Roman Catholic and Protestant leaders in the Philippines, Asia's most predominantly Christian nation, have said they plan to be
as active in the affairs of civil society in 2008 as they have been in the past. Christians have been active in social and political life of this mainly Roman Catholic country, particularly in the campaign against environmentally destructive industries and extra-judicial killings. They have also supported farmers' calls for genuine agrarian reform and have been active in peace-building efforts.
Both the Catholic Bishops Conference and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines have condemned environmentally destructive industries such as large-scale mining. The council general secretary, the Rev. Rex Reyes, said such mining dislocates and further impoverishes indigenous and rural populations.
In 2007, both groups also demanded peaceful negotiations in armed conflicts between the government and the communist-led New People's Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
"We surely will pursue the peace talks in the days ahead," Reyes told Ecumenical News International.
The issue of extra-judicial killings in the Philippines gained international prominence after churches sent a delegation to Washington, D.C., in March 2007. Led by a Catholic and two Protestant bishops and six leaders of human rights organizations, the delegation spoke of political killings of more than 800 civilians and the disappearances of another 196 since 2001 at a hearing of the U.S. Congress.
Those killed have included priests, pastors, human rights workers, labor and farm leaders, and journalists, all strong critics of the government.
The council's international campaign against extra-judicial killings paid off. U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer convinced her colleagues to investigate the use of U.S. military aid to the Philippines in perpetrating such killings and other human rights violations. For its efforts, the council received an award of excellence from the U.S. National Christian Council of Churches and Church World Service, a humanitarian ministry, in November 2007.
In late 2007, the Catholic bishops gave high-profile support to 54 farmers from Sumilao, southern Philippines, seeking plots of land to till as provided for by the country's 1987 agrarian reform law. The farmers dramatized their call by marching for two months from October 10, covering 1,700 kilometers to Manila and joined by Catholic seminarians.
While the conference and council generally have been critical of the government in Manila, evangelist Brother Mike Velarde, who leads a Catholic renewal group called El Shaddai, has served as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's spiritual adviser.
Velarde has given his blessing to some of Arroyo's controversial actions, including the pardon granted to former president Joseph Estrada, who was supposed to serve a life sentence after he was found guilty of large-scale corruption.
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