The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines, (NCCP) has vowed to “fully support” incoming President Duterte “in all his mandated tasks” but called on him at the same time “to honor the trust” bestowed on him by the people, as it raised “deep concern” about some of his pronouncements, notably on the return of the death penalty and on human-rights issues.
In a statement, the NCCP welcomed the “orderly and peaceful conduct” of the recent elections “despite the highly charged and at times unacceptable rhetoric during the campaign.”
While citing the “impressive” speed of the election counting, the NCCP noted that the automated election system remained “open to security breaches and potential fraud” and urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to ensure that in future polls, the system remains “secure, legally compliant and not overly dependent on a foreign entity.”
The NCCP also noted the disfranchisement of many voters because the malfunction of a number of vote-counting machines and flaws in the pre-poll registration process. It likewise deplored continued vote buying, intimidation, violence and murder in the electoral process. “We believe election-related fraud and violence will persist in our nation until legal and constitutional measures are adopted to curb the evils of political dynasties and the dominance of the elite in our political system,” the NCCP said.
The NCCP said it was “deeply concerned” with Dueterte’s statements on human-rights issues. “Respect for human rights must be at the forefront in any quest for national development. As a part of an international community, we are signatories to various international conventions on human rights, it is our solemn obligation to fully honor that commitment. Respect for the rule of law is primordial,” the NCCP said.
It also pledged to “resolutely oppose” any move to revive the death penalty. “We believe that our compassionate God is Lord of life and death, and for the state to deprive a citizen of his or her life is not anchored biblically.”
Saying that the call for peace has always been a central advocacy of the NCPP for decades, the church group also expressed full support for Duterte’s plan to revive the formal peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). “We maintain that the immediate recourse is to address the root causes of the armed conflict and to concentrate on the social agenda that can bring peace based on justice to our land,” the NCCP said.
On the Philippines’s relationships with other countries, notably the United States and China, the NCCP said it hoped the new President will pursue a “nationalist foreign-policy agenda that first and foremost strongly asserts Philippine interests.” Duterte had been quoted as saying he would take greater interest on the Philippines-US relationship to ensure that it primarily serves our country’s interests, and that he would seek greater dialogue with China on the disputes in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).
On Duterte’s announcement that he would seek constitutional change to adopt a federal system of government in the country and to encourage increased foreign investments by modifying the current provision that restricts foreign ownership, the NCCP cautioned him that the “appropriateness and propriety of constitutional change must always be for the benefit and interest of the majority of Filipinos, especially the poorest and most marginalized,” and that, therefore, such charter changes “must be seriously studied and a Constitutional Convention must be convened for the purpose.” The convention, it said, “must be composed of the best and the brightest in the country, of upright men and women. The appropriate mode of calling the Convention and the composition thereof must be studied and considered.”
The NCCP said it will remain vigilant and continue to follow through the campaign promises of the winning candidates. “We hope that the new administration’s programs will truly address the challenges of social justice and the need for fundamental socio-economic reforms that will address the issues of poverty, inequity and landlessness.
“There is a need to urgently address the unacceptable levels of unemployment and underemployment in the country, wage injustice and lack of adequate, humane working conditions, and the forces that propel our people to seek employment abroad,” the NCCP said.
The NCCP, founded in 1963, is the largest aggroupment of non-Roman Catholic churches in the Philippines —it has 10 member-churches and nine associate members—and has been keeping abreast with developments in the country. The stateement was signed by retired Sandiganbayan Justice Raoul V. Victorino, chairman; Bishop Rodolfo A. Juan, vice chairman; Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz Duremdes, vice chairman; Lizza Bella R. Brown, vice chairman; Rex RB Reyes, general secretary and Reynaldo M. Natividad, corporate treasurer.