Blessed are the peacemakers

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9, NIV).

The constituency of the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP), express our support to Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Carlos and one of the spokespersons of the Pilgrims for Peace. We share the same advocacy for peace with Bishop Alminaza. We are one with him in his call for the resumption of the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), and his appeal to free the political prisoners, including former priest Frank Fernandez.

We take issue that he is being red-tagged for our common ministry for peace. Bishop Alminaza has recently been red-tagged and labeled his peace advocacy as “diabolical and demonic” by Jeffrey Celiz and Lorraine Marie Badoy, hosts of the television program “Laban Kasama ang Bayan”, aired by SMNI News Channel on February 22, 2023. A few days later on March 1, 2023, the 303rd Infantry Brigade posted a statement from prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales, spokesperson of the Legal Cooperation Cluster of the RTF6-ELCAC, which basically echoed the arguments and attacks by Badoy and Celiz. The said spokesperson also stated that red-tagging “is a term invented by the CPP-NDF-NPA.”

Gonzales further said that “the government does not negotiate with terrorists,” and that they “adopted a system of localized peace engagements where the community and the local government units spearhead the negotiations between the government and members of the CPP-NDF-NPA who are willing to lay down their arms”. He also said that “unconditional surrender” is the only option for the CPP-NDF-NPA.

What Badoy, Celiz, and Gonzales are doing is putting the life of Bishop Alminaza in danger. Being red-tagged can lead to more serious human rights violations. This is why, during the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review on November 14, 2022, several UN member-states, including the United States, recommended to the Philippine government to stop the said practice.

The three are also espousing a culture of hate and violence, instead of peace and conflict transformation like what Bishop Alminaza is doing. Badoy, et.al. and the government, through the NTF-ELCAC, are labeling the NDFP and its allies, as “terrorists” despite the fact that they are waging an armed struggle with a clear political agenda which is recognized in international humanitarian law. Moreover, despite the massive and expensive campaigns implemented by previous administrations to end the armed conflict between the government and NDFP, the conflict has continued to rage particularly in the countryside. This conflict led to the internal displacement of residents in the most vulnerable communities, including those on the island of Negros. This long-running conflict only mirrors how deeply embedded are the roots of the armed conflict in social injustice. This is precisely the point of Bishop Alminaza. Such a complex situation demands a comprehensive and systemic response. Thus, it must be addressed at the national level so that the roots of the armed conflict in the country, which include poverty, landlessness, inaccessibility to services, and inequitable distribution of resources, can be tackled through principled dialogue.

If these roots remain unaddressed, the violence in our midst will continue to fester. Ultimately, it is the people who will suffer the most. As church leaders, we will always support the call for the resumption of the GRP-NDFP negotiations. This is PEPP’s main ministry. It is what our faith in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, impels us to do.