Living Laudato Si’ Philippines (LLS) strongly condemns the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for misleading the public with their insinuation that the entire Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) supports their cause.
Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, as CBCP President, has promptly clarified that it was the Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs, led by Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista as chairman and Fr. Jerome Secillano as Executive Secretary, that engaged in discussions with the NTF-ELCAC. This engagement had a specific purpose – to address pertinent Church-related concerns in relation to the government, including the troubling issue of red-tagging directed towards various cause-oriented groups and Church organizations by the NTF-ELCAC.
The allegations raised are deeply troubling, particularly in light of the NTF-ELCAC’s contentious history of unfairly targeting church workers, laypeople, and those dedicated to serving people in the margins of our society. We emphatically demand transparency and accountability from our church leadership. It is crucial to confirm the accuracy of these claims, differentiating between what is genuine and what may be fabricated, as the credibility and moral authority of the Church now faces heightened scrutiny.
We must not forget the numerous individuals within the Church who have suffered unjust and malicious red-tagging at the hands of the NTF-ELCAC. Those who selflessly devote themselves to assisting society’s most vulnerable should never be subjected to baseless accusations.
We implore the CBCP to uphold its sacred mission of justice, compassion, and solidarity, steadfastly resisting any associations that may compromise these foundational principles. The faithful deserve clear answers, and the Church’s commitment to its moral principles insists upon nothing less. Let us all exercise discernment before making judgments based on information originating from institutions that may have questionable motives.
LLS Philippines stands in solidarity with the CBCP in the pursuit of rectifying misrepresented information. Our commitment to uphold the truth continues.
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