nccplibrary

NCCP Joins Churches’ of Action on Food: A Solidarity Invitation

2011-10-15T19:25:00.000+08:00

Note: This post is a bit late...it has been hectic in the office of late. Also this will be my last post as the NCCP Library Staff since I am ending my almost 20-year of serving the Council this day, October 15, 2011. Thank you to all those who followed the blog on my watch. Thank you to all who supported and is continuously supporting the ministries of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines.

- Ian Michael Ileto

On October 10, 2011, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) joins peoples of the world in a global action on food. To start the Churches Week of Action on Food, the National Secretariat of the NCCP joined by the National Office Staff of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, youth from KAIROS Philippines, Peace for Life staff, and CONTAK Philippines held a liturgical celebration which affirmed churches’ call– food security for the people, equitable and just distribution of the world’s food production and denouncing practices that deprive people of the right to food and calling for all to advocate for those who produce the world’s food and yet go hungry, themselves.

Mr. Danilo Ramos of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement in the Philippines) provided what is called the NOW Testament. He discussed the current situation of the peasants in the Philippines and averred that the issues and struggle of the peasants and the development of agriculture is everyone’s concern.

The Philippines is an agricultural country with 75% of its population being peasants and farm workers. However, land they till do not belong to them but to landlords and large corporations both local and foreign. A lot of the peasants currently face eviction from the lands they currently till because of land grabbing of the same.

Mr. Ramos cited examples of large tracts of land in different parts of the country as being controlled by families or corporations, or being converted into something else that clearly does not benefit the farmers. On top of this, because farmers do not have capital, they are subject to usurers whose interest rates range from 30-150%. On the macro level, there are systems in place that continually oppress them like liberalization of the country’s agriculture and control of transnational corporations of chemical inputs.

The farmers call and so must the churches’ is to have genuine land reform – give land to the tillers and stop liberalization of agriculture.

Thus, the church is not only called to prayer but also to action toward social justice.

Forms of commitment and action

Offering gathered during the service was given to the KMP as a support to the upcoming Peasants’ March on October 17, 2011.
Liturgical celebration will also be held with local churches
Church people enjoined to the Peasants’ March on October 17 to 21
“World Rural Women’s Day

Oct. 14 -Peasant Women’s Assembly and Forum on Land Grabbing and its Impact to Food Security

Oct. 15- peasant women’s march to Department of Agrarian Reform

October 16- world foodless Day- picket sa Department of Agriculture

Oct. 14-21 Peasant and Agricultural Worker’s Luzon-Wide March (Lakbayan-Sakbayan) to Manila while Visayas and Mindanao will also do their region-wide March. Theme: “Tunay na Reporma sa Lupa” at Pagsabatas ng House Bill 374 o Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill (GARB).
October 17 – “Salubungan sa Monumento and Alabang”
October 17 – Vigil & Solidarity Night in front of Department of Agriculture (DAR) National Office in Quezon City
October 18-21 “Pagkilos sa Supreme Court” at sa October 21 march from Supreme court to Mendiola
Oct 21 (9:00am)– AMIHAN and SAMMARO (Samahan ng mgag Magsasaka sa Mascap Rodriguez) will seed audience with CBCP regarding the issue of Land Grabbing through cancellation of EP at CLT.
October 10- Dialogue with National Food Authority Council ng AMIHAN at BANTAY BIGAS (Rice Monitor) (Alyansa ng Mamamayan para sa Sapat Ligtas at Abot kayang Presyo ng Bigas) regarding the issue of support services and subsidy for the farmers to be able to achieve rice self sufficiency and food security.

credits: text from NCCP website, photo by imileto

NCCP Appeal for Typhoon Victims

2011-10-06T21:07:00.000+08:00

The Emergency Situation

Typhoons Pedring (Nesat) and Quiel (Nalgae) wrecked havoc in most part of Luzon from September 24. Typhoon Pedring entered the Philippine area of responsibility in September 24, 2011, exited three days after it ravaged the agricultural provinces of Isabela and Aurora in Northern Luzon; the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Bulacan in Central Luzon; the provinces of Catanduanes and Albay, including Legaspi City in the southern part Bicol Region; and affected thousands of families in the 17 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila, especially those living in low-lying and flood-prone areas.

Two days after Typhoon Pedring left the country many parts of the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija were submerged in between 3 feet and ten feet floodwater – with the town of Calumpit in Bulacan most severely flooded. Thousands of families were trapped and forced to stay on their roofs as floodwater continue to rise. Further complicating the situation left by Pedring, Typhoon Quiel came and brought in heavy rains and badly affected provinces in Northern and Central Luzon.

To date, many barangays are still flooded in Isabela, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan.

Impact of the Typhoons

1,183,530 families or 5,534,410 persons were affected in 3,252 barangays in 349 municipalities, 41 cities in the 34 provinces of Regions I, II, III, IV-A, IV-B, and V, CAR, NCR and Region VI.
55 individuals died
30 missing
7,540 totally damaged houses
41,224 partially damaged houses
PhP 8.8 billion – Damage to agriculture and infrastructure

APPEAL

volunteers preparing relief goods for the affected families

Relief and rehabilitation work is part of NCCP work and ministry. We appeal to your heart of hearts to help alleviate the suffering of those affected by the consecutive typhoons. You may deposit your donation to the following accounts:

Account Name: National Council of Churches in the Philippines
Name of Bank: Bank of the Philippine Islands (Quezon City West Triangle Branch)
Peso Account: 3051-0063-04
Dollar Account: 3054-0162-89

Donations in kind are also accepted. The following in the list are most and urgently needed:

Food & bottled water
clothes
medicines
toiletries: bath soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, face towel, laundry soap
sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets
cooking utensils, plates, spoons, cups
plastic water containers
plastic sheets or canvas tent

You may bring your donations to 879 EDSA, West Triangle, QC. Or you may call us at 922-8141 to pick up your donations (within NCR only).

May God bless your kindness tenfold.

credits: text from NCCP website, photo by imileto

NCCP three days after Typhoon Nesat (Pedring)

2011-09-30T13:45:00.001+08:00

Work must go on no matter what. Service to the people must not stop. Scenes at the Council three days after typhoon Pedring wreaked havok in the country. Still no electricity pending the replacement of the busted transformer outside the compound gate.

Staff in the dark Library compiling data of typhoon Nesat's damage

working by candle light

The darkness and heat won't stop this General Convention Committee members from accomplishing their tasks.

Typhoon NESAT (Pedring) aftermath at NCCP

2011-09-28T10:13:00.000+08:00

It's back to work for most.

commuters lining up to ride the MRT at the North Ave station

At the National Council of Churches in the Philippines compound, its clean-up day.

Almond, Oblay and Jhun sweeping the leaf litter


Nanie (left) helping out. Government workers (top right) hauling the trash. Even the guard (bottom right) is doing his share in the clean-up

Unlike most of the Metro and the rest of the country, the Council was spared heavy damage needing only minor building repair. As of this writing, power is still cut off due to a huge tree branch that fell on the electrical wires causing the transformer outside the gate to trip and explode.

(top and bottom photo) damage to the third and second floor window of the main building

tree that broke one of its main branch (top left of photo) causing the power failure in the area

front view of the main building

I am thankful that Typhoon NESAT (Pedring) spared the Council from damage. Still, the country is suffering from the destruction brought by strong winds and floods. I encourage everyone to pray for the victims of this latest tragedy and if you are able, please do help through the many institutions and organizations helping those in need. You can also contact the Council at (0632) 922 8141 for info regarding its Relief and Rehabilitation efforts. - the library staff

NCCP Supports Campaign to Free All Political Prisoners, Join the Campaign

2011-09-20T08:37:00.000+08:00

“I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Luke 9:40

click here to go to the online petition site

The declaration and pursuit of justice in the Philippines is a continuing apostolate of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, for as long as people are unjustly vexed. We recognize the importance of relating with church bodies in countries similarly situated. We value immensely the solidarity of people and church agencies advocating the upholding of human rights everywhere. A violation of human rights anywhere is a violation of human rights everywhere.

Wherewith, I issue this appeal for you to stay on course with us by signing on to the enclosed signature campaign. Our similar endeavors in the past contributed enormously in upholding peace and justice.

We are calling for the general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty to all political prisoners in the country. It has been done before it can be done again.

In the name of the 354 political prisoners as of June 2011, and in the name of all that is just and peaceful, we sincerely covet your support.

Sincerely,

REV. REX RB REYES, JR.

General Secretary

A Biblico-Theological Reflection

2011-09-14T19:38:00.000+08:00

Below is the text of the Biblico-Theological Reflection of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines' General Secretary during the opening of the seminar on Building HIV/AIDS Competent Churches in the Philippines. This seminar is a cooperative endeavor of the NCCP and the Christian Conference of Asia.

A Biblico-Theological Reflection

Padi Rex RB Reyes, Jr.
General Secretary, NCCPhilippines
September 14-16, 2011

Last Saturday, the Executive Committee of the Christian Conference of Asia listened to the testimony of Pastor Ponsawan Khankaew. It was a powerful and moving testimony. Moving because it was a first person story – her life story. She told of her blindness and how one eye eventually gained sight. She talked of her isolation from her friends, from the hospital staff and above all her isolation from her own pastor and the members of her community. She was dismissed as a hopeless case, a sinner and her community talked about rituals and customs related to her impending death. She also told of how her love for her two sons and the apparent love of her sons for her carried her through the painful ordeal. It was powerful because her testimony is a challenge to the church and Christians about our notions of sin, mission and pastoral responsibility. There she was - well recovered singing of her faith in a Jesus who stood by her and healed her. There she was opening up a ministry for people bearing the suffering she underwent by putting up the Adonai Church in Pattaya and the Glory Hut Foundation out of nothing but her indomitable spirit to minister to people isolated by others. There she was receiving, without resentment, referrals from pastors who still think they have nothing to do with people living with HIV and AIDS. May she live much longer than the fifteen years she prayed for. There she was singing of the victory that was hers in Jesus Christ and the joy of watching her two boys grow up in a hostile world. There is no other profound and genuine witness to the love of Jesus and His command to love than the testimony of our own lives.

When her colleagues and friends ask her why she visits bars in Pattaya which is a popular tourist destination in Thailand, she counters “Why not”? Indeed, why not? Pastor Ponsawan proclaims God’s love and healing in a place where it matters most – where love and healing is not felt, utterly hidden by the vicious cycle of people who exploit those who are already marginalized and vulnerable for profit. In this case it is called tourism. Last week, the cover of the in-flight magazine of an Asian airline caught my attention (that is what in-flight magazines are supposed to do – catch attention, of course). Tourism is a dollar-earning industry in many parts of Asia. The magazine cover projects a certain aspect of tourism in an Asian country and targets a particular section of tourists. It is very subtle but the message is there. We have our own in the Philippines – pictures of beautiful and “submissive” women and projections of our hospitality.

The stories of healing and perspective-setting for people of faith in Matthew 9 are instructive for our purpose today. We have a situation here where the religious leaders, contained as they are by their concept of ritual purity, religious rigidity and their authority fail to see the divine agenda of healing. Healing does not only address the issue of physical wellness but also those that cause broken relations – people being cast into the margins, isolated and made more vulnerable in their vulnerability. Our text does not provide the reason or reasons how one got paralyzed, how is it that the woman suffered hemorrhage for years, how the two men became blind or how one person became a dumb demoniac. But, it does tell of how they drew near or were brought near to Jesus. Drawing near or being brought near suggests not just physical nearness but a conversation that results into conversion and healing. To the paralytic Jesus says: “take heart, your sins are forgiven. . .rise, take up your bed and go home”. To the woman, he says “Take heart. . . your faith has made you well”. To the blind men, he says “according to your faith be it done to you”. There is less of “moralizing” but more of compassion. He says “take heart”. None can be more compelling for a sick person than the desire to be healed and not be a social outcast. Jesus knows that and acts on that basis.

At a cursory glance, physical unwellness is caused by sin. To hold on to this view is to confine a portion of the total self as bad – in this case sexuality – and must be conquered at all costs so that we do not sin. This leads to a tendency to moralize – that one gets sick because of sin. Moralizing tends to espouse segregation or perhaps generates hatred or attitudes of domination or superiority and blocks the way for rendering loving service and creating an inclusive community. It complicates relationships. It is not uncommon to find people who hold the view that people contract HIV and AIDS because they are sinful, that regions are hit by tsunamis, earthquakes and hurricanes because the people there are sinful, that Padi Rex has not grown any taller because of his sins, etc. . . . . Such posturing defies and denies the place of scientific breakthroughs, which are also the results of another of God’s gift – the human mind.

I believe that our text is also intended to humble the Pharisees in their constant moralizing and hypocrisy. Because Jesus knew that they are consumed by “evil in their hearts” he healed people “that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”. But beyond that is the lesson that Jesus wants to impart to the Pharisees: “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’. Jesus sees mercy from the perspective of those who suffer, instead of from the perspective of those who are in the position to dispense of it. In this way can genuine compassion come about – solidarity with those in pain. This suggests an approach our churches can take in dealing with the issues that matter most to people. First, to be with them, and, second, to be for them. It emphasizes the “Word (which) became flesh and dwelt among” us. If the Word remained a Word, would Christianity be there or would God be relevant? I surmise that if God did not come to be in solidarity with us in Jesus Christ, we would still remain like the people of old, each tribe or nation having their own god with no mission to speak of. As it is, even the first Christian community recorded in Acts was marked by the genuine concern of its members to attend to the needs of the weak – “not one of them was hungry”. Paul, addressing the Romans gives some practical advise, too. “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (8.1). . . . You are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you, Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (8.9).

At the heart of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines’ self-understanding is faithfulness to Jesus who said they who want to be great must serve. Service or diakonia is the hallmark of the church. Service is extended not only to our own members but especially to others. “Others” does not just refer to non-members. “Others” refers to those to whom that service is most needed – those who are denied opportunities to live abundant lives, those who are isolated/ignored by their families, friends and even by their own members and pastors/priests, regardless of who they are. The NCCP’s self-understanding also seeks to be consistent with the definition of Paul of what churches are – communities built upon “the foundation of the apostles and prophets” and Jesus being the chief cornerstone, in that order. Apostles teach the essentiality of service and prophets call us all, especially those powers and principalities, to repentance and to love peace and justice. I have earlier cited the cover page of an Asian Airline in-flight magazine. Things like those are where the prophetic witness of the church comes in. Any demeaning or diminuition of human life is always a violation of human rights and should be exposed and denounced.

HIV and AIDS are not a curse. The first is caused by a virus like tuberculosis is caused by bacteria. The other is equally a serious condition gravely affecting the body’s immune system. Those who have contracted the virus and those with AIDS need care and not condemnation. A loving church will try to understand and know what these are in order to seek the people living with the HIV or PLHIV and people living with AIDS (PLA) out so that not one of them is lost. The book “Building HIV Competent Churches” is a valuable resource material for the churches in the Philippines and elsewhere. Every church should have it. A series of Bible studies could be formulated from its pages. After reading it, one is faced with the undeniable reality of HIV and AIDS and of the compelling need to respond. PLHIVs and PLAs are not faceless. They too, are the image of God.

It is not late for the churches, or the ecumenical movement for that matter, to extend loving service to the PLHIVs and PLAs and key affected populations. Let it be said that this concern is equally for our sake as it is for them. Now is also the time to engage in prophetic witness such that the many myths about HIV and AIDS, how they are contracted and how to prevent the same can be more objectively known and addressed. The fact is clear: the number of PLHIVs and PLAs is increasing in our country and the environment that allows that number to increase is also widening. We should not wait until the numbers reach thousands upon thousands.

Pastor Ponsawan has had a very personal experience of healing. Her faith has made her whole again. That wholeness goes beyond herself to the restoration if not renewal of social relationships. Her love for life is not only her personal claim but also propelled her to live out and express that love to those who have been made outcasts by their own kind. The Bible which is our source of personal and private devotion is the product of the engagement of God’s evangelists and prophets of the real issues that made people behave the way they did in those days. The faith that we claim, wrestles with the issues of power relations, of vulnerable people and of the gap between people – and proclaims a community of love, of hope, and of salvation.

photos: ian ileto

PURSUE THE FORMAL PEACE TALKS

2011-09-02T21:57:00.000+08:00

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines renews its call for the PhilippineGovernment and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines to proceed with theformal peace talks. The peace talks is aresponse to the yearning for peace and justice by the long-suffering majorityin this country. To delay it further isto pass on a responsibility which was within the means of the present toresolve, display the lack of will to deal with the barriers to a just and lastingpeace and betray the faith in the Filipino.

Many agreements and resolutions have alreadybeen signed by both parties. Among themare The Hague Declaration, the Breukelen Joint Statement, the Joint Agreementon Safety and Immunity Guarantees, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respectof Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and recently, the Oslo resolution ofFebruary 2011. We have celebrated thesigning of these agreements aware that these were achieved painstakingly andwith the welfare of the people in mind.

The NCCP believes that these agreements areguideposts towards a successful peace negotiations. These are consistent with the Biblicalmandate to “seek peace and pursue it” (IPeter 3:11). Furthermore, we understand that the greaterpopulation of this country has delegated the power and authority to pursue justand lasting peace to those who are now called to see it through. We enjoin the parties to consider theforegoing charge.

We urge both parties to abide by and build onall previously signed agreements. Continue the discussion in a manner befitting a genuine advocate of justand lasting peace. May the God of peacegive you the will and the grace to accomplish this task.

We also urge our constituents in theecumenical movement and to fellow citizens of this country to hold on to thevision of peace. Amidst the diversity ofgifts of the faith is the divine invitation to proclaim and live out the callfor peace on earth and with the earth. Let us be steadfast in chanting God’s greatness and power in thestruggle for abundant life. Ourunceasing prayer for peace and injustice includes our prayers that the men andwomen involved in the peace talks will persevere. As the enthusiasm of the people for just andlasting peace refuses to fade away so do we urge the two parties to hold on tothat same enthusiasm until we shall all dwell comfortably in our homes, own thelands we till and live in dignity according to the work of our hands.

signed

REV. REX RB REYES, JR.

General Secretary

signed

BISHOP NATHANAEL P. LAZARO

Chairperson

September 2, 2011

to download the PDF file, click here

Women’s Crisis Center in is need of an Executive Director

2011-08-15T09:59:00.000+08:00

The NCCP Databank and Library received an email from the Women's Crisis Center:

12 August 2011

Dear Friends,

Warm greetings from the Women's Crisis Center!

WCC is in need of an Executive Director. Please find attached the Call for Application. May we ask that you forward this call to like-minded individuals and organizational partners.

We have also attached the call at the WCC facebook, please check us out.

The deadline for this call is August 31, 2011.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mary (Mae) G. Jardiniano

Administrative officer

For Immediate Employment

Executive Director, Women’s Crisis Center

Job Qualifications

· Degree, specialization, or training in addressing gender –based issues and concerns

· At least five years’ experience in managing a woman-centered organization or program or special training in areas related to organizational management, particular managing non-profit or non-governmental organizations, and human resource management

· Training and/or demonstrated expertise in feminist counseling would be an advantage

· Aptitude for constructive knowing and knowledge management

· Very good writing and speaking skills.

Functions and Responsibilities

· Leadership

· Planning

· Staff Supervision and Human Resource Management

· Resource Mobilization

· Networking and Linkage Building

· Program Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation

· Policy Recommendation and Implementation

· Link between the Board and Staff

Salary

· Negotiable, consistent with industry rates. Basic salary plus benefits.

Documents Requested

· Resume

· Letter of application Deadline for Submission of Documents

Please submit documents or direct inquiries to:

The Board of Trustees

Women’s Crisis Center

3/F ER-Trauma Annex

East Avenue Medical Center

East Avenue, Quezon City

e-mail: wccmanila@gmail.com

Fax/phone: + 63 2 436-5088 +63 2 925-7133

Logo Design Contest Deadline Extended

2011-08-08T09:14:00.000+08:00

The logo design contest for the NCCP 23rd General Convention this coming November 21-25, 2011 has been extended to August 20, 2011. All are invited to join and all are urged to tell your friends about this.

The design should reflect the theme:

“Holding High the Tapestry of Justice and Peace in a Broken World”

Contest Rules:

Design must not exceed the area 8.5 x 11 inches (letter sized paper). It can be smaller as long as it is proportional to a letter sized paper.
Artist is free to use any medium (e.g. oil, acrylic, water color, digital formats, etc.)
Artist may sign name on the logo; signature must not go beyond the area of 0.8 x 3 cm.
Design submitted to NCCP should be in jpeg or tiff formats.
Minimum resolution should be 600 dpi or equivalent to the size of a photo taken at 10 megapixels.
Artist must provide a brief explanation of the design.
Token Prize is PhP 5,000.00, plaque and public recognition during the Solidarity Evening on November 22, 2011 and written acknowledgement on souvenir program.

DEADLINE OF SUBMISSION OF ENTRIES: August 20, 2011

For inquiries, you may call (632) 929-3745 and look for Ms. Katrina de la Cruz.

UMC Cal-Nevada Solidarity Visit to the Philippines

2011-08-05T09:40:00.001+08:00

The California-Nevada UMC Philippine Solidarity Task Force has been organizing a pastoral and solidarity visits to the Philippines since 2007 borne out of the Conference’s concern on rampant violations of human rights especially extrajudicial killings that are happening in the Philippines. The said visits were facilitated by a task force convened and spearheaded by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. Other members include the Ecumenical Mission for Peace and Development (EMPD), CONTAK Philippines, UMC Church and Society and KASIMBAYAN.

The outcomes of these trips has increased awareness in the Cal-Nev UMC and the wider community through report backs, presentations, and participation in rallies and events in partnership with people’s community organizations that are interested in Philippine justice work.

The visits and outcomes of the previous groups have inspired others to take part in this year’s visit. A 10-member delegation will arrive in the Philippines and will immerse themselves in Philippine issues from August 18-31, 2011. The objectives of the visit are to gain appreciation, with the eyes of faith, the core issues affecting the Filipino people and how these shape the self-understanding and the ecumenical response of the churches; to understand the systemic roots of the human rights situation in the Philippines; to enrich faith lives through witnessing in justice and solidarity work; and, to manifest the spirit of partnership and solidarity with those engaged in justice work and the ministry of advocacy for human rights in the Philippines.

Their program include listening to people’s and whole communities’ stories, dialogues and discussions on pertinent issues on systemic violence and human rights, reflecting on the situation in the light of faith and biblical imperatives, and thinking of ways to do creative and effective advocacy for Philippine issues.

source: NCCP Website

Prayer for Norway and Student Christian Movement in Norway

2011-08-05T09:04:00.000+08:00

Shared to us by Ms. Biyaya Quizon:

Good day.

Sharing to all the attached statement and a prayer made by the Human Rights, Justice and Peace Committee of the World Student Christian Federation Asia Pacific on the Norway tragedy.

Let us pray for the victims, their families and the Norwegian government as they face the most pressing time in their history.

Thank you.

In solidarity,

Biyaya Quizon
Vice Chairperson
Standing Committee,WSCF-AP (2006-2008)
______________________________________________________

Prayer for Norway and Student Christian Movement in Norway

Our loving and gracious God,

We pray for your healing spirit to touch the lives of the people of Norway,

We ask that your love and compassion bring comfort to the families, friends and loved ones of those who died in the July 22nd tragedy.

We pray that the perpetrator of this crime be put to justice, so that faith in the ideals of justice, peace, freedom and liberty be restored in our hearts.

God, it is you who is the source of life and wisdom,

We seek your grace and wisdom to discern your will and the meaning of this painful incident,

We ask that you guide the leaders of Norway and the international community to seek just, lasting peaceful solutions to the problems fuelling religious and racial tensions in Norway and elsewhere.

We pray for the safety and well-being of students, youth and our dear friends in SCM Norway

We remember in our prayers communities of religious, ehtnic and cultural minority groups in Norway and elsewhere in Europe,

Let not bigotry, exclusion and hatred further escalate the tension in the aftermath.

May your grace, justice, peace and love be with the people in Norway in this time of grieving and loss. AMEN

WSCF AP Statement on the July 22 Attacks in Norway

We share the grief of the Norwegian people for the lost lives, most of them young people, in the calibrated bombing and shoot-out in a youth camp in Utoya islands last Friday in Norway. We are one with the international call for justice for all the victims, along with their families, friends and the people of Norway.

The twin attacks in Norway, reportedly by a single individual whose prime motivation which is slowly coming to light, is alarmingly slanted towards hatred on the Muslims and immigrants in Norway. We are alarmed that these are aimed at encouraging more extreme rightist Christian ideology, xenophobia, islamophobia, racism and animosity against people of color in Europe. Recently we have just witnessed the attacks on Roma camps and expulsion of the Roma people.

In our contexts, religious and racial bigotry is an issue that we also must address. Elsewhere, terrorism, attacks on religious and cultural minorities has deep connections with neo-fascism. If this triumphs, the aim of those who want to systematically maim and attack innocent lives will also succeed.

As we pray and call for justice for the victims, let us also not forget to cast light on the deep roots of such atrocities, intertwined in the political, cultural, and economic milieu. Thru this, may we find solutions that will promote democracy, peace and justice in our midst.

###

--
Biyaya G. Quizon

Human Rights - Program Unit on Faith Witness and Service

National Council of Churches in the Philippines

www.nccphilippines.org
nccplibrary.blogspot.com
+639397751650
922.8141

Tribute to Rhea Whitehead

2011-06-24T21:02:00.001+08:00

Note: The following text and photo was forwarded to us by Ms. Carmencita Karagdag, Coordinator of Peace for Life a global faith-based movement resisting militarized globalization and creating life-enhancing alternatives.

Peace for Life joins the United Church of Canada and the larger ecumenical community in deeply mourning the demise on June 14, 2011 of an exceptional church and ecumenical leader, Rhea Whitehead. During her

lifetime and committed mission partnership with Asia spanning four decades, Rhea devoted her talent, energies and passion to the Christian ministry of liberating the oppressed, championing the weak, and empowering the defenseless.

During her tenure as UCC's Asia Secretary and earlier as Regional Mission Coordinator for Asia-Pacific of the Anglican Church of Canada, Rhea did pioneering work and made exemplary contributions to the cause

of human rights during the critical decades of the seventies and eighties when Asia, specially the Philippines and South Korea, was reeling under repressive regimes and brutal military dictatorships. The Philippine solidarity movement is specially indebted to Rhea for her major role in helping convene a high-profile ecumenical conference in the US in 1983 to consolidate international support for the Philippine human-rights movement and mobilize opposition to unabashed US support for the murderous Marcos dictatorship.

Rhea is also remembered for introducing ground-breaking initiatives in mission work on women's rights and empowerment. She continued her peerless engagement in international solidarity and ecumenical partnership well into the 1990s when she served as General Secretary of UCC's General Division of World Outreach.

Rhea was among the more than 130 international delegates who gathered in Manila in September 2002 for the historic International Ecumenical Conference on Terrorism in a Globalized World during which the need for a new faith-based movement resisting state terrorism and militarized globalization, Peace for Life, was first articulated. Even after retirement she continued her active involvement in PfL, representing the UCC in the first of a series of planning meetings for the "World without Empire" conference held last year in New York.

We in Peace for Life salute Rhea, our beloved internationalist, ecumenist, activist and feminist.

In these times of sorrow and grave loss, we specially remember in our prayers her life partner and comrade Ray, her children, grandchildren and other loved ones.

On behalf of Peace for Life

CARMENCITA KARAGDAG

21 June 2011

*Carmencita Karagdag*
Coordinator, Peace for Life
Bishop La Verne Mercado Ecumenical Center
NCCP Compound, 879 EDSA
West Triangle, Quezon City
1104 PHILIPPINES
Telefax: +63 2 927 8043
Email: cpk@peaceforlife.org
Website: http://www.peaceforlife.org

2011 IBON Midyear Birdtalk

2011-06-24T20:18:00.000+08:00

IBON is inviting everyone to its 2011 Midyear Birdtalk on July 14, 2011. The event will be held at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Auditorium. For more details, click on the poster to enlarge.

A Faith Perspective on Reproductive Health and Rights

2011-06-08T18:55:00.000+08:00

Jesus in the New Testament was often seen and heard to be proclaiming and granting wholeness to people. This, he did when he healed many women suffering from various kinds of infirmity and diseases. In Luke 8:40-55, we witnessed a “woman in desperation owing to a health issue” (Ball, David). Now, notice that preceding the story of the woman who was bleeding is another story - The one that tells about Jairus’ daughter who was also sick and dying. The girl was 12 years old. “Age twelve is a pivotal age in a young woman’s sexual development, so the fact that the older woman had been bleeding for that time (12 years) can be read as a hint that her bleeding is sexual. Blood meant life in their culture, so her life has been seeping away” (McIntosh)”[1] at the time of her encounter with Jesus.

A major theme in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament is the Hebrew concept of Shalom. Many will ascribe to “peace” as the meaning of Shalom. But our ecumenical understanding of Shalom goes beyond the present meanings that many of us have when we say peace. Shalom to us, in the ecumenical community means wholeness. A state of life where everything that is needed and is due to the people are given and enjoyed by the people.

Isaiah 57:18-19 speaks well of a kind of life that constitutes Shalom: a life of health and well-being. Yahweh’s statement of “I will heal my people” points to the fact of a divine undertaking that freedom from structural oppression also frees people from sickness and enables them to live in a state of wellness and wholeness.

“Shalom involves harmony of economic, social and political life such as in freeing of a people in Exodus. So there is no Shalom where the resources of the community are distributed inequitably so that some eat and others go hungry. . .”[2] (Camba, 2008)

Our understanding of Shalom then poses a big challenge to the different institutions of our society when we speak of sexual and reproductive rights and health.

We can only surmise that when Jesus, proclaimed and affirmed wholeness in each woman whom he encountered, he was in fact acting on the basis of an Old Testament concept and vision of promoting Shalom among people, especially the poorest of the poor. There is a subversion in the story. Notice that in this specific story of the bleeding woman, it was the woman, not Jesus, who reached out and sought for healing and wholeness. Jesus only took notice of the woman when he felt that power came out from him. Needless to say, “kailangan pa syang hawakan ng patalikod ng babae bago pa nya ito gawaran ng kagalingan”. The woman’s health was restored because she asserted and persevered for it. Despite her condition, she walked hard through the crowd so that healing can be hers.

With health having just 32.43% share in the national budget, and with an allocation of just .96 for each Filipino everyday, many of our women are bleeding and have bled to death. The comprehensive reproductive health bill should not be subjected to political bickering and religious debates. It should and MUST be handed to women as a rightful recognition of their right to live in dignity and state of well-being. It must be given to women, majority of whom are poor, so that at least, the government can save face in its long standing record of incapacity to serve the interest of its people. Sad to say that the RH debate had been centered on faces and images of middle class women and personalities who can afford health care and who have easy access to medical attention. When you hear of RH, think of women, POOR women who have long been denied access even to the most basic medical services that they need. Today, we are not only dealing with maternal deaths, prenatal and post natal complications, neonatal, infant and child death, and or contraceptives, we are also dealing with breast cancer, cervical cancer, and other diseases that puts additional burden on the already broken shoulders of our poor women.

We have long been witnesses to the desecration of women’s bodies. Such had been a negation to the Divine will of Shalom or wholeness to people’s lives, especially women. Desecration is not only in the form of violence against women – physical, emotional, mental, verbal and sexual. Desecration of women’s bodies happen at different level and degrees: talk about women being forced by multi-national companies to subscribe to their own standards and brands of beauty, talk about women suffering from breast cancer, cervical cancer, skin cancer, talk about women being forced to undergo surgeries so that their breasts, hips, noses, eyebags and others are shaped into what is prescribed by doctors and companies that produce millions out of it, talk about the cosmetics industry that continues to flourish at the expense of women especially the young and professional women. A far graver concern would be the inability of poor women to be checked and treated even if for simple and curable diseases. Much more, die from it.

It becomes totally meaningless and problematic when women’s right to claim, decide and own their bodies is subjected to the dogmas, impositions and manipulation of some sections and institutions of our society. There is also a need that the sacred bodies of women are protected from the impositions and policies of imperialist countries and multi-national companies who have the desire to make billions of profits out of it. We have to be vigilant in our struggle for full legislation of RH bill because we do not want that such policies will further “impose significant costs on women and constrain their options.[3]” (Sen, Gita, and Snow, Rachel, 1994).

Poor women are pushing for the legislation of the bill not because they are hoping that medical access and services shall be theirs in the wink of an eye but because they want to engage the state in pushing it to fulfill its mandate of serving the interest of the greater masses who are now dying because of its failure to fulfill its duty. Such act gives a semblance of the Story of the Woman who had been bleeding for twelve long years. Pushing and persevering even in the midst of profuse bleeding - just so that life abundant may be realized is the image of today’s poor and struggling Filipino women.

Reproductive health and rights have long been recognized internationally. “The right to control one’s own body – whether to protect its integrity or to enjoy its pleasures – is the most basic of all rights. If we lack the possibility to prevent our bodies from being violated by others, and if we are denied the opportunity to protect ourselves from pregnancy or disease, then how can we take part in or claim any of the other benefits of development?[4]” (Cornwall, Andrea and Jolly, Susie, 2006) Such assertion clearly explains the role of recognizing women’s right to control one’s body as essential to any path of development. But such assertion has almost always been put into the sidelines because especially in the Philippine context, the right of women to their own bodies is undeniably not acceptable. But let me also clarify, that when I speak of women’s rights to their own bodies, I do speak of a right that is practiced responsibly.

Unfortunately, today, when we say women’s bodies, it’s not women’s voices that we hear speaking about it. Whom do we hear when we speak of women’s bodies? The capitalist-patriarchal ideology is very much at work in each and every aspect of women’s lives. It permeated every recesses of women’s lives and being making them feel incomplete, imperfect and always lacking of something. It thrives on women’s bodies. Alienating women from their own selves and hating themselves for not being attuned with what capitalist-patriarchal ideology has been promoting as the true measure of beauty - making them feel the need to always need something, crave for something and compete with someone for something. Women’s bodies have become repositories of products that rakes millions and billions of profits for the capitalist master. Women’s beauty has been the stepping stool to which male structures and systems of power continue to dominate and rule. Women have to be beautiful for men and for profit. Women have to compete with and be isolated from one another because of the “divide and rule” tactic of the capitalists which was the same strategy used by imperial powers in colonizing weaker and smaller nations.

For a long time, institutions within the society, like the church, have taught us that our bodies are “sinful” and should only be given honor when the “prince charming” of our lives will finally come to live with us happily ever after. We were not even allowed to touch ourselves. We were denied of our own sexuality and sensuality. We were denied the right to appreciate and be connected with our own body rhythm and cycles. Women are always taught that being beautiful is all that matters. Everyday and every minute of our lives we are bombarded with different messages of the need to engage in diet programs because being fat means ugly and undisciplined, the need to have white and fairer skin so that men will be attracted to us, the need to have long straight hair because only indigenous and uncivilized people have curly hairs, the need to buy and use designer clothes, bags, accessories to be in and fashionable, the need to wear these brand of make ups so as to look radiant and fresh, the need to always feel and look young because aging is a disease, the need to use this detergent bar so that despite truck load of laundry, our hands will remain smooth and our husband will be more than willing to hold our hands, and the list goes on .

There is so much to celebrate about women’s bodies and sexuality. Affirming one’s uniqueness: color, height, weight, hair, nose, eyes, even our unique curves, will lead to appreciation and development of one’s full potential and genuine humanness. We are gathered here today because of our collective affirmation that a comprehensive reproductive health bill would contribute to the upholding of women’s rights.

It’s a long way to freedom, so they say. But a step has been taken already, it is our sacred duty as members of the faith community to render our unwavering support in upholding the rights and welfare of women.

Closing

The journey to Shalom is long and arduous. Shalom for poor, Filipino women will remain elusive even if we are able to pass the bill on Reproductive Health. We are not saying that the passage of the bill will already be “heaven” to Filipino women. This is only one part of the many on-going struggles of women in defending their life and dignity. Nevertheless, it will be another victory for the women’s movement in the Philippines if the bill will be legislated.

Like the bleeding woman, Filipino women are not just sitting and waiting for their rights to be realized. They are standing, with clenched fists and ever militant spirits, actively fighting and claiming their rightful space until such time that Shalom will be realized not just for them but for all.

[1] McIntosh, Alastair. A SHORT COURSE ON LIBERATION THEOLOGY.
[2] Camba, Erme. A BIBLE STUDY ON JUSTICE AND PEACE. Micah’s Call 2008
[3] Sen, Gita and Snow, Rachel POWER AND DECISION The Social Control of Reproduction, March 1994
[4] Cornwall, Andrea and Jolly, Susie INTRODUCTIONS: SEXUALITY MATTERS, 2006

The above reflection is an abridged version of the one presented by Ms. Darlene Marquez-Caramanzana during the Forum on the Reproductive Health Bill sposored by the Board of Women’s Work, the Board of Church and Society of the Philippines Central Conference and the Board of Church and Society of the Philippines Annual Conference, together with the organizations of United Methodist youth and young adults. The Forum was held last June 4, 2011 at the Kapatiran-Kaunlaran Foundation, Inc. (KKFI) Multi-Purpose Hall in Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines. Ms Marquez-Caramanzana is the Program Secretary of the Program Unit on Ecumenical Education and Nurture of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines . Posted with permission from the author.

Drop the Trumped-up Charges Against Pastor Edwin Egar and the Rest of the ST 72

2011-06-08T18:32:00.000+08:00

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) is extremely alarmed over the revival of charges against the “Southern Tagalog 72” or “ST 72”. The ST 72 is the collective name for church people, lawyers, human rights workers and leaders of people’s organizations who were charged by the military with fabricated cases of multiple murders and frustrated multiple murders. This is the third time that charges were filed against the 72. The two previous cases were dismissed. This new case is clearly a form of harassment. It further reflects the gnawing thought that when it comes to human rights, there seems to be no difference between the old and new dispensations.

What makes this very alarming for the NCCP is that two church people are on the list: Pastor Mel Abesamis of the United Methodist Church (UMC) and Pastor Edwin Egar of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). The UMC and UCCP are member churches of the NCCP. Moreover, this issue strikes home because Pastor Egar is responsible for the Advocacy and Campaign component of the NCCP’s Human Rights Program – “Defending the Defenders”, aimed at strengthening human rights defenders and bettering the situation of victims and families of human rights violations, which is also funded by the European Union under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). He had previous stints with NCCP, as Human Rights Program Regional Coordinator for South Luzon from 2003-2004 and later on was a volunteer staff of our Relief and Rehabilitation services.

In February 11, 2009, Pastor Egar was abducted by armed men in Macalamcam, Rosario, Batangas. It was only through the quick response of his church as well as friends in the human rights community that he was released a few hours later. Since then he and his family had to relocate. When the cases against him were dismissed, the NCCP took him in again as staff member to help him rebuild his life and enable him to continue in his ministry for peace and human rights. This new case against him and the 71 others, one of who has since died, is reliving a nightmare.

We condemn in the strongest terms this latest attempt to harass human rights defenders and leaders of people’s organizations critical of government policies and the continuing climate of impunity. Would that the government focus on ensuring that justice be accorded to victims of human rights violations by prosecuting violators and not going after those who are working for human rights like Pastor Egar. In the name of justice, we urge that these charges be withdrawn immediately. END

For more information, please contact:

REV. FR. REX REYES, JR., NCCP General Secretary

Ms. Biyaya Quizon, NCCP Media Liaison Officer

The above NCCP statement was forwarded to the Databank and Library by Ms. Quizon. The ecumenical community continuously appeal to all partners (local and abroad) and freedom-loving fellows to concretely support this campaign in solidarity to the victims and their families in ending the climate of impunity in the country - the library staff

"Communicating Climate Justice" music album for children, an appeal for help

2011-05-31T18:49:00.000+08:00

Former NCCP Staff Liza Lamis shared to us this email from Fr. David Arockiam. If you have the materials and is willing to help the Sanhtome Communications Center, please do contact Fr. David for details. - the Library Staff

My Dear Brothers and Sisters of WACC family,

Greetings of the Love and Peace!

I am Fr. David from Santhome Communications Center, Chennai.

Thanks a lot for your friendship and fellowship. The conference on "Communicating Climate Justice" was a wonderful experience for me. I personally thank Rev. Dr. Sam Meshack for introducing me to this family of communicators.

After a short stay with my Grandma at Alore Setare in Malaysia, I was back to my work last Tuesday (24th May).

I sincerely thank the Jogjakarta organizing team for their splendid job and making our stay a rememberable one. Particularly the Garden Hotel personals for their hospitality and delicious food, Fr. Augustine and his team.

By the way, I hope that you all remember about the production of a music album on "Communicating Climate Justice" for the school children. I request your immediate action on writing lyrics and if possible composing them too and mail it to (da24101966@gmail.com)

These songs should create an awareness and responsibility among the students (Children):

1. global warming; 2. protect forest; 3. saying no to plastic and polythene products; 4. saving water; 5. noise pollution; 6. Ozone layer damage; 7. forming small vegetable gardens in their own houses; 8. using paper, pencil, and other stationaries carefully and not wasting them; 9. love for nature, and so on.

Kindly write songs on the above topics and some other related topics and mail to me before the end of June.

Once again I thank you for your cooperation and let work together to communicate climate justice and love for nature.

With lots of love and prayers,

Fr. David Arockiam A.
Director
Sanhtome Communications Center,
!50 Luz Church Road,
Chennai 600004.
S. India

Invitation to attend a Forum on Reproductive Health Bill

2011-05-28T19:27:00.001+08:00

For the past few days I've received several invitations in different formats to attend one single event, the Forum on Reproductive Health Bill. First is a letter from the Board of Women's Work of the United Methodist Church, second is the Program sent by Ms. Norma Dollaga, and two posters coming from no less than five people. Please check them out, help disseminate the info and if you are able, please do attend. - the Library Staff

Dear Friends and Partners in Christ,

Greetings of Peace & Solidarity!

One of the contentious issues grabbing the headlines nowadays is the Reproductive Health bill. Leading the opposition side, the Catholic Church has actively mobilized its clergy and congregations to stop the passage of the bill, claiming that the proposed legislation would only promote abortion and the use of artificial means of contraceptives, thus, it is anti-life, anti-family and run counter to the teachings of the Church. To further strengthen its opposition to the bill, the Catholic Church has sponsored several anti-bill rallies, launched promotional campaigns against the bill, engaged in a fiery word war with President Benigno Aquino, and even welcomed the support of no less than “Pambansang Kamao” Manny Pacquiao.

On the other side of the issue, the authors and advocates of the bill maintain that such bill would allow couples to choose from several options of family planning methods, both natural and artificial, and give women, especially those in poor communities, greater access to health care and education. In response to the Catholic Church’s assertion that the bill is promoting abortion, Gabriela Women’s Party representative Luz Ilagan said RH bill advocates are pushing for “avoiding unwanted pregnancy through informed choices, not abortion.” (PDI, 10/9/2010)

Amid the noise and debates in the media and within the walls of Congress, a comprehensive campaign to educate the people on the proposed bill remains lacking. Public forum on the issue has been scarce and media coverage of the proposed bill has been limited to the word war between Malacanang officials and the leadership echelon of the Catholic Church, “name-calling” among the church clergy and exchange of diatribes between Pacquiao, Mommy Dionisia and Senator Miriam Santiago.

Given the significance and impact of the proposed bill to the life of every Filipino, especially women and youth, what is at hand right now is the need to provide a comprehensive and objective discourse about the RH bill and to promote a broader public debate for the voices and opinions of other non-Catholic sectors would be heard as well. As United Methodists, our Church vehemently supports the right of men and women worldwide to have the ability to choose when, or if, to have children. Affirming the right of women to access comprehensive health care services, including reproductive health, has always been a cornerstone of the United Methodist Church (GBCS Family Planning and Reproductive Health). Truly, there is an urgent need to collectively respond to this social concern as a community of faith.

It is in this uniting spirit that the Board of Women’s Work, the Board of Church and Society of the Philippines Central Conference and the Board of Church and Society of the Philippines Annual Conference, together with the organizations of United Methodist youth and young adults, would be holding a Forum on the Reproductive Health Bill. This will be held on June 4, 2011, Saturday, (8:30AM – 12:00 NN) at the Kapatiran-Kaunlaran Foundation, Inc. (KKFI) Multi-Purpose Hall (937 P. Paredes St., Sampaloc, Manila).

We would like to invite you/your organization to participate in this forum. Please find attached the program and sketch of the venue. A registration fee of Php20.00/person will be requested as donation for our snacks and lunch. For your confirmation and other concerns, please get in touch with Jenny Meneses at mobile#: 0939-323-1410, office#: 524-5183 or email: umc.boardofwomenswork@yahoo.com.

Thank you very much and may God bless you!

Sincerely,

(sgd) EMMA A. CANTOR ORATE
President, PCC Board of Women’s Work

(sgd) REV. ANICETO VILLALON, JR.
Executive Director, PCC – Board of Church & Society

(sgd) NORMA P. DOLLAGA
Chair, PAC – Board of Church & Society

PROGRAM

8:00 - 8:30 Registration

8:30 – 9:00 Opening Worship

9:00 – 10:30 An Exposition on the Comprehensive Reproductive Health
Bill: Going Beyond Population and Contraceptive Issues

Resource Person:
Rep. Emmi Amaya de Jesus, GABRIELA Women’s Partylist

10:30-10:15 Break

Special Number/Choir

10:15-11:15 What does the UMC say about Reproductive Health?
The UMC Social Principles/Scriptural Reflection
on Reproductive Health and Rights of Women

Resource Person:
Ms. Darlene Marquez-Caramanzana, Program Secretary
Program Unit on Ecumenical Education and Nurture
National Council of Churches in the Philippines

11:15-11:45 Special Number/Choir

Open Forum
11:45 – 12:00 Synthesis & Closing

12:00 Lunch Fellowship

Lupa, Kasarinlan, Kapayapaan: An event invitation

2011-05-21T17:32:00.002+08:00

Shared to us by Romeo Alarcon. Everyone is invited to attend the Ecumenical Worship & Solidarity Forum for Palestine-Israel to be held at the Bishop La Verne Diwa Mercado Ecumenical Center of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines in Quezon City on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 from 1:30pm - 4:30pm.

Poster by Romeo Alarcon

Click this link to view the location map of the event.

CPBC Statement in Support of the RH Bill

2011-05-17T21:03:00.001+08:00

Here is the Statement of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches as forwarded to us by Rev. Jenkins Banas of the Missions and Evangelization Department.

Defending Our Heritage

2011-05-11T17:17:00.000+08:00

Below is the full text of the address of the Rev. Rex RB Reyes, Jr., General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines during the Cordillera Day celebration in Toronto Canada held May 7, 2011.

Defending our Heritage

I bring you greetings from your sisters and brothers in the Philippines and from the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. I wish also to acknowledge KAIROS Canada and the churches in the Canada for making it possible for me to join you on this momentous event.

I will not dwell on the Cordillera Day just celebrated in Abra. I am sure you can easily access this in some internet links. So let me share briefly the reason why I am in Canada. Two days ago I attended the Ecumenical Conference on Mining. This conference brought together representatives of the Canadian churches, Canadian first nations, indigenous peoples from various countries of the global south and a few from the United States and Europe. The indigenous peoples from the south came from countries where Canadian mining firms have either began operations or have pending mining applications. Canada is home to 75% of the world’s mining and mineral exploration companies and Canadian stock exchanges raise 40% of all mineral exploration capital worldwide.

I am told of the thirteen trans-national mining companies with applications in the Cordillera, six are Canadian firms. At this conference, the indigenous peoples’ representatives shared common stories of destruction and social erosion as a result of these mining operations. Our message to the Canadian churches was un-equivocable: “Not at our expense!”

In our country, a reason for the easy entry of trans-national mining firms is the liberalized policy on mining as shown by the Mining Act of 1995. Consider some of its features: generous tax holidays, a hundred percent repatriation of profits, and control of hundreds of thousands of hectares of land. For some reason the Supreme Court ruled some of the provisions of the Act unconstitutional only to reverse its ruling later setting the floodgates for applications. Contrary to what we have been told of a 50% share, studies have shown that mining contributed 1.2% to the GDP from 2005-2009 and 1.1% of the total tax collections. The Mining Act is a disenfranchisement for the indigenous peoples as it also declares the state as the owner of mineral resources. These resources are in mountains long inhabited by indigenous peoples.

We are not against mining per se. We are against extractive mining motivated solely for the profit of trans-national corporations and at tremendous expense to indigenous peoples and without regard to patrimony, environmental and ecological concerns as well as the future generations.

It would seem nowadays that the defense of patrimony and ancestral domain is a task only for activists and a few noisy Christians or faith-based groups. To be sure, activists are people who subscribe to genuine social change as opposed to those who prefer the status quo and thus are referred to as reactionaries.

Does this mean that indigenous peoples’ ways are incompatible with activism? In a situation like ours where the reactionary attitude allows the massive exploration and extraction of our natural resources, and therefore promotes social and economic injustice indigenous peoples’ ways is political activism. But far beyond activism is the profound spirituality that digs deep into the inviolable relationship between land and people. This is the tradition that has been passed on to us, a tradition that we parents are obligated to teach our children. This is a rallying point for indigenous peoples in affirming that they are the stewards of the land.

Were it not for this understanding the militant struggle of the Tingguians of Abra to resist the cutting of trees three decades ago would have no meaning; the equally militant struggle of the Bontoks and the Kalingas against the proposed Chico River dam in the same period would have no meaning; the current militant resistance of other indigenous peoples in the Philippines against the intrusion of profit-driven trans-nationals would likewise make no sense at all. Were it not for this understanding, our unity would have been shattered a long time ago.

As stewards, we are deeply conscious that being a part of the land, we have a responsibility for the welfare of future generations. This too, is a tradition that we have received from our parents and their parents before them. Shall we be the generation that shall dare break this tradition because of our negligence and non-involvement? We have seen how in times past and to the present day, state security forces would be used to break our resolve and will to preserve land and life against unbridled extraction and exploitation. Our mothers and fathers before us did that, too. Yet, here we are yet today, strong and resilient. Each time I make my way home to the land of my birth up in the mountains of the Cordillera, I behold the winding Chico River and as I climb to Sagada, I pass through swaying age old trees and hear their welcoming whisper. And I am grateful to our ancestors who have preserved these and I utter a prayer that our rivers, mountains and trees may remain for generations to come.

As stewards of the land, we cannot fully rely on the politicians. We have seen and continue to witness the connivance between some politicians and big business to cause us either to be disunited or to give up the cause of defending our land through deception, intimidation, outright ejection or through legal yet immoral manoeuvres. As stewards, we hold on to traditional values of community and sharing to resist the consumerism that is tearing us into individual shreds. Only the united and collective will of the people nurtured and protected by age-old values will carry us through in the struggle to defend patrimony. We neither romanticise nor idealise these. Rather, we internalise them as relational terms that continue to shape us and establish our identity. Even the churches must recover their prophetic task in this sense.

And there is hope.

There is hope when I see young people heeding the call of their elders to understand the reasons for defending the land and to rise and join the ranks of those who struggle for its preservation, if not for themselves then for those who follow.

There is hope when local governments resist impositions from trans-national corporations often through the national government and its agencies. In saying this, we do not become anti-government. Rather, we are calling government to responsibility to protect the interest of its citizens. I am very pleased to hear that recently, the Baguio City Council passed a resolution condemning the harassment of the health workers belonging to CHESTCORE, a non-government organization involved with primary health care of the people in outlying areas in the Cordilleras for the last three decades. I am also pleased to note the growing number of local government units who have declared their provinces as no-mining zones and/or environmentally protected areas. There is hope when people who are directly affected by policies study the real and long-term implications of such policies, then unite and address those issues, resisting if need be. It is also good to see churches struggling to be relevant by taking on the people’s issues as their own.

There is hope when even you in many parts of the world are united and vigilant, acting with dispatch by studying the issues in the Philippines and sending your message to government leaders every time human rights are violated. (You are in Canada. Millions more are in other countries. At home more than 3,000 people apply for overseas employment each day. Some of your children were born here. But, you have never really left home. To be sure, people have a right to migrate. But, it becomes a serious concern when people are forced to migrate and having to endure some of the worst indignities human beings cause to other human beings. Our country endowed with natural resources is one of the most impoverished in Asia, and with a high prevalence of human rights violations as people struggle for genuine social transformation. This is a concern that we cannot face alone in the Philippines. You cannot just watch or close your eyes to these realities. It takes worldwide solidarity.) “Binnadang” is our term to describe that solidarity. These, we have to tell our children.

These are the glorious heritage achieved not without a struggle and for which reason we celebrate today. Only then can we truly dance our dances – bowing in reverence to the land and rising for its defense, waving our arms like the birds soaring to freedom, swaying with the trees and along with the roar of its rivers resonate forever the chant of peace and justice.

Matago-tago tako am-in. (Mabuhay po tayo’ng lahat!)

Padi REX RB REYES, JR.

General Secretary

National Council of Churches in the Philippines.

N.B. The portion in parenthesis was missed out in the oral delivery but was in the outline - rrbrjr

source: http://www.facebook.com/notes/padi-rex/address-cordi-day-toronto/173996845989629

Happy Easter Everyone!

2011-04-24T10:26:00.000+08:00

Performed at the 62nd Easter Sunrise Service of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines held at the Liwasang Aurora of the Quezon City Memorial Circle.

Easter Message from the NCCP Chairperson

2011-04-23T09:24:00.001+08:00

Coke and the Cross: An Easter Message*

It is said that Coca Cola has the most globally recognizable commercial logo. Coke’s advertisers capitalize on that by associating images and messages to it to sell its product. Logos and symbols through recognition and association have come to possess effective influences on people.

The three great faiths of the world have their own powerful symbol – Christianity has the Cross, Judaism has the Star of David, and Islam has the Crescent. Our Roman Catholics brethren have the Crucifix celebrating the Crucified Christ. Protestants have the empty Cross celebrating the Resurrected Christ.

Be that as it may it seems people may have personalized views of the cross on utilitarian reasons. We know Peter Cushing, I mean Count Dracula of the movies is horrified by it. A cross tattooed on the powerful bicep of an NBA player… does it help bring down more rebounds? Or a public display of faith? Makes me wonder… More commonly a cross is worn as a pendant, an adornment on a necklace. This has somewhat elicited the acerbic comment that we are supposed to be cross “bearers” and not cross “wearers.” I also wonder about that…

Seriously now… while the cross is also viewed as an instrument of death, it does not represent the end of Christ. Jesus died on a cross but rose again from the dead. That is the significance of the empty cross! The resurrected Christ lives and continues to live in us to empower us to work in partnership with God in bringing about God’s eternal plan.

This partnership began when we trusted the claims of Christ that he died for our sins on the cross, and he rose again so that we too may live forever. We were saved by the grace he extended to us and by our faith response. We must be reminded that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Through Christ we are a “new creation,” ministers of reconciliation, that “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ…” (II Corinthians 5:17-19) We are to partner with God to help transform this torn, hurting, unjust, oppressive world into a realm of freedom, well-being, and justice.

If Coke claims to be the “real thing” and you go buy and drink it, how does the “real meaning” of the empty cross influence you? Happy Easter!

Bishop Nathanael P. Lazaro

NCCP Chairperson

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) will hold its 62nd Easter Sunrise Service on April 24, 2011, at the Liwasang Aurora of the Quezon City Memorial Circle. Click here for the area map.

*taken from the NCCP website

Philippine Mining Situation: Liberalization under the Aquino Administration and the Peoples' Struggles

2011-04-14T12:58:00.000+08:00

Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE), Defend Patrimony! Alliance and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) published the Mining Situation and Struggle in the Philippines to provide the status of the Mining Liberalization and its impacts in the perspectives of the people's movement. This document presents the continuing people's resistance and campaigns to protect their communities, fight for their rights, and the defense of the nation's patrimony against imperialist mining plunder.

Limited copies available at the NCCP Databank. For copies please call the Office of the General Administration at (632) 929-3745 or send us a message on our Facebook Page.

Churches as Havens and Sanctuaries for Human Rights

2011-04-13T17:19:00.000+08:00

Quezon City, April 7, 2011: Around 60 participants including members of the clergy, church workers, and human rights advocates, came together for the Unity Forum on Churches as Havens and Sanctuaries for Human Rights to reflect on the churches’ role in the context of the human rights situation under the present administration. The said activity was sponsored by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP).

The one day unity forum involved speakers who helped set the agenda. Mr. Jigs Clamor, Secretary General of KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights, started the day by providing the human rights situation. He said that the human rights situation in the country remains bleak as violations continue under the present dispensation. Clamor shared that there are already 42 victims of extrajudicial killings and 5 victims of enforced disappearance since President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III took office.

Clamor was followed by the moving testimonies of Dr. Edith Burgos, chair of Desaparecidos and mother of missing activist, Jonas Burgos; Mr. Jonathan Sta. Rosa, of the Ecumenical Mission for Peace and Development (EMPD) and brother of slain UMC pastor Isaias Sta. Rosa; and Mr. Raymond Manalo of Hustisya, who along with his brother were abducted and tortured but eventually managed to escape from their captors after 18 months in captivity from the military. All of them underscored the importance of the churches' role in upholding and defending human rights. Dr. Burgos even stated that the parable of the Good Samaritan is a good example of being in solidarity with human rights victims.

After the testimonies, Fr. Rex RB. Reyes, Jr., General Secretary of NCCP gave a Biblico-theological Reflection. Echoing Dr. Burgos' illustration of the Good Samaritan in the churches' role for human rights work, Fr. Reyes stated that “churches as sanctuaries and havens for human rights victims is the statement of the Ecumenical Movement that where and when vulnerable people are assaulted, robbed of their rights, killed or left wounded, we shall not pass by.”

In the afternoon, Mr. Tadz Ifurong, Head of Services of KARAPATAN, gave an orientation on human rights. He was followed (by) Mr. Mervin Toquero, Assistant Program Secretary of Faith, Witness and Service of the NCCP, who shared about the Council's human rights work.

After listening to the presentations, the participants, who came from different churches and organizations, broke up into small groups to share their reflections and to come up with recommendations on how churches can mobilize its resources toward human rights advocacy and to support HR victims and their families.

The participants realized that while the complex issue of human rights was discussed and presented in a comprehensive manner, the one-day event just scratched the surface of the issue. The participants were encouraged to begin the process of thinking about the challenges presented and to continue their analyses within their own churches and organizations. They acknowledged that understanding the human rights situation in the country is very much required in order to enable the churches to strengthen their witnessing and solidarity. They affirmed that education, both in churches' leadership bodies and to the grassroots membership should be done. They also saw the need for continuing advocacy and lobbying and the need for networking. They all committed to following the example of the “Good Samaritan” to be human rights defenders and they will work hard so that they can open up their churches and organizations to be sanctuaries for victims and families of human rights violations.

The activity ended through a symbolic closing worship headed by Dr. Rommel Linatoc, Program Secretary of the Christian Unity and Ecumenical Relations, also of the NCCP.

Article and photos by Mervin Toquero, Assistant Program Secretary of the Program Unit on Faith Witness and Service of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines

Message for Cordillera Day 2011

2011-04-13T09:25:00.002+08:00

Update as of April 16, 2011

The NCCP General Secretary notice a glaring error in his message and noted that the 3rd to the last paragraph should read:

"Then the elders will dance. It is the dance in rhythm with nature. They sway elegantly as the pine trees. They bend lightly then stand firm like the majestic golden grain on the stairway to heaven. The dance celebrating community and harmony with the land and ancestors is a declaration to uphold for all time all that is noble and just."

Our apologies for the error.

The Library staff

“Let the mountains bring prosperity to the people, and the little hills bring righteousness.” (Psalm 72:3)

Time will come, and now is, when our children will ask what we mean by the annual observance of Cordillera Day.

Then their elders will tell of the unceasing chant for peace. They will speak of the women and men who guarded the mountains and rivers for our sake; of the reverence to land and life that went beyond the commerce of human beings; of the painstaking weaving of the tapestry of unity amidst systematic and furious attempts to break that unity; and of them, some in the prime of their youth, who shed their blood in defiance of principalities whose designs eventually meant death to a race. They will speak of the past not so much for its grandeur but to pass on the tradition of vigilance against any desecration. As stewards of creation, they shall make certain that the resources on the mountains and under it are to be used sparingly for the prosperity of the people of the Cordillera and of this country.

Then the children will ask their elders if such a cause is worth preserving in these days.

Then their elders will dance. It is the dance in rhythm with nature. They sway elegantly as the pine trees they bending lightly than stand firm like the majestic golden grain on the stairway to heaven, hearts pumping to the solemn beat of the gong. The dance celebrating community and harmony with the land is a declaration to uphold for all time all that is noble and just.

To chant and dance is to declare the legitimacy of the right to dignity; free from the distraction of money and power in exchange for land and identity; and, strong in the resolve to be counted worthy descendants of a race who held fast to the inviolability of land and life.

To chant and dance is to affirm the prosperity that the mountains bring. May it be so for generations to come.

REV. REX RB REYES, JR.
General Secretary

April 11, 2011

Ecumenism 101

2011-04-04T13:18:00.000+08:00

A letter from the Ecumenical Education and Nurture Program Secretary:

Dear Ecumenical Friends,

Grace and Peace!

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines will be holding its annual Summer Internship Program (SIP). The SIP is an intensive immersion program of experiential ecumenical learning of the NCCP. It links seminarians of NCCP-related theological formation institutions with community-based development-oriented programs. It seeks to provide venues for theological action-reflection, expression of ecumenical commitment and sharpening of mission perspectives.

SIP is a program originally intended for seminarians. The program consists of three phases:

First phase: general orientation, and inputs

Second phase: Immersion from April 16-May 10

Third phase: Processing of experiences

We would like to announce that we are opening to the public the First Phase of the program which will be composed of different inputs that can be a learning experience also for ecumenical networks other than the seminarians. This will be held on April 13-15, 2011 at the Conference Room A of The Bishop La Verne D. Mercado Ecumenical Center, NCCP.

The first phase will be made up of inputs on: History of Philippine Ecumenical Movement, An Overview on Ecumenical Theologies, The Context of our Ministry (input on National Situation and workshop on Church and Society, Input/Workshop on Doing Biblico-Theological Reflection, and Input/Workshop on Community Organizing.

There will be a registration fee of Php 1,000.00 to cover the cost of food for three days.

We would like to invite you or members of your organization to attend this three day live out seminar and have a meaningful Ecumenical Education experience.

Should you have any queries, you may call 926-9760 and look for Marge or Cheekai.

Attached is the seminar flyer.

Thank you and God bless,

Ms. Darlene Marquez-Caramanzana

Program Secretary
Program Unit on Ecumenical Education and Nurture

A Message of Thanks from the NCCP General Secretary

2011-04-01T16:35:00.000+08:00

April 1, 2011

TO: All Participants to the Ecumenical Prayer Service in Solidarity with the People of Japan

Dear All:

Warmest greetings from NCCP.

We would like to express our most sincere thanks for the very successful and solemn ecumenical prayer service we held yesterday for the people of Japan. Your participation made a great impact on the success of the liturgy:

Asian Institute for Liturgy and Music through Dr. Francisco F. Feliciano
College of Social Work, University of the Philippines
College of Music, University of the Philippines
Episcopal Church in the Philippines through The Most Rev. Edward P. Malecdan, Prime Bishop and The Rt. Rev. Dixie Taclobao, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Philippines
Iglesia Evangelica Metodista En Las Islas Filipinas through its General Superintendent, Bishop Nathanael P. Lazaro
Iglesia Filipina Independiente
United Methodist Church
United Church of Christ in the Philippines Igreja de Cristo
Metropolitan Community Church of Quezon City
Missionary Sisters of St. Columba
Ecumenical Bishop’s Forum
Kasimbayan
Peace For Life
Citizens Disaster Relief Center
KAMP
Migrante International – Japan and Nagoya
FOCOLARE Youth
Church of the Risen Lord, UP
UPCYM
United Methodist Committee on Relief
AMRSP
KPACIO, Inc.
ASI
FOCAP
Rev. Tomas Maddela
Mr. Tolyts Sosmena
Ms. Benny Mendoza
Bro. Lendehl Sallidao
And the hard working staff of the NCCP and many others.

MARAMING SALAMAT PO! MAY GOD PROSPER YOUR GOOD WORK!

We are very happy to inform you that the total amount from the special offering collected during the worship which will be sent to the National Christian Council of Japan for the people of Japan is Php11,952.35. In addition to the special offering, the Iglesia Evangelica Metodista En Las Islas Filipinas (IEMELIF) also gave Php20,000.00.

Again, we praise and thank God for a very meaningful gathering and corporate prayers for others.

Very sincerely yours,

signed
REV. REX RB REYES, JR.
General Secretary

Easter Sunrise Service 2011 finds a new home

2011-03-30T16:21:00.002+08:00

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines will celebrate its 62nd Easter Sunrise Service on a new venue. On April 24, 2011, the yearly gathering will be held at the Liwasang Aurora of the Quezon City Memorial Circle. (click the map to enlarge)

This year's theme is "Kristong Buhay Kapangyarihang Gabay."

The tarp in front of the Council building along EDSA in QC

Steve Green in Concert on June 3, 2011

2011-03-30T15:35:00.000+08:00

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines has partnered with The Master’s Chorus Organization Inc. ( Coro Cantabile ) in promoting the upcoming Steve Green in Concert on June 3, 2011, 7:00 pm at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Ticket Prices P500, P650, P1500, P2000

for your ticket reservation, look for Nanie at 09192099562

Council members and staff participated in the Church-Peasant March for Land and Social Justice

2011-03-30T11:48:00.003+08:00

Member-churches and staff of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) participated in the Church-Peasant March for Land and Social Justice held March 28-29, 2011 at the Iglesia Filipina Independiente cathedral along Taft Avenue in Manila. The participants showed their support for the aspirations of the farmers of Hacienda Luisita and urged the Supreme Court to act with justice on the case of the farmers.

Church leaders attending the march. from left: Bishop Solito Toquero of the UMC,

Bishop Gabriel Garol of the UCCP, Bishop Ephraim Fajutagan of the IFI and Rev. Ablon of the IFI

Farmers and church people lighting a candle for social justice

the NCCP General Secretary Fr. Rex RB Reyes, Jr.

reading the solidarity message

Agape breakfast after the program

Photos courtesy of Julien Bolocon

IFI – Anglican Church of Melanesia Sign Concordat

2011-03-29T11:37:00.001+08:00

March 27, Manila – The Iglesia Filipina Independiente, an NCCP member-church, and the Anglican Church of Melanesia (Solomon Islands and Vanuatu) signed a Concordat of Full Communion at the IFI National Cathedral during the regular Sunday Service. The two churches trace their relations in 1964 when the Anglican churches in Melanesia were still part of the Anglican Church of New Zealand.

The Concordat was signed by The Most Rev. Godofredo David, Obispo Maximo of the IFI and The Most Reverend David Vunagi, Archbishop of Melanesia. Signing as witness was The Most Rev. Edward P. Malecdan, Prime Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. This is a historic event as it is a concordat between two churches in the south, said Bishop Ephraim Fajutagana, General Secretary of the IFI in his preface.

credits:

text from the NCCP website
photo courtesy of Ms. Lilan Romero

TSA and NCCP Bids Col. Malcolm Induruwage Farewell

2011-03-28T13:29:00.002+08:00

March 20 – The General Secretary joined the Salvation Army in bidding goodbye to Commissioners Malcolm and Irene Induruwage at the Auditorium of PWU, Manila.

The service celebrated the seven years of service of the couple to the Salvation Army in the Philippines, the first two years as secretary and the remaining five years as Commander of the Salvation Army.

Commissioners Malcolm and Irene will leave for Sri Lanka, to assume command of the Salvation Army in their own country. The new Commissioner of the Salvation Army will be coming from India.

credits:
text lifted from the NCCP Website

photos taken and provided by Ms. Febie Domingo Castro, TSA's Executive Administrative Assistant

NCCP is now ready to accept donations, designated for Japan

2011-03-18T19:20:00.000+08:00

From the NCCP General Secretary:

In light of the equally difficult times of the people in Japan, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines is now ready to accept donations, designated for Japan. All donations shall be properly acknowledged and sent to the National Christian Council in Japan.

You can send your donations to the following accounts:

National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)
Dollar Savings Account No 3054-0162-89
Peso Cheking Account No 3051-0063-04
Bank of the Philippine Islands
QC West Triangle Branch
1587 Quezon Avenue
Quezon City 1104 Philippines
SWIFT CODE: BOPIPHMM

or

National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)
Dollar Savings Account No 223-700011-4
Peso Cheking Account No 223-009641-3
China Banking Corporation
E. Rodriguez Sr. Blvd. Branch
287 E. Rodriguez Sr. Blvd.
Brgy Damayan Lagi
Quezon City 1102 Philippines
SWIFT CODE: CHBKPHMM

For more details:
call (632) 928 17 79 or (632) 929 37 45 weekdays from 9am to 5pm.
or email us at library@nccphilippines.org
or send us a message on Facebook

Ecumenical Prayer Service in Solidarity with the People of Japan

2011-03-18T16:41:00.001+08:00

Advisory of the NCCP General Secretary requesting everyone to attend an Ecumenical Prayer Service in Solidarity with the People of Japan to be held at the St. Andrew's Theological Seminary Chapel , 275 E. Rodriguez Sr. Blvd., in Quezon City, Philippines (this is behind the St. Luke's Medical Center). The prayer service will be held on March 31, 2011 from 5:30pm to 7:30 in the evening.

update as of March 25, 2011: Below is the event poster courtesy of Ariel Siagan.

Pastoral Letter of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) to its members in Japan

2011-03-15T13:26:00.000+08:00

NCCP statement on the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

2011-03-13T06:39:00.000+08:00

March 12, 2011

We reach out in solidarity to the sisters and brothers in Japan at this time of unfathomable grief, sorrow and anxiety. May God's providence be cast upon them all. May those involved in rescue and clearing out operations be spared from any injury.

Even as we grieve with the people of Japan, we yet give thanks that many countries, including our own, were spared from the devastation of tsunamis. We also wish to express our elation at the way the men and women of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology worked with dispatch to inform potential target areas of any tsunami and the way local governments responded to the alarm. We hope that our consul in Japan will exert every effort to secure Filipino citizens in Japan not only to respond to their needs but also to ease the anxiety of their families here.

We urge everyone, especially the constituency of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, to be fervent and unceasing in prayer for the people of Japan and all other nationals working therein. In our churches, in our homes, at work and with friends, may we find brief moments to intentionally reach out to them in prayer and commit them to God's mercy and protection.

signed

Padi REX RB REYES, JR.

NCCP General Secretary

signed

Bishop NATHANAEL P. LAZARO

NCCP Chairperson

A letter from the NCCP EEN Program Secretary on SIP 2011

2011-03-04T14:59:00.000+08:00

March 1, 2011

Grace and Peace!

This year’s Summer Internship Program (SIP) of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) has been set on April 12 - May 14, 2011. This year’s theme takes inspiration from the quadrennial theme of the Council: “Ecumenical Learning: Weaving the Patchwork of Justice and Peace in a Broken World”.

The SIP is an intensive immersion program of experiential ecumenical learning of the NCCP. It links seminarians of NCCP-related theological formation institutions with community-based development-oriented programs. It seeks to provide venues for theological action-reflection, expression of ecumenical commitment and sharpening of mission perspectives.

We would like to invite you to send your students to participate in this program as we seek to provide opportunities for students to live and walk with the least of our sisters and brothers while developing their theologies that are grounded on the people’s experiences and struggles.

May we also inform you that since part of the SIP period will cover the Holy Week, we intentionally made it a part of their SIP experience to be exposed and participate in the yearly Easter Sunrise Service organized by the Council. Thus, they are all required to be part of this Easter activity.

Attached herewith is a copy of the registration form for the students. We are expecting all accomplished forms to be returned to us via e-mail: diwa_malaya72@yahoo.com (cc: katdlc@nccphilippines.org) or fax (02 926-7076) on or before March 25, 2011.

As practiced by the NCCP in the past years, we request the seminaries to provide adequate budgetary allocations for the students they send to attend the Summer Internship Program as a manifestation of your co-ownership of SIP. Financial obligations for SIP are therefore broken down, thus:

Seminaries (per intern):

Transportation to and from NCCP Headquarters
Immersion allowance (including food and travel at immersion site)

Seminarians:

Personal expenses (i.e., medicines, cell phone load, etc.)

NCCP:

Board, lodging and materials for Orientation and Evaluation Phases
Honorarium for host communities, people’s organizations, resource persons

This year, the immersion allowance is Five Thousand Pesos (PhP5,000.00) per intern. This has been increased from the last 3 years’ previous rate of Php 4,000.00 due to rising costs and expenses of the whole program. Please send this amount with the intern as she or he arrives on April 12.

We shall now begin to await applications to this ecumenical learning experience for our second-line leaders in the work Christ called us.

May we continue to find meaning in our common quest for Shalom as we journey with God’s people.

Sincerely,

MS. DARLENE MARQUEZ-CARAMANZANA

Program Secretary

Program Unit on Ecumenical Education and Nurture

Bring the Stranded OFW's Home Safely

2011-03-01T14:47:00.000+08:00

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) is in solidarity with people in countries undergoing popular uprising to press for reforms in government or oust abusive regimes. Hands in supplication have turned to clenched fists as long-suffering people demand human dignity long denied them.

Notwithstanding this development we continue to express concern over the situation of overseas migrant workers in those countries, especially our own sisters and brothers from the Philippines. In Libya alone, Migrante International reported 30,000 Filipinos.

We grieve with the families who have lost their relatives. We stand with those anxious over their loved ones uncertain as we all are of their whereabouts and situation. We are glad for those who have arrived safely home.

We demand a more resolute and speedy action from our government. A missionary in Libya has informed us that our government’s response is “sluggish”. As these popular uprisings escalate to other countries, we urge our government to take necessary proactive measures. Certainly our compatriots deserve better. Each one of them counts.

We reiterate our call for the constituency to be unceasing in our intercession for our Filipino overseas workers. May they be safe and be home if need be.

We pray with the faith communities in those places where social upheaval is taking place. May lives of civilians and non-combatants especially, be spared. May our partners overseas and the wider ecumenical community be faithful in providing the much-needed support to stranded foreigners.

May God’s finger of freedom and peace touch the parched lips of all those seeking it.

(signed)

REV. REX RB REYES, JR.

General Secretary

March 11, 2011

Episcopal Message of Bishop Nathanael P. Lazaro at the IEMELIF’s General Conference 2011

2011-03-01T14:37:00.000+08:00

“The view that the Church needs to engage the world is both critical and timely, it is about time for us to seriously understand and undertake this focus.” These are the words of Bishop Nathanael P. Lazaro, General Superintendent of Iglesia Evangelica Metodista en las Islas Filipinas (IEMELIF) and current Chairperson of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) during his Episcopal message delivered at the IEMELIF General Conference last February 24, 2011. Addressing more than 500 lay leaders and pastors, the Bishop set a fresh understanding of the missionary task of the Church as it should be relevant and contextualized to the realities of the time.

With the theme “Visible Unity: A Force to Engage the World”, the Bishop eloquently articulated the ecumenical agenda vis-à-vis social imperatives of the Church, which according to him, should not be “limited on the salvation of man’s soul but also the redemption of the whole created order.” Both jubilant and humbled, he reported to the Conference two major accomplishments done under his aegis as General Superintendent. First is the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement by the IEMELIF and the IEMELIF Reform Movement (IRM) leadership to end the 18-year old dispute. Second is the return of the break-away group led by the Rev. Nathanael Juane during the Sole-aggregate schism in 2002. He thanked Rev. Juane for ‘reversing the history of the Church,’ referring to the seven major schisms that happened in the IEMELIF since its founding. All congregations and church workers of the sole group already returned to the IEMELIF fold last August 2010.

Bishop Lazaro, powerfully instigated a challenge for the IEMELIF membership to be united while seeking and pursuing to be a socially relevant church. The IEMELIF celebrated its 102nd founding anniversary on February 27, 2011 at the plenary hall of the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). Nicholas Zamora founded the Church in 1909 as indigenous and self-sufficient, free from any foreign governance.

Text and photos submitted by Ariel Siagan

ECLOF’s new website is now live!

2011-02-24T11:57:00.000+08:00

A letter from our friends at ECLOF:

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I’m extremely happy to share with you the great news that ECLOF’s new website is now live! It’s a brand new look for us that puts in words and pictures the exciting programs and activities that we are leading worldwide. We’re indeed a microfinance organization supporting human dignity and enabling self-sustainability. We work closely with the poor in 21 countries across 3 continents and in both urban and rural settings.

But we let the website speak for itself. Check us out at:
www.eclof.org!

Warm regards,

Anca Draganescu

NCCP Relief operation in Lubuagan, Kalinga

2011-02-21T13:34:00.000+08:00

National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) conducted relief operation last February 2, 2011 in Barangays Upper and Lower Uma, Lubuagan in the province of Kalinga, Philippines. The two remote barangays were affected by typhoon Megi (assigned as Typhoon Juan by PAGASA) when it entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility and wreaked havoc on the country.

This particular operation is a tie-up between the the NCCP and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) in cooperation with the Episcopal Church in the Philippines' (ECP) Episcopal Diocese of Northern Luzon (EDNL)

Vacation Church School (VCS) Trainer's training 2011

2011-01-20T13:47:00.003+08:00

Below is the schedule of this year's training:

South Luzon and National Capital Region

Date: February 1-3, 2011

Venue: United Methodist Church (UMC) Tagaytay Mission Camp, Maglabe Drive, Barangay Asisan, Tagaytay City

Visayas

Date: February 8-10, 2011

Venue: Institute of Religion and Culture, Cavans Resort, Cabajar St., Cebu City

Mindanao

Date: February 15-17, 2011

Venue: United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) Haran House, 341 Fr. Zelga St. Madapo Hills, Davao City

North Luzon

Date: February 22-24, 2011

Venue: UCCP Condora Center, Damortis, Rosa

Poster for the 2011 VCS Trainor's Training

Registration fee: P1,500 per participant
Price of materials is P400. this includes 4 manuals, a CD and poster. Songbook (price to be announced)
Visual Aid: P 80.00 (110 leaves)

Other promotional materials:
T-shirt - P200 each
Button pin - P25 each

For more in formation please visit the NCCP website at www.nccphilippines.org or call the Program Unit on Ecumenical Education and Nurture at 926•9760

A message from the National Council of Churches n Australia

2011-01-19T11:18:00.000+08:00

Expression of Concern and Solidarity from the National Council of Churches in Australia regarding the recent floods here in the Philippines.

Week-long Schedule of the WPCU 2011

2011-01-11T11:17:00.000+08:00

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to all!

2010-12-28T17:54:00.000+08:00

NCCP Christmas Message 2010

2010-12-16T11:18:00.000+08:00

NCCP on the Announcement to Withdraw Charges Against the Morong 43

2010-12-13T13:42:00.000+08:00

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) welcomes the announcement of President Benigno C. Aquino III ordering the Department of Justice (DOJ) to withdraw the charges against the 43 health workers, also known as the Morong 43. The health workers were arrested in February 6, 2010 without warrants and detained illegally, by a composite team of the Philippine Army and Philippine National Police. News of the President’s announcement was greeted with applause at an ecumenical gathering timed to mark Human Rights Day. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno who was featured the resource speakers at this gathering was also happy at this development.

The illegal arrest and detention of the health workers was loudly criticized by human rights groups and church advocates in the Philippines. The campaign for their immediate and unconditional release reached the international level with the ecumenical community lending its voice. The last group to call for their release was the Living Letters Delegation organized by the World Council of Churches and the Christian Conference of Asia who visited the Philippines in December 1-5, 2010. The clamor for the President for their release was also boosted by his previous statement that the arrest had legal infirmities and was a product of the “fruit of the poisoned tree” that is “evidence wrongly gotten cannot be used”.

We hope that the Morong 43 will be released from detention at the soonest possible time so they can be home and re-united with their families and friends. We are glad for the families and relatives who never gave up and stood on principled grounds in maintaining the wrong done to their loved ones.

We would also like to express our most profound thanks to the solidarity and unwavering support of the international community, especially our partners led by the World Council of Churches, the Christian Conference of Asia, the National Council of Churches in Australia and the United Church of Canada. We thank the Filipinos overseas who, individually and in groups added their voices to the call. We also note with constructive pride the member churches of the NCCP who prayed and supported the campaign for the release of the health workers in various ways. We thank the print and broadcast media outfits here and abroad for their help in highlighting this issue since their arrest.

Even as we express elation over this development, we continue to urge that our President look with favor on the plight of the 369 other political detainees, 13 of them arrested since he assumed office. We pray that the Department of Justice under the leadership of Secretary Leila de Lima will persevere in rendering speedy justice to all victims of human rights.

Finally, vigilance with hope is the primary message of the Advent season. The release of these health workers is the result of this vigilance with hope where Christians work hard to turn the hope into reality. After all the greatest hope of all was made real when God sent Jesus Christ to be with us on that first Christmas

Rev. Fr. REX RB Reyes, JR.

General Secretary

Human Rights Day, 2010

Statement by Living Letters delegation to the Philippines

2010-12-10T06:58:00.000+08:00

(A team of church representatives from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America made this statement at the end of a solidarity visit to churches, ecumenical organizations and civil society organizations in the Philippines. - www.oikoumene.org)

“Living letters” (2 Corinthians 3:3) is a symbol of the living Church which we represent by coming together under the auspices of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and at the kind invitation of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP).

When asked by the disciples where He lived, Jesus answered, “Come and see” (John 1:39), then He commanded John, “write down what you see and send a letter to the churches” (Revelations 1:12). Every visit is a revelation when the knower and the known become one.

This visit has been an opportunity for us to come and see: to see a culture, to see a people, to see a church, to see concerns, turmoil and hopes. First we were warmly welcomed by the general secretary of the NCCP, Rev. Rex Reyes. With hospitality and assistance from him and his colleagues:

We saw and heard the heart-breaking stories of victims of human rights abuses and their family members. We saw and felt the pain of those who have lost loved ones by extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detentions, torture and enforced disappearances.

An appeal to free the 43 Health Workers (Morong 43)

2010-11-02T15:16:00.001+08:00

An appeal from our General Secretary

October 29, 2010

To Our Friends and Partners Around the World:

Please Sign the Paid Ad to

Free the 43 Health Workers (Morong 43)

May I appeal you to please sign the paid ad below. It is calling for the immediate release of the forty three health workers, known collectivley as the Morong 43 from continued detention. This issue is very close to us not only because it involves human rights and social justice but also because one of those detained include Dr. Alexis Montes, a member and former national health program coordinator of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. Dr. Montes was also a member of the NCCP’s Commission on Faith, Witness and Service at one time.

To indicate your support, just send your name, position and name of church/organization and send it to pcprnatl@gmail.com on or before November 10, 2010.

Thank you for your unwavering support and commitment to our struggle for human rights.

Sincerely,

(sgd) REV. REX RB REYES, JR.

General Secretary

National Council of Churches in the Philippines

Another day in prison for the "Morong 43" is another day justice is denied.

President Benigno Aquino III should act now and release the Morong 43.

Nine months ago in February 6, 43 health workers including 26 women – two of whom have already given birth while in prison – were illegally arrested, searched, detained and tortured. Their rights continue to be violated and their families tormented.

The Department of Justice has submitted its recommendations regarding the case of the 43 health workers. The President himself has commented on the defect of the search warrant and that evidence against the Morong 43 are the “fruit of the poisonous tree.” Various local and international organizations have called for the health workers’ release.

When Malacanang granted amnesty to rebel soldiers, many asked why the Morong 43 remained in prison.

We call on the Aquino government to withdraw the charges against the Morong 43 and see to their immediate and unconditional release!

Statement on the recent ACT Alliance General Assembly

2010-11-02T14:53:00.001+08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"Poverty is wrong: we must make our voices heard,” says ACT Alliance leader

ACT Alliance pledges to speak out on global injustice

GENEVA, October 26, 2010

The head of one of the world’s largest faith-based humanitarian and development alliances has vowed to take a bolder and more vocal stance on the worst inequalities of our age.

"We have a duty to be brave in standing up against oppression,” ACT Alliance General Secretary John Nduna said on the final day of ACT Alliance’s four-yearly assembly in Arusha, Tanzania.

ACT Alliance’s 105 church and church-related members employ 33,000 staff and volunteers in 140 countries and have an income of US $1.6 billion a year. With decades of experience, most ACT Alliance members are from globally poor countries, working at grass roots level and immersed in the culture of the places they are based.

Nduna promised that the alliance would be outspoken on injustice and poverty as never before, hinting at the kinds of campaigns the world could expect to see from ACT Alliance. "In today’s world, a billion people are going to bed hungry, only 30% of children in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa have access to anti-malarial drugs and climate change is devastating the world poorest people. We know this is wrong. We know we must make our voices heard against all these gross injustices.

“We are powerful, we are committed, and we mean business. We are fired up and motivated to challenge political figures, big business and the vested interests of the world's richest nations,” Nduna said.

The assembly affirmed that ending poverty and inequality was not just a goal but an obligation.

Leaders of the alliance’s organisations set the alliance’s strategy for the next four years, emphasising the importance of improving the lives of the world's poor. Even as the assembly was meeting, ACT Alliance staff were responding to the floods in Pakistan and the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, healthcare in Palestine, education in India, land rights in Brazil and HIV prevention in southern Africa.

In other agreements made at the assembly, ACT Alliance committed itself to improving the speed and strength of co-ordination between member organisations so as to respond more effectively to support communities in crisis. It also pledged to prioritise preventative measures in all its work and ensure continuity of care and recovery after an emergency.

The meeting ensured that ACT Alliance's uniquely democratic 'forum' structure - in which major decisions on strategy, financial resources and campaigns are taken at a country level rather than at the Alliance's headquarters in Geneva - was strengthened. The alliance acknowledged the importance of its national members, with delegates agreeing to make these country-level forums stronger and better resourced.

About ACT Alliance

ACT Alliance is second only to Caritas in size as a faith-based humanitarian, development and advocacy alliance. Member organisations operate from an egalitarian belief in treating all people with dignity, and an absolute commitment to serving people of all faiths and none. ACT Alliance is a signatory to The Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief which stipulates, among others, that aid will not be used to further political or religious standpoints.

ACT Alliance's website is at www.actalliance.org

For general enquiries about the ACT Alliance and interviews with John Nduna, ACT Alliance General Secretary, please contact:

Sandra Cox, Communications Officer on +41 22 791 6711 or +41 79 681 1868

Basic Ecumenical Course (BEC) 2010

2010-10-29T11:46:00.001+08:00

Congratulations to the participants, and staff of the Basic Ecumenical Course (BEC) 2010!

the participants

the participants with the NCCP General Secretary, Rev. Rex RB Reyes, Jr. (left)

For more info on the Basic Ecumenical Course and the life and work of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, please check out our website at www.nccphilippines.org

ECLOF Philippines Job Vacancy for Executive Director

2010-10-27T16:18:00.000+08:00

VACANCY

ECLOF INC., PHILIPPINES

ECLOF (Ecumenical Church Foundation) INC., Philippines is a microfinance non-government institution under ECLOF International based in Geneva, Switzerland. ECLOF Philippines is the only MFI which has strong linkages with the Protestant Churches with strategic partnership with 11 churches and church related organizations and 12 NGOs/POs/Cooperatives. ECLOF has a mission of providing financial assistance reaching to the marginalized entrepreneurs.

At present ECLOF Phil. has three (3) branch offices in Greater Manila, Benguet and Palawan and expanding to service other areas in the Philippines.

You may visit our website for more info at www.eclofphils.com.

Currently we are in need of the following:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (1) IMMEDIATE

Job Summary: Under the consultative direction of ECLOF Board of Trustees, develops, recommends and oversees implementation of the short and long-term objectives, policies, budget and operating plans of the foundation. Gives direction and leadership toward the achievement of the foundation’s philosophy, mission, strategies and objectives.

Requirement/Qualifications:

Ø Bachelor’s degree in any course relevant to ECLOFs operation is required and Masters degree in Business Administration/Management is preferred.

Ø Has 15 years of work experience in the area of specialization, 10 years of which are in the micro-finance, NGO or the same field and at least 5 years in managerial position.

Ø Manifests evidence of Christian faith and values.

Ø Strong management and leadership skills and experience.

Ø Demonstrate ability to lead in strategizing and coalition building.

Ø Demonstrate effectiveness and lead experience in fund development.

Ø Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Ø Has proven track record in building and maintaining partnerships and associates.

Interested applicant may send resume with photo and application letter via email at hr.eclofphil@gmail.com or you may personally visit our main office at Rm. 200 NCCP Ecumenical Church Center, 879 EDSA, Q.C. You may also contact us at 02-925-1763.

NCCP Advisory on Super Typhoon Megi (Juan)

2010-10-20T15:21:00.005+08:00

General Advisory

To: Our Member Churches, Associates, Friends, Partners and to All Concerned

Re: Super Typhoon “Juan”

Once more disaster struck our sisters and brothers in Northern Luzon. The super typhoon cut through from Isabela along the Pacific Coast to the Cordilleras and on to the Ilocos region in the west. Some of these provinces hardly recovered from the fury of Ondoy last year.

Enclosed is the initial Alert for your information.

I now issue the following calls:

a) For the people in the affected provinces to hold on and remain strong

b) For our churches to mobilize and collect whatever congregations can give towards the initial relief. The Alert attached contains some of these needs. The NCCP office will be most happy to receive these for packing and delivery.

c) To the Filipino Communities overseas, you have demonstrated your love and concern in the past for your loved ones left behind in this disaster-prone country. Please do so once more and send those expressions of your continuing solidarity over. What you did last year is not unknown to many affected communities.

d) To our other partners overseas, I appeal for assistance for the relief period and the rehabilitation especially for farm lands and other sources of livelihood.

e) We are in touch with the Bishops, Conference Ministers and other church leaders in the regions. Our relief and rehabilitation coordinating committee is in place. In Metro Manila we will again be turning to our Christian organizations for volunteers from time to time.

f) We are informed that this period will bring in more rains and typhoons to the Philippines. Please visit our website <www.nccphilippines.org> for updates. Our fax number is (+632) 926-70-76 and our telephone number is (+632) 9293745 and (+632) 9228141.

g) Above all, we invite one and all to prayer, individually and collectively. May our intention be that God will receive those who have perished and comfort all the victims; that Jesus Christ will keep all who serve them in good health and that the Holy Spirit will help us continue to trust God and affirm the peace in all communities. May our united prayer rise as the incense and be acceptable to God who loves us all.

REV. FR. REX RB REYES, JR

General Secretary

20 October 2010

ALERT

Local Name: Super Typhoon “Juan” International Name: Typhoon “Megi”

I. Brief Description of the Emergency

On Sunday, October 17, Typhoon “Juan” (international code name: “Megi”) gathered strength as it barreled towards northern Philippines. Meanwhile, government authorities began evacuating about three thousand people/villagers to safer ground hours before it was predicted to hit land.

PAGASA said the cyclone was so powerful that it reached typhoon category “super typhoon” while still in the open area. Meteorologists also stated that “Juan” slammed into the extreme northern Philippines on Monday and then cut westwards towards the South China Sea.

The storm packed maximum winds of 195 kilometers per hour near the centre and gusts of up to 230 kilometers per hour, making it a super typhoon. It slowed down slightly to 19 kph from Sunday night’s 20 kph.

On Monday, it was packing sustained winds of 225 kilometers per hour and gusts of 260 kph. Weather bureau officials said “Juan” is the world’s strongest typhoon this year. It is also the strongest storm to hit the Philippines since super-typhoon “Reming” struck Bicol region in 2006. Typhoon “Reming’s 250 kph winds set off mudslides that buried entire villages and killed about 1,000 people in Bicol area.

Typhoon “Juan” made landfall in Sierra Madre’s Estagno Point in Isabela at 11:25 am of October 18. About six hours after it made landfall, it weakened as it made its way across northern Luzon. As of 11:00 p.m., “Juan” was 90 kilometers west northwest of Baguio City, with sustained winds of 160 kph and gusts of 195 kph. Forecasters expect the storm to further weaken while on land. The typhoon is expected to leave via Ilocos Sur and La Union areas at midnight. The rainfall rate is 50 to 65 millimeters of rain per hour. Tuesday morning, “Juan” continued to move away from the Philippines towards the South China Sea.

According to a CNN report, meteorogists called typhoon Juan (Megi) a “monster storm” and warned that it could damage thousands of hectares of agricultural land along its path.

The storm could trigger landslides and floods as wide areas of northern Luzon will see 300 mm of rain, while more isolated pockets may see up to 500 mm.

The eye of the storm is getting smaller. This will have a frictional effect because it is moving closer to the terrain of Northern Luzon, the Sierra Madre mountain. It is expected to weaken as it nears the land mass of Northern Luzon. When it hits the South China sea, it is expected to gain intensity.

Meanwhile the rainfall is not enough to fill Magat Dam, a large rock-fill dam located on Magat River, a major tributary of Cagayan River. It was expected that Magat Dam will be filled after the storm hits. According to authorities, it will be ideal if the dam is filled, but not overflow. Unless water overflows, water from the dam will not be released. Should there be need arises to release the water from the dam, authorities say that it will be released at a graduated pace.

II. Impact

On Crops & Properties

On Monday, as of four in the afternoon, about 15,000 sacks of rice in two NFA warehouses in Isabela were destroyed by the typhoon. Estimated cost damages is about P15 million.

Provinces of Isabela and Cagayan; Kalinga, Ifugao and Mountain Province was placed under Storm Signal No. 4 and were the first provinces to feel the fury of Typhoon “Juan”.

Local Government officials placed Isabela under “State of Calamity” after super-typhoon Juan made landfall Monday morning. The province of Isabela is under a state of calamity being the first province hit by “Juan”. There is power outage in the area as electrical posts were toppled down. Moreover, communication has already been interrupted in Isabela and Cagayan. The powerful winds of Juan have also uprooted trees and roofs blown away, especially in Santiago City, Isabela. Baguio City experienced moderate to heavy rains.

Landslides were reported in various sections of Apayao and Benguet.

The Benguet-Dalupirip Itogon and Nueva Vizcaya-Benguet roads were closed due to landslides. As early as noon time of Monday, Itogon communities reported landslides in Km 271 of the Baguio-Nueva Vizcaya Road and Km 271 of the Itogon-Dalupirip Road.

The Claver-Calanasan Road (Mabanong section) was also closed to traffic due to landslides. Only one lane of the Manila North Road in Barangay Sagayaden in Cabugao is passable. One lane of the Mt. Province-Calanan Boundary-Calaan Road (Bannagao section and the Dalimono section) was also closed due to landslides.

Another erosion destroyed a road leading to Conner Town in Apayao.

III. National Response

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on its initial report stated that at least 946 families or 4,614 people in 30 villages in 16 towns in six provinces were directly affected by Typhoon “Juan”. Of these, 866 families or 4,161 people are staying inside evacuation centers.

Office of Civil Defense was tasked to facilitate the needed evacuation of people living in risky areas. In fact, the government did not rule out forced evacuation for those who refused to leave their homes despite being told to do so. Forced evacuations according to them will be done for the safety of the residents/responders/community.

In Cagayan Valley, residents from low-lying areas were evacuated to higher ground.

In Manila, prior to the Typhoon hitting land, disaster officials prepared food packs, medicines and rescue equipment including rubber boats in areas expected to be hit by the typhoon.

Philippine National Police are on full alert nationwide and equipment are pre-positioned in Northern Luzon. They tapped additional search and rescue teams from Manila to North areas. Armed Forces and Navy as well are continuously monitoring events. Its rescue teams are prepared to help residents and local government units.

Department of Social Welfare and Development has stored food and non-food items for the possible typhoon victims in the regions that will be likely hit by Juan.

IV. Planned Response

The extent of damage cannot be ascertained at this time because most communication lines are still down and many roads and bridges are also closed. NCCP has received partial reports from its member churches in the affected areas and waiting for a more comprehensive report. Once roads are cleared, NCCP will send a team to assist the churches and partners in the conduct of damage and needs assessment. For the immediate response, NCCP requested member churches in the regions not affected by the disaster for emergency relief assistance which would include the following:

Food Items

Rice

Canned Goods

Dried Fish

Mongo Beans

Vegetables

Root Crops

Bottled Water

Non-Food Items

Sleeping Matls.

Kitchen Wares

Cooking Wares

Water Container

School Kit

Candle & Match

Flashlight/Battery

Kerosene Lamp

Rescue Tools

Raincoat & Boots

Clothing

Women’s Clothes

Men’s Clothes

Children’s Wear

Infant’s Wear

Underwear

Diaper

Socks

Foot Wear

Hygiene Kit

Toothpaste/brush

Face/Hand Towel

Bath Soap

Sanitary Napkin

Laundry Bar Soap

Shampoo

Mosquito Repellant

Medicines

Paracetamol

Salbutamol

Mucolytic

Immodium

Decongestant

Analgesic

Antiseptic

Alcohol

Betadine

First Aid Kit

NCCP Statement on the Hacienda Luisita Inc., Compromise Deal

2010-08-20T16:47:00.000+08:00

August 17, 2010

Farmers Deserve the Land They Till

(A Statement on the HLI Compromise Deal)

“The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me.” (Leviticus 25:23)

The earth is the Lord's and we are but stewards. Those who toil the land must be recognized and given their due as responsible stewards. They ensure that the land produces the fruits that sustain life for all. Land is life. It is a gift desecrated when the control of the land is left in the hands of the few. This desecration of God's gift has been a decades-old problem in the country as landlords continue to own large tracts of land confining the vast majority of peasants and farm workers in perpetual bondage and misery.

With this in mind, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), in solidarity with the workers of Hacienda Luisita, denounces the so-called compromise deal between the workers and the Cojuangcos, the family of President Benigno Aquino III, over the 6,500-hectare Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI). For one, the said deal was pushed before an upcoming decision of the Supreme Court on the legality of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) decision to revoke the controversial stock distribution option (SDO). The SDO circumvented the outright distribution of land as mandated by the 1988 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) by making the farmworkers as HLI stockholders.

Secondly, to say that the SDO scheme failed to uplift the lives of the HLI workers is a gross understatement. In effect, the Cojuangco-Aquinos used the SDO scheme to perpetuate slavery. Before the infamous massacre in November 16, 2004, newspaper reports stated that the average income of a worker in Hacienda Luisita was P9.50 per working day! Could that ensure survival? With the compromise agreement, the SDO is retained with only a portion of the vast land or only one third of the remaining 4,102 hectares of agricultural land to be distributed to the farmers.

The NCCP maintains that there should be an effective distribution of land to maximize its blessings for the good of all God's creation. This should not be compromised. Thus, we join the petition in praying that the Supreme Court rule in favor of the 10,000 farmer-beneficiaries. They have rightfully earned the claim after toiling the soil for many years. Let this be a noble precedent for all other landholdings similarly situated. A decision in the farmers' favor will not only be a victory for other farmers experiencing the same but also for social justice. We remind President Benigno Aquino III that to take a stand on the issue and declare his “hands on” support to farmers instead of taking a “hands-off” policy befits a President who boldly declared in his inaugural address that the Filipino masses are his “boss”.

REV. FR. REX RB. REYES, JR.

General Secretary

Job Vacancy at ECLOF INC., Philippines

2010-08-18T15:24:00.000+08:00

VACANCY

ECLOF INC., PHILIPPINES

At present ECLOF Phil. has three (3) branch offices in Greater Manila, Benguet and Palawan and expanding to service other areas in the Philippines.

You may visit our website for more info at www.eclofphils.com.

Currently we are in need of the following:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (1) IMMEDIATE

Requirement/Qualifications:

Ø Bachelor’s degree in any course relevant to ECLOFs operation is required and Masters degree in Business Administration/Management is preferred.

Ø Has 15 years of work experience in the area of specialization, 10 years of which are in the micro-finance, NGO or the same field and at least 5 years in managerial position.

Ø Manifests evidence of Christian faith and values.

Ø Strong management and leadership skills and experience.

Ø Demonstrate ability to lead in strategizing and coalition building.

Ø Demonstrate effectiveness and lead experience in fund development.

Ø Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Ø Has proven track record in building and maintaining partnerships and associates.

Application deadline: September 15, 2010.

Mrs. Alegria Hembrador Toquero, wife of Bishop Solito Toquero passed away

2010-07-13T12:47:00.001+08:00

Our deepest condolences to the Toquero family.

Update as of 2:57 pm: third paragraph of the above document should have read...their children Mervin and Armen Ria and all their relatives... our apologies for the error.

Ecumenical Welcome Reception

2010-05-09T09:48:00.000+08:00

Participants and Guests of the Philippine International Observers Mission for the May 2010 election at a photo-op after the Ecumenical Welcome Reception held May 7, 2010 at the Shalom Center in Malate, Manila.

Vigilance, A Must In The May 2010 Elections

2010-05-09T08:47:00.002+08:00

May 7, 2010

Vigilance, A Must In The May 2010 Elections

“righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace to any people”

(Proverb 14:34)

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), the largest aggrupation of mainline Protestant and non-Roman Catholic churches and service institutions in the country, exhorts its members and the general public to be doubly vigilant as the first automated electoral exercise is held in the country.

The Automated Election System Watch (AESWatch), which counts the NCCP among its members, had for months raised the issue of putting safeguards to the system. AESWatch raised the concern following the so-called 30 vulnerabilities of the AES uncovered by the Center for People’s Empowerment in Governance (CENPEG). On our own, we have produced a Primer for Voters’ education used intensively by our constituent member churches in their voters’ education seminars. The primer underlined vigilance against any threat to the electoral process including but not limited to extensions of terms and return to military rule. Along with equally minded organizations, we have sought the presence of our partners abroad to observe the electoral process.

In a couple of days we shall troop to the polls to choose our leaders. Events in the last few days have proven the fears expressed by AESWatch and other groups. The concerns, dismissed earlier by the Commission on Elections as coming from doomsayers and saboteurs, are with basis. The recent failure of the PCOS (Precinct Count Optical Scan) machines to properly account for the test ballots is an indication. All the more reason for us to be alarmed.

Our call for vigilance is primarily intended to prevent wholesale electronic cheating. We are as concerned as anybody else with a credible election consistent with the respect to the right of suffrage and for this exercise to be an instrument in improving the lives of the people. Systematic fraud will subvert democracy as it subverts the people’s will.

Let us pray fervently and work vigorously that the result of this election will truly reflect our choice. Where there is rampant cheating and violence let us expose it. Where there is mockery let us denounce it. Our people power will not be for any candidate but for the people’s interest and welfare. These and the peaceful transition of power, are our duties as citizens and Christians. All in all, they are our best option.

Go and vote and guard your vote! Vote for political parties, party list groups and candidates who have proven themselves as championing the cause of poor farmers, workers, urban poor, indigenous people, youth, women and all marginalized sectors. Vote for them who will proudly raise our sovereign flag and pursue genuine national development and the positive transformation of our society.

Go and vote in the love, peace and service of the Lord!

signed

Rev. Fr. Rex RB Reyes, Jr.

General Secretary

signed

Bishop Nathanael P. Lazaro

Chairperson

A Thank You from the Cordillera Peoples Alliance

2010-05-08T16:23:00.000+08:00

TO THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES IN THE PHILIPPINES (NCCP)

thru Padi Rex Reyes, Secretary General

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORT, SOLIDARITY AND PARTICIPATION IN THE 26TH CORDILLERA DAY CELEBRATIONS HELD IN BENGUET (April 10), MOUNTAIN PROVINCE (April 17), KALINGA (April 24), IFUGAO (April 24) and ABRA (May 1) and in the Regional Celebration in BAGUIO CITY on April 25, 2010!

We look forward to your continuing support to the struggles of the Cordillera indigenous peoples!

Cordillera Peoples Alliance

For the Defense of the Ancestral Domain and For Self Determination

UNITY STATEMENT*

2010-05-05T21:25:00.000+08:00

A Reflection Gathering: Human Rights Under Nine Years of the Arroyo Government

We gathered at the Angelicum College in Quezon City on April 28, 2010 to reflect on the human rights situation in the country in the nine years of the Arroyo Government. Our reflection was marked by the stories of the kith and kin of victims of human rights violations and how these violations have been brought about by the government’s counter insurgency program through the Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL).

We shared the anguish of these relatives. We grieved over the extra-judicial killings of more than a thousand people since 2001. We were saddened by stories of torture and the enforced disappearance of more than 200 people. We lamented the forcible evacuation and displacement of thousands of people in the rural areas as a result of military operations. We expressed alarm at the continuing detention of 43 health workers who were illegally arrested in Morong, Rizal.

The statistics are no mere figures. They represent the scale and magnitude of the gruesome impact of OBL. It is a counter-insurgency program that has not made a distinction between armed combatants and civilians propelled by the burning desire to serve and promote significant changes for the better in the lives of people mired in systemic poverty and neglect. The victims are farmers, workers, community leaders, indigenous people, Muslims, activists, students, health workers, churchworkers, lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders and party-list organizers and volunteers. None in recent memory can match the viciousness of the OBL and the human toll on civilians whose only crime, if indeed it was a crime that warranted their deaths and suffering, was principled dissent against government and in favor of the welfare of the majority, the safeguarding of posterity and patrimony of this country. The OBL is very much in place. With the year 2010 as the deadline to beat. To meet the target means more bloodbath.

To this day not a single perpetrator of these killings and violence to human life has been convicted. It is a chilling indictment on a government which claims adherence to democracy. It breeds righteous indignation and fuels further discontent.

The human rights situation under the Arroyo Government is the worst since that of the Martial Law years under Marcos. None in recent years, can compare to the culture of impunity that characterized these assaults on human dignity. We recall with horror the massacre in Maguindanao characterized among others by the fact that it had the most number of journalists killed in a single incident.

Our reflection bids us to hold high the struggle for the vindication of the innocent and the punishment of those who willfully destroyed life. Our reflection bids us demand of those in power that perpetrators of extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and other human rights violation be brought to the bars of justice. The Arroyo Government must be held accountable for the repressive OBL and the death, disappearance and abuse of innocent civilians in the name of counter-insurgency.

We are people who believe in God’s redeeming love and call to be one people under God’s sovereignty. There can be no more compelling reason for us to bear witness and denounce this travesty, than the call to live out and bear witness to our baptism that calls us to uphold the sanctity of life. One killing is one too many. Oplan Bantay Laya is an abomination – an instrument of violence, bloodshed and defiance of the divine will of abundant life for all. It must be stopped.

Finally, we issue this challenge to those who will be victorious following the May 10 elections: fulfill your promises; give justice to the victims of human rights violations; end political repression; discontinue the OBL as a policy and never embark on any similar policy; and, address the roots of the insurgency namely, poverty and injustice.

*This Unity Statement was approved and signed by the 175 participants composed of church people and human rights advocates who attended “A Reflection Gathering: Human Rights Under Nine Years of the Arroyo Government” organized by the Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights. The signatories include:

· Rev. Fr. Rex RB. Reyes, Jr., General Secretary, National Council of Churches in the Philippines

· Bp. Deogracias Iniguez, Jr. co-chairperson, Ecumenical Bishops' Forum

· Bishop Ephraim Fajutagana, General Secretary, Iglesia Filipina Independiente

· Dr. Edith Burgos, Chairperson, Desaparecidos

· Mr. Jigs Clamor, Deputy Secretary General, Karapatan

· Bishop Gabriel Garol, Bishop Emeritus, United Church of Christ in the Philippines

· Bishop Lito Cruz, Diocese of Rizal-Pampanga, Iglesia Filipina Independiente

· Sr. Maureen Catabian, Coordinator for Women, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, Religious of the Good Shepherd

· Fr. Joe Dizon, Promoter, Solidarity Philippines

· Ms. Norma Dollaga, General Secretary, KASIMBAYAN

· Rev. Mariesol Villalon , Co-chairperson, Promotion of Church People's Response

· Mr. Nardy Sabino, Secretary General, Promotion of Church People's Response

· Fr. Bong Sarabia, CM, Chairperson, Promotion of Church People's Response – National Capital Region

· Rev. Aniceto Villalon, Jr., Chairperson, Board of Church and Society, United Methodist Church

· Fr. Terry Revullido, Dean, Aglipay Central Theological Seminary

· Ms. Donna Lou Galingan, General Secretary, Kalipunan ng Kristianong Kabataan sa Pilipinas

Easter Sunrise Service 2010

2010-04-08T19:28:00.000+08:00

Here is last Sunday's Easter Sunrise Service held at the Open Air Auditorium in Luneta Park.

free the 43

2010-03-19T15:02:00.000+08:00

Video and photo collage of the gathering outside the Commission on Human Rights building along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City last March 18, 2010 during the hearing the Commission held for the continuous detention of the 43 health workers in Camp Capinpin.

Easter Sunrise Service 2010

2010-03-19T11:08:00.000+08:00

Everyone is invited!

Publications recieved through mail

2010-03-10T15:11:00.000+08:00

Japan Christian Activity News is the newsletter of the National Christian Council in Japan (NCCJ). For more information on the contents of this publication, please visit us at the Library. You can also visit the NCCJ website for an electronic copy of the publication.

Publications recieved through mail

2010-03-10T14:24:00.000+08:00

Crowned with Thorns is the newsletter of the United Church of Christ in Japan, Buraku Liberation Center. For more information on the contents of this publication, please visit us at the Library.

Aijeleth Shahar Ayat Meneses sings Better World

2010-03-09T23:19:00.001+08:00

This little girl was a delight to watch when she performed during the celebration of Women's Month at the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani grounds in Quezon City last March 5, 2010.