10th Executive Commission of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, express our alarm over the arrest and detention of Professor Jose Maria Sison, the political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDFP.

We see his arrest by the Dutch authorities, with the collaboration of the Philippine government, not only as a wanton violation of the rights of Professor Sison as a political refugee protected under Dutch laws and international human rights laws, but as blatant act of
political persecution. It saddens us that The Netherlands’ commitment for the protection and promotion of human rights, and its long and noble tradition of granting sanctuary to political dissenters, have been abandoned by this single inhuman act.

We are deeply disturbed over the implications of the Dutch authorities’ action against Professor Sison. The Iglesia Filipina Independiente believes that it is important to keep the doors open for dialogue between the GRP and NDFP to address the roots of the armed conflict in the country. This is why we have been consistently calling for the GRP and NDFP to return to the negotiating table and resume the formal peace talks.

The Iglesia Filipina Independiente shares with the Filipino people the hope that peace is indeed possible. We invite the Dutch Government to share this hope with us by respecting the peace process in the Philippines and by continuously upholding the rights of Professor Jose Maria Sison as a political refugee in The Netherlands. He is an important figure in the peace process in the Philippines. His arrest and
continuing detention constitutes a major roadblock to the peace process and could spell the eventual demise of the peace negotiations between the GRP and NDFP.

We call on the government of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo likewise to desist in further acts that would undermine, if not completely destroy the peace negotiations and other efforts to seek a peaceful resolution to the armed conflicts. Furthermore, we urge the Arroyo government to stop using coercive measures under the guise of the ‘war on terror’ as a leverage to force the NDFP, among others, into capitulation.

We urge Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo not to undermine the Filipino people’s aspiration for justice and peace with her penchant for a military solution to the armed conflict in the country. We demand her government to pursue the peace process. We strongly call upon her to serve the people in righteousness, as the path to peace can only be found in the steadfast commitment to justice.

For the Executive Commission,


† THE RT REVD EPHRAIM S. FAJUTAGANA
General Secretary


† MOST REVD GODOFREDO J. DAVID
Supreme Bishop

5th September 2007
City of Manila

Defend Life And Liberty, Vanquish Terror

Because the poor are oppressed, I will now rise up, says the Lord;
I will place them in the safety from which they long’. (Psalms 12.5)

The Psalmist bears out that God knows of the oppression of the poor. When wickedness abounds, and is countenanced by those in authority, the people can rely upon God for the redress of their grievances. We firmly believe that God struggles with the oppressed for their emancipation; and he journeys along with the people in the path towards abundant life. Certainly, God’s justice will punish those who rule with tyranny and terror.

We strongly anchor our hearts to this hope as the heavy yoke of oppression is again being imposed upon the Filipino people with the enforcement of Republic Act Number 9372, otherwise known as the Human Security Act of 2007. This is a state policy crafted by the Arroyo regime to purportedly fight terrorism and protect our people from terror. We believe, though, that this anti-terror law poses more frightening consequences rather than offering solutions to the situation it seeks to address.

The Iglesia Filipina Independiente believes that the Human Security Act of 2007 would only exacerbate human rights violations in the country and the incessant onslaught on civil liberties and democratic rights. This anti-terror law provides the police and the military more latitude for surveillance, warrantless and arbitrary arrests, abductions, and illegal detention of individuals who are suspected to be opposed to the government. It can also be used to label any form of speech, expression and redress of grievances, as well as legitimate protests actions, peaceful assemblies and lawful dissent, as acts of terrorism.

Given the current situation where there is a fanatical persecution of individuals, organizations, and institutions deemed critical of the government, unabated extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances attributed to the military, the enforcement of the anti-terror law would certainly lead to state repression and provide a license for the military to crackdown on legitimate activists and critics of the government.

We are opposed to the Human Security Act of 2007 as it would trample upon human dignity, and prohibits individuals from exercising their inherent rights as social beings. We are opposed to the Human Security Act of 2007, as it would restrict the people from responsibly assuming their social and political duties on the basis of their moral conviction. The Human Security Act of 2007 makes an outright mockery to the democratic principles enshrined in the Constitution. It is a blatant assault to our constitutional rights and sovereignty as a people.

We strongly assert that the government, or the military, does not have the legal authority and moral right to suppress the people and restrain them from exercising their inherent right as citizens of the country. To do otherwise is illegal and immoral, or more aptly, terroristic. The Human Security Act of 2007, in essence, is a malevolent embodiment of an extremely anti-people policy that provides a tool of terror in the hands of a virtual military state.

In the light of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ tagging of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente as ‘enemy of the state’ and being put in the list of entities that are in the ‘echelon of alliances with the communist party’, we are concerned for the safety of our bishops, priests, lay workers and members who are engaged in social actions and prophetic witness. With the still unsolved killing of Bishop Alberto Ramento and Father William Tadena, and where a number of our priests have to endure harassment and live under the constant threat of death, we fear that the worst attack on our Church is yet to come with this government’s anti-terror law.

We believe very strongly that under the sleeves of the Human Security Act of 2007 is a scheme meant to provide the bases for charging revolutionary groups as terrorists and to go after revolutionary forces on a full-scale war in the guise of a war on terror. We fear that a military state will not hesitate to turn this measure into an instrument that would sabotage the long years of the peace process between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

This probable scenario unveils, all the more, the evil face of the anti-terror law. It runs contrary to the aspiration of the Filipino people for the resolution of the armed conflict and the establishment of just peace in the country. It only allows a military state to unleash its vicious attack with impunity upon advocates of national democracy, pro-people social and political reforms, and equitable economic progress. It can never provide solution to the widespread poverty bred by corruption, social unrest resulting from irresponsible governance, and armed conflict that stems from an oppressive and exploitative rule of the powerful and the mighty.

The Iglesia Filipina Independiente, therefore, strongly exhorts President Arroyo to work for the immediate repeal of the Human Security Act of 2007 in the spirit of truly protecting our people from terror. The people have no need for this tyrannical scheme. What they demand is for the government to safeguard their democratic rights as a people, to uphold their civil and political rights as citizens of the country, and to protect their freedom to express themselves without fear of persecution.
We also urge the faithful and the rest of the Filipino people to remain vigilant, stand firmly and courageously against terrorism in all its many guises, and much more if it manifests in the form state repression. Enshrined in our very soul as a nation is our inherent right to freedom, and it is our solemn duty as a people to protect and preserve this legacy. Let us persevere in our journey towards just peace, democracy and sovereignty as a people and a nation.


† MOST REVD GODOFREDO J. DAVID
Supreme Bishop

12 July 2007
City of Manila

Save Our Land From Plunder: Exercise And Safeguard Our Right To Vote

‘Destruction upon destruction is cried, for the whole land is plundered.’ (Jer 4.20)

The Iglesia Filipina Independiente constantly and consistently stands by the Filipino people in their aspiration to establish a government that would genuinely uphold their interest and promote the common good.

The forthcoming May 2007 elections will enable the people to assert their share in the building of a more humane society by exercising and safeguarding their right to vote. We believe that through responsible and informed participation, the electoral exercise can be transformed into an effective vehicle that serves and advances their legitimate interest by choosing the right candidates into the high offices of the government.

We call on the faithful and the voting populace to judiciously exercise our God-given right to vote and dutifully participate in the forthcoming election in prayerful discernment of what would serve best the welfare of our people and country. Let us participate in the elections as responsible citizens of the country, always vigilant against those who might try to influence our choices through unlawful and deceitful means. Let us support candidates and political parties on the merit of their platforms and positions on current issues and not on glistening trappings and entertaining political advertisements.

We must ensure that the forthcoming elections would install leaders who will truly uphold public interest and promote people’s well being. Let us choose the candidates who consistently live out democratic political principles characterized by a real sense of social responsibility and awareness that real power rests in the hands of the people.

We therefore urge the Filipino people, especially the faithful of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, to examine candidates and political parties and make their decision based upon the seven-fold considerations.

• National Sovereignty. A candidate must be an advocate of national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and does not support foreign domination and intervention in the country.
• National Economy and Patrimony. A candidate must be opposed to full liberalization, deregulation, privatization and other globalization policies that place our local agriculture and industries into unfair competition with big foreign monopolies.
• Peasants and Workers Issues. A candidate must be an advocate of genuine land reform, and supports the poor workers’ struggle for just and decent wages and job security.
• Good Governance. A candidate must have a clean record of public service, steadfastly fights against graft and corruption in government, and committed to eradicate the culture of impunity.
• Justice and Peace. A candidate must be an advocate of the peaceful resolution of conflicts with the National Democratic Front of the Philippine (NDFP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and oppose to any form of aggressive war and violation of human rights.
• Human Rights. A candidate must be a staunch advocate of civil and democratic rights, respects political differences, and denounces, opposes and puts to stop political persecution and extrajudicial killings in the country.
• Women and Children Rights. A candidate must promote gender equality, protect the reproductive rights of women, work against patriarchal exploitation women, and uphold the rights of children to education, home and nationality.
  Lastly, let us remind ourselves that it is our duty as a people and a nation to actively engage in the forthcoming electoral exercise and continue to work for peace, justice and good governance before, during, and beyond the May 2007 elections.

Lastly, let us remind ourselves that it is our duty as a people and a nation to actively engage in the forthcoming electoral exercise and continue to work for peace, justice and good governance before, during, and beyond the May 2007 elections.

† MOST REVD GODOFREDO J. DAVID
Supreme Bishop

07 March 2007
City of Manila