In light of clear connections between the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) red-tagging campaigns, human rights violations, and militarization of poor communities, we are encouraged by the clarificatory statement of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, DD, indicating that CBCP leaders will discuss how to engage the government without joining the executive committee of NTF-Elcac, as private representatives.
CBCP should be wary of lending their credibility to NTF-Elcac that has been prone to misconstruing information and taking advantage of church influence, as happened with the announcement on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.
Engagements should be carefully studied since NTF-Elcac involvement may impact the prophetic, priestly, and peace-building ministries of the church, as these are intrinsically bound to the covenant of trust with communities where church people seek to engage in mission.
The humanitarian and social services provided to the communities at the behest of NTF-Elcac are actually framed within NTF-Elcac’s anti-insurgency campaign.
This arrangement could compromise the genuine mission of the church as a tool of the government’s militaristic approach to development and peace-building.
We should exercise caution and prudence in how the Church and other sectors might be co-opted into a militarist agenda through the NTF-Elcac.
In matters of democracy and upholding civil liberties, it is wise to err on the side of standing with the citizenry, rather than the military.
The lessons of the Marcos Sr. martial law should resound in our collective memories, guiding us to uphold the welfare, freedom, and democratic rights of our people, especially the poor ones.
We pray that God’s abiding light will guide the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines as they discern.
May they lead their flocks toward truth and righteousness, freedom and democracy, and justice and peace.