Home > Our World > News > News - More Headlines
Church leaders condemn massacre in Philippines


The Rev. Rex Reyes Jr. discusses a report detailing human rights violations in the Philippines, in this 2007 photo. A UMNS file photo by Kathy L. Gilbert.

A UMNS Report
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
Dec. 1, 2009 | MANILA, Philippines (UMNS)

Religious leaders, including The United Methodist Church, are calling for an end to private armies and are reaching out to the victims of a political massacre that left 57 people dead.

“Even as we grieve and mourn, we are outraged,” the National Council of Churches in the Philippines said in a statement after the Nov. 23 killings.

"Disarming the private armies of warlords is of paramount import in the course of the coming elections," Bishop Felixberto Calang of the Philippine Independent Church told Ecumenical News International from the southern Philippine city of Cagayan de Oro. "Let us call for the repudiation of private armies and work for a people-friendly and just environment so that we can have fair, free and honest elections."


“If you are against the government... you’re an enemy of the government,” says Bishop Leo Soriano, of the Davao area in the Philippines. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

Andal Ampatuan Jr., the heir of a powerful clan and an ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was charged Dec. 1 in connection with the attack on a caravan of journalists, lawyers, and the wife, relatives and several supporters of Ampatuan’s rival, Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu of Maguindanao's Buluan township. Mangadadatu’s supporters had intended to file for his candidacy for governor in elections scheduled for next May.

“This massacre is a grim reminder of the pervading culture of impunity and the lack of respect for human rights that has been in our midst and that has turned for the worse since 2001,” said the statement signed by the Rev. Rex Reyes Jr., top executive of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines.

Conscience of the nation

The United Methodist Church in the Philippines has been active in working with the council to shine the spotlight on extrajudicial killings, which have escalated since Arroyo was elected in 2001. Arroyo has denied any military role in the killings and declared a national day of mourning after the recent massacre.

“If you are against the government … you’re an enemy of the government,” said Bishop Leo A. Soriano, Davao Area.

Soriano was in the United States recently for a Council of Bishops meeting and spoke about the ongoing violence in his country. “If you try to raise some issues and questions about corruption and about how things are being done, then you are an enemy of the government. And you will simply be eliminated.”

Justice Reynato Puno, a United Methodist who is chief justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, has questioned the roles of the government and military in hundreds of deaths and abductions in the Philippines. "Telling the truth requires courage," he said.

Many of the victims have been church workers who support the poor. The Rev. Isaias St. Rosa, a United Methodist local pastor, was shot by gunmen outside his home in 2006.

The United Methodist California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference has sent three teams to the Philippines to hear stories of abductions, torture and killings.

Soriano said the church is the conscience of the nation. “We have to speak all these things in spite of death threats. We have so many victims who died doing these things, and this is their Christian faith.”

Praying for peace

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines called the incident “a massacre most foul, gross and utterly repugnant.”

We invite you to join the dialogue. Share your comments.

Post a comment
“The gruesome massacre of unarmed civilians is also a painful reminder that government statements to the dismantling of political warlordism have been mere rhetoric,” the council said. “Government has either turned a blind eye or entered into alliances with these warlords for political expediency at the expense of creating democratic space. Political warlordism is a manifestation of a feudal social order, and we join the call that it should now be outdated.

“To our partners around the world, our deep gratitude for upholding us in your supplication and affirming our calls,” the churches said. “We pray that peace and justice be given a chance in Mindanao and elsewhere in this country.” The province where the massacre took place is on the island of Mindanao.

“We pray that all the resources that have been poured in Mindanao bail the people out from the mire of poverty, neglect and human indignity,” the council said. “We pray that we all rise from this blasphemy for the sake of the God who loves us all and calls us to be one people, and for the sake of our children and the children yet unborn.” 

*Gilbert is a news writer for United Methodist News Service in Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

Related Articles

United Methodist bishops elected in Philippines

Judicial Council hears about violence in Philippines

Prayer event focuses on human rights in Philippines

Gunmen kill United Methodist local pastor in Philippines

Priest urges Christians to speak out against killings

United Methodist bishops launch appeal for Philippines

Resources

Philippines: Faith and Justice

Philippines: Mercy and Mission

Philippines Episcopal Areas

National Council of Churches in the Philippines

Read this article in Korean

Comments will be moderated. Please see our Comment Policy for more information.
Comment Policy

Ask Now

This will not reach a local church, district or conference office. InfoServ* staff will answer your question, or direct it to someone who can provide information and/or resources.

Phone
(optional)

*InfoServ ( about ) is a ministry of United Methodist Communications located in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 1-800-251-8140

Not receiving a reply?
Your Spam Blocker might not recognize our email address. Add this address to your list of approved senders.

Would you like to ask any questions about this story?ASK US NOW