MANILA (UCAN): Some 18 Church and humanitarian groups in the Philippines were declared communist fronts by the country’s military during a November 5 security briefing in Manila just days after a crackdown on activist and human rights groups in capital Manila and the city of Bacolod in the central Philippines.
Among the organisations listed were the Protestant group, National Council of Churches in the Philippines; the international aid organisation, Oxfam; the Gabriela Women’s Party; the non-government Farmers Development Centre; and the tribal organisation, Cordillera People’s Alliance.
The briefing was given by defense and military officials who were providing an update on the country’s security situation and the military’s modernization program for Lower House legislators.
Delfin Lorenzana, the secretary of defense, claimed that they based their conclusions on documents recovered in military operations across the country.
“It was (Jose Maria Sison, the founding chairperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines) himself who said during one of the videos we saw: ‘These are the front organisations.’ That’s our basis. We did not make this up,” Lorenzana insisted.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines hit back saying its inclusion on the list was an “attack on our Christian faith and traditions.”
In a statement, the Protestant organisation said it “vehemently condemns the malicious and careless tagging by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.”
It added, “We will remain resolute in our prophetic witness and service to the people even in the midst of shrinking democratic space and rising impunity.”
Oxfam, which has been working in the Philippines for the past 30 years, also denied the allegation.
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“If our vision and mission in the Philippines have led to Oxfam being labelled a local communist terrorist group or a funder of communist terrorist groups, then we find this a most troubling situation,” it said in a statement.
“These allegations affect not only us but also put the communities and partners we work with at risk.”
The group said organisations like Oxfam “should be encouraged, rather than hindered” in countries where there is poverty.
On November 5, religious leaders held a march in Manila to protest what they described were a rising number of attacks on government critics.
“We cannot allow injustice to rule our land,” said Franciscan Father Angel Cortez, spokesperson of the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines. “The Church and the people have to stand together and speak up despite the intimidation and harassment.” he said.
He said Church people were being persecuted “because we stand for victims of injustice.”
Father Cortez said, “Activists and Church people have one thing in common. We both serve the poor, the oppressed and we amplify the voice of the most abandoned.”
