An office under the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has officially become a part of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). They aim to present “social concerns and issues of the Church” that require government attention, as confirmed by CBCP head Bishop Pablo David of Caloocan City on Friday.
“The said Commission [on Public Affairs] clarifies that they are engaging with the NTF-ELCAC precisely to address some Church issues vis-a-vis government, including the issue about the red-tagging of some cause-oriented groups and Church organizations by the said body,” stated Bishop David in an official statement. He also emphasized that the Commission intends to provide moral and ethical approaches to addressing the insurgency problem.
The NTF-ELCAC had previously announced the inclusion of the CBCP Commission on Public Affairs, led by Imus Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista as chairman and Fr. Jerome Secillano as executive secretary, as one of the private-sector representatives within the task force.
In addition to the CBCP’s involvement, NTF-ELCAC Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. informed reporters that efforts are underway to designate a business sector representative to fill the remaining private sector slot in the NTF organization.
However, some social groups have expressed concerns about CBCP’s participation in the anti-insurgency task force. Women’s group Gabriela issued a statement on Friday, stating, “The news comes heavy to us, as we have known a great deal of persons of faith within the CBCP who have spoken out against the measures so gleefully pushed by the NTF-ELCAC, such as the Anti-Terrorism Act.” They went on to criticize the task force for alleged acts of red-tagging, vilification, defamation, harassment, justification of murder, and the spreading of falsehoods against human rights advocates, including members of the Church.
In a separate statement, the youth group Kabataan Party-list echoed these concerns, saying, “The task force wants to control the Church itself, despite the supposed separation of Church and State, to improve its image and use religion and the Catholic community for surveillance, red-tagging, and other attacks against ordinary citizens.”
In June, activists from the Cordillera People’s Alliance appealed to the Supreme Court to issue a writ of amparo against government agencies, including the NTF-ELCAC, and the police, alleging their involvement in red-tagging.
The NTF-ELCAC was established under Executive Order 70 to raise awareness and respond to the communist armed conflict in the country.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
