Tyranny will not last. There is no forever with a fascist dictator. The February 1986 People Power is the proof of an end to evildoers. The righteous people will prevail for God is in their side.
The letter of St. Paul to the Romans, Chapter 8, verses 31 to 39 must continue to remind the peace-loving Christians, which say:
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The clergy and lay people of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) of the Dioceses of Cagayan de Oro and Malaybalay, the human rights defenders and peace advocates including their organizations are continually harassed and intimidated.
According to a statement by Karapatan, “At around 10:30am today, February 22, 2019, in the middle of the Hustisya-Northern Mindanao assembly and launching at the Philtown Hotel in Cagayan de Oro City, a suspected military agent approached the security guard of the said hotel and handed him two brown envelopes. Each envelope contained 13 copies of flyers listing organisations of youth and teachers, and tagging names of church workers, lawyers, rights advocates and that of a journalist, as ‘terrorist members of the New People’s Army and Communist Party of the Philippines.’”
“Among the names listed in the flyers were Iglesia Filipino Independiente Bp. Felixberto Calang, Fr. Rolando Abejo of Movement Against Tyranny-Northern Mindanao, Karapatan Northern Mindanao spokesperson Fr. Khen Apus, human rights lawyers Beverly Musni, Czarina Musni and Beverly Ann Musni, and journalist Cong Corrales and his family,” the statement further said.
Branding them as “terrorists” violated their basic human rights. The false accusations were intentionally shown to the participants of Husitisya-Nothern Mindanao who are not cowed of the series of attacks perpetrated by the state forces of the Duterte regime in the midst of continuing implementation of Martial Law in Mindanao.
On January 25, 2019, the IFI’s Church walls in Cagayan de Oro City and Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City were vandalized with baseless accusations like: “IFI CHURCH TAGUAN SA NPA.” This is to stop the IFI clergy and lay people in supporting the struggle of the poor in the region.
As a response to this “terrorist-tagging”, IFI Bishop Felixberto Calang declared that “these acts of labelling the IFI and its clergy as terrorists and sheltering of NPAs are part of well-planned and deliberate efforts to malign and discredit our ministry and meant to intimidate us into silence from our advocacies for peace and social justice.”
On January 28, 2019, lumad leader Datu Jomorito Goaynon, Chairperson of Kalumbay Regional Lumad Organization, and Ireneo Udarbe, Chairperson of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Cagayan de Oro City), after being reported missing, turned out to be illegally arrested and detained.
On January 30, 2019, MOFA Chairperson Jerry Basahon, together with Gerald Basahon, Marivic Colita (along with her one-year old child), Mylene Colita (along with her 2-year old relative) and a new member identified only as Janine (Villanueva, Misamis Oriental) were likewise illegally arrested and detained.
On same date, two members of the Manobo lumads were strafed to death in Lianga, Surigao del Sur, in the midst of the recent evacuation of the lumads from their communities in Lianga, Surigao del Sur due to heavy militarization in their areas.
On February 11, 2019, two women human rights defenders from Cagayan de Oro City have been forcibly brought to the 4th IDPA camp in Patag, Cagayan de Oro City.
The threats to the lives and security of IFI clergy and progressives in Northern Mindanao happen also in Iloilo, Bulacan, Metro Manila and Ilocos. This situation prompted the IFI leader to issue statements of condemnation and encouragement.
On February 1, 2019, IFI Obispo Maximo Rhee Timbang issued a statement, condemning continuing harassment of IFI clergy and lay people.
His statement also encouraged the IFI faithful to continue the IFI tradition:
“As a Church steeped with the nationalist and revolutionary tradition of the Filipino people and shaped and formed by its faith unto the Lord Jesus, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente – its clergy and people – will continue its prophetic witness and social advocacy for and in the interest of justice and peace and transformation of the unjust structures of Filipino society. The IFI finds it as the greatest good it can do for the Filipino people. And no amount of harassment, intimidation and threat can dissuade the Church away from its faithful witness. As a community of faith, it only fears its Lord Jesus who commanded ‘to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, to work for recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ The IFI pursues its mission because like the Lord Jesus who was anointed by God’s Spirit, it is also anointed by the Spirit, its agenda of mission is Christ’s, its charism is for service, and its faithful witness is fired up by the Holy Spirit.”
“We live in a society that is characterized by repression, death and poverty. There is no stopping because President Duterte himself always mouthed killing and killing almost every day. There is no genuine change coming because the president opted to follow the neo-liberalist economic policies that his predecessors rabidly implemented. There is no peace in the land because the president cannot rein in his cabinet and generals to give the peace talks a chance. The militarist approach to solve the insurgency problem cannot and will not work because the socio-economic conditions of our country had spawned the birth of the movement and are the prevailing situation; the option for the peace talks is the most viable since the basic problems of the country are being addressed to and both the contending forces, the GRP and NDFP, will come to agreements regarding the much-needed socio economic and constitutional and political reforms. The militarist approach is expected to destroy instead this nation as bloodshed will only continue, and repression and harassment will remain unabated because those who are working for genuine peace and substantial change in the land will always be the targets of the government,” the statement said.
The Biblical and historical mandate of the IFI and its allies shall strengthen their common resolve to fight for the righteous because “red-tagging, harassment, intimidation and vilification” are psychological warfare mechanisms of the Duterte regime to quell the growing resistance of the people against tyranny and dictatorship. It is a whole of the nation approach of the counter-insurgency government program Oplan Kapayapaan.
This is a battle between the righteous and evil. But eventually, the evil will end along with the downfall of the system that perpetuates evil doings.
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