STOP THE SENSELESS KILLINGS OF CHURCH PEOPLE,
JUSTICE TO THE VICTIMS OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS

“With all boldness, as always so now also, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”. (Philippians 1. 20-21)

We, bishops, priests and faithful of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, are once again pained as two of our lay leaders became victims of the spate of senseless killings in the country. Our hearts bleed as we remember in prayers our brothers Benjamin Bayles and Jovelito Agustin, who were both killed for standing firmly for the cause of justice and peace in our land.

Benjamin Bayles was a lay minister in the Parish of San Ramon Nonato, and as a committed church worker, he was a District Chairman of the Aglipayan Forum, the Church’s advocacy group, in the Diocese of Negros Occidental. He was an active member of the human rights organization September 21 Movement, and the peasant organization National Federation of Sugar Workers, and also a member of Bayan Muna Partylist. His involvement with the marginalized sector and peasants and workers organizations has earned him the ire of the military who tagged him as a member of the New People’s Army.

On June 14, while waiting for a ride in Himamaylan City, Bayles was attacked by two men wearing helmets on board a black motorcycle. He was shot several times, and when he fell to the ground, the gunmen continue to shoot at him to ensure that he was dead. He was brought to the hospital by was pronounced dead-on-arrival. He had received numerous threats to his life prior to his killing.

Jovelito Agustin was a lay minister in the Parish of Saint Andrew the Apostle, and the Diocesan President of the Laymen of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (LIFI) in the Diocese of Laoag. He was a broadcaster by profession and worked as an anchorman of a local radio program. He was a pro-labor commentator and widely used his radio program to help victims of illegal recruitment in the province.

Agustin was on his way home onboard his motorcycle after an evening broadcast on June 15 when two motorcycle-riding gunmen overtook him along the highway and shot him several times. He died in the hospital where he was rushed to after the shooting. Unidentified gunmen also fired shots at his residence a month ago, and had received death threats prior to his killing.

Our brothers Benjamin and Jovelito both worked for the cause of truth, justice and peace, and for the defence of the rights of the marginalized. They were both killed and now their names are counted in the endless list of victims of extra-judicial killings mainly attributed to state security forces.

They are the latest victim of a systematic attempt to silence the Iglesia Filipina Independiente that is perceived to be an ‘enemy of the state’ and listed in the ‘echelon of alliances’ with the communist movement in the country. Their death clearly points to a re-intensification of political killings and worsening political repression and human rights violations in the Philippines.

We call on the civil society and the international community to bring the issue of political repression and extra-judicial killings, and human rights violations in the country to human rights bodies, most especially to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

We call on human rights defenders in the country, including the Churches, to remain vigilant against this onslaught aimed towards those who work for the cause of justice and peace, for the promotion of civil rights and democratic reforms in the government.

We call on the incoming President to take decisive steps to put a stop on the killings and culture of impunity in the country, and to give justice to all victims of human rights violations. We also ask him to support the people’s call to hold the government of Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo accountable to the numerous cases of political repression and killings in the Philippines under the military’s counter-insurgency policy, Oplan Bantay Laya.

We further challenge the incoming President to hold true in its promise to uphold the people’s democratic rights and to make the Philippine government abide to its commitment to international human rights instruments.

The Iglesia Filipina Independiente has made another precious offering with the death of our brothers Benjamin Bayles and Jovelito Agustin. In spite of this, even when our priests and prophets are persecuted and put to death, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente will never waver in faith and will persist in proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Our brothers, Benjamin Bayles and Jovelito Agustin, now share the same fate of Father Narciso Pico, Father William Tadena, and Bishop Alberto Ramento, who were brutally murdered for serving the least of our people. In their memory, we continue to steadfastly commit ourselves to the struggle of God’s people for justice and peace.

Pro Deo et Patria,

† THE MOST REVD GODOFREDO J. DAVID, D.D.
Obispo Maximo XI

16th June 2010
Obispado Maximo

A blatant disregard for the Constitution is the least that the Filipino people should expect from Congress. But this is what has exactly happened when the House of Representatives railroaded the passing of House Resolution 1109 which allows Congress to convene into a Constituent Assembly to introduce amendments to the Constitution.

The Filipino people have been dishonored by the House of Representatives which treacherously acted like “a thief in the night” in a self-serving decision to transform Congress into a Constituent Assembly. What transpired reveals how those who claim to represent our people in government are severely wanting in political and moral sensibility. They have betrayed the legitimate interest of the Filipino people in exchange for their personal political interest. They have trampled upon our inherent rights as a people to participate in a political process that charts the fate of our nation.

Discernible is the unconcealed intervention of Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who has wielded her baton of power all along the entire political orchestration on Charter Change. The Filipino people know very well her obstinate desire to perpetuate herself in power beyond 2010 through Charter Change. Her initiative once again draws sharp questions regarding her competence to make the right decision for the country. She has stripped herself of all pretensions and exposed how deeply rotten a political leader she is.

We take our steadfast stand against Charter Change. We know that the main agenda of recent attempts on Charter Change is to postpone the 2010 national elections to prolong the stay of scheming politicians to power, amend domestic laws to conform to the exploitative demands of the global capitalist market, and to wantonly brush aside the people’s rights and welfare, and the country’s national sovereignty.

We firmly hold that Charter Change is not the answer to the present economic, political, social and moral crisis. The grave problems we face today cannot be simply attributed to the perceived flaws in the Constitution as Ms. Arroyo wants us to believe. They are the outcome of irresponsible governance by leaders with questionable authority, credibility and integrity, and the centuries old structures and systems that protect the country’s tiny elite at the expense of the huge majority.

We further believe that if there should be any change under this present government, it is Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself, with her illegitimate claim to the presidency, who must be changed.

Let us reclaim our national honor amidst the betrayal of our legitimate interest as a people of this nation. The imperatives are clear for us:

Let us sharply express our critical opposition to Charter Change and strongly assert our inherent right to participate in making political choices as citizens of this country amidst the sinister plan to amend the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly.

Let us ensure that the nation holds the 2010 presidential election and resist with strong indignation the wicked efforts of those political leaders to perpetuate themselves in power with devious schemes.

We call upon our brothers and sisters in the faith; let us remain vigilant against formidable political forces that seek to rob away our rights, and firmly commit our steadfast support to the Filipino people’s struggle to establish a truly democratic government in the country where their interests are truly heard and served.

Pro Deo et Patria,

† THE RT REVD EPHRAIM S. FAJUTAGANA
  General Secretary


† THE MOST REVD GODOFREDO J. DAVID, D.D.
  Obispo Maximo


Statement issued by the 11th Executive Commission of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente during its 5th Regular Meeting on June 3-4, 2009 at Saint William the Hermit Parish, Diocese of Isabela.

November 13, 2008

 

ADDRESS OF THE OBISPO MAXIMO

TO THE 2008 MINDANAO PLENARY ASSEMBLY

 

To the honourable President of the Mindanao Bishops Conference, the Right Reverend Rhee Timbang, the venerable bishops of MINBISCON, esteemed members of the clergy, and respected lay leaders of our seven local churches in Mindanao, I greet you all in the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Let me begin by extending my sincerest apology for not being with you on this very important occasion. The Executive Committee of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, where I sit and represent our Church, is likewise having its meeting on the date that coincides with your gathering. As much as I wanted to meet with you and personally deliver my address today, I have already given my commitment a long time ago to this equally important schedule, prior to your invitation.

 

I have been asked by our MINBISCON President to focus my address on lay ministry. This is indeed a topic which has significant bearings in our understanding of the nature of the Church and in pushing forward the mission that God has entrusted to the Church.

 

The Iglesia Filipina Independiente has a history of strong lay participation from its beginning up to the present. Our journey through the years has seen how the active involvement of lay people has given meaningful contribution in the way we collectively carry out the mission of the Church. Certainly, our corporate life, work and witness have been significantly enhanced by the ministry of the laity. There is no doubt that empowered lay participation is so important to the life and ministry of the Church. Our lay people should continue to be adequately equipped with the necessary skills and be further enabled for the work of mission. We can bring about the holistic renewal of the entire Iglesia Filipina Independiente if the inherent gifts they possess are fully enhanced and fully utilized for doing mission.

 

Our Constitution attests to the valuable ministry of the laity in the Church. We are all witnesses to the noteworthy change in the customary practice of clergy leadership that came with the inauguration of lay people’s participation thirty years ago. We have seen how lay participation has sparked a dynamic process in the life of the local churches and the entire Church in general. We have corrected the mistaken idea that was prevalent in the past wherein lay people were viewed merely as ‘support group’ from where the material and moral support for the ministry of the clergy were usually drawn-out. Our conscientization efforts have resulted to the realization that lay people share equal responsibility with the clergy in building up the Church, in supporting its corporate life, work and witness, and in doing the work of mission.

 

The IFI has never stopped in her conscious efforts to empower her lay constituency. These conscious efforts are reflected in the Comprehensive National Program (1992-2002 CNP) and the Ten Year Strategic Plan (2002-2012 TYSP) of the Church both of which give encouragement to the ministry of lay people by increasing their roles in the governance of the Church and in the implementation of her comprehensive development program. Under our current program in the TYSP, fundamental importance and focus is given to the formation of a ‘consolidated and enhanced membership’. This is so because we are convinced that institutional development can only be achieved if we can successfully make as backbone of such undertaking the abundant potentials of our lay people.

 

Simply put, “sustained empowerment of the laity” constitutes our principal strategy in enhancing the Church’s institutional capabilities for the building up of the Church and in carrying out the work of mission. Guided by this principle of empowered lay participation, it is quite interesting to note the different areas where active engagement of lay people is now taking place in the Church.

 

First, there is strong laity participation in the level of ecclesial organization. Lay people are represented from the parish, to the diocese, to the national organs of leadership and occupy positions that deal with executive functions, financial administration, program implementation and consultancy positions.

 

Second, there is strong laity participation in the liturgical life of the Church. Lay people take an active part in worship; assuming functions which were naturally reserved to the priest, or as a rule centralized around him, such as the reading of the Gospel or in the distribution of the Holy Communion.

 

Third, there is strong laity participation in the teaching ministry of the Church. Lay people are more and more becoming engaged in catechetical instruction and in the evangelical work of the Church. Moreover, lay ministry has, by and large, become in itself a module for teaching our lay people about their roles in the Church.

 

Fourth, there is strong laity participation in the area of pastoral work.. Lay people are exercising their ministry beyond the organizational confines of the Church. Outreach and responsible participation in society has enhanced the social ministry of the Church.

 

While it cannot be said that this kind of participation can be readily found in every local church, it gives us more the reason to work towards the empowered participation of the laity in ordering, organizing and enriching our corporate life as a Church. We have to admit that numerous challenges still confront the full potential for an active lay ministry in the Church. There is no easy solution to these problems. We can, even so, gradually overcome probable hindrances by equipping ourselves with the proper orientation, coupled with correct approaches, in the empowerment of lay people in the Church.

 

I would like to invite you to reflect on these two points for the further development of lay ministry in the local churches.

 

First, lay ministry is a primary necessity in the life, work and witness of the local church. We strongly believe that sustained empowerment of the laity should then be chiefly addressed in the local churches where opportunities for the development of lay ministry richly abound. The context of our local churches provide for the active participation of lay people as their corporate life point to the responsibility of all and imply a recognition of the diversity of functions in the Church. Our local churches must be creative in exploring various forms of lay ministry to help members of the community find their special role in the Church.

 

Second, lay ministry is a function of collaboration with the ordained ministry. The empowered participation of lay people also points toward mutual partnership with the clergy in the Church. Building up the Church is the common task of the entire constituency of the Church. It is therefore essential that genuine partnership, cooperation and co-responsibility are constantly nurtured between the clergy and the laity. We must be constant and firm in understanding that lay people are equal partners in ministry and that they deserve to have an opportunity to receive education that will motivate, educate and continuously train them to enhance growth and productivity.

 

Brothers and sisters, as I conclude, let me congratulate you for holding this 2008 Mindanao Plenary Assembly. Your efforts are highly commendable and I pray that all your efforts devoted for this gathering may return to you a hundredfold blessing.

Pro Deo et Patria,

 

† MOST REVD GODOFREDO J. DAVID

Supreme Bishop

3rd October 2008

 

 

‘Be strong, and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait for the Lord’ (Psalm 31: 24)

 

Pastoral Letter of the Obispo Maximo in Commemoration of the

Second Death Anniversary of the Most Reverend Alberto B. Ramento

 

Two years ago, Bishop Alberto B. Ramento, ninth Obispo Maximo of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, was brutally killed. We continue to mourn the loss of a good bishop who, in his time, had selflessly devoted his life to the work of peacemaking and who offered his sincerest friendship to the poor and oppressed. His exemplary life offers us inspiration to persist in our work for peace.

 

We lament that our quest to give justice to his death remains fruitless to this day. Mrs. Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo has completely ignored our call to probe on Bishop Ramento’s death and has shown absolute indifference to a just man and a servant of God who was murdered under her watch. Mrs. Arroyo’s silence is inexcusable and demonstrates her glaring disregard to human rights violations under her government.

 

We do not wonder. The event that daily unfolds before our very eyes shows that Mrs. Arroyo really knows not the path to justice and peace. The enduring systematic attacks on progressive organizations, unabated political killings and abduction of activists, and Mrs. Arroyo’s counter-insurgency program and total-out-war policy, unmistakably lays bare her position on human rights. The heavy yoke of political oppression continue to drag our people down to their knees, not sparing even our clergy and church workers who fall victims to harassments by the military.

 

It is precisely under these circumstances that we, clergy and faithful, must persevere and strive much harder to work for just peace in our midst, encouraged by the living memory of Bishop Ramento. Let the martyrdom of Bishop Ramento becomes a new point of departure in living out our historical mission to serve our people and to be in solidarity with them in their struggle. Let us make his courageous faith ours and hold high the banner of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, the Church that he had loved, as we journey with our people towards a just and peaceful society.

 

Thus, today, as we remember Bishop Ramento – priest, prophet, patriot, peacemaker – we reiterate our collective call for:

 

(1)   the repeal of government’s pro-globalization policies that breed socio-economic injustice and which further aggravate the flight of the poor,

 

(2)   the holding of an impartial and independent investigation on cases of human rights violations, and

 

(3)   the withdrawal of Mrs. Arroyo’s national security policy and counter-insurgency program in dealing with the armed conflict in the country.

Brothers and sisters, let us constantly draw inspiration from the life of Bishop Alberto Ramento who had given faithful witness to Christ amidst persecution and who lived the hope and faith of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente to his death. Let his ministry to the least and last of our people deepen our commitment to firmly carry out our ministry even in the most precarious of times.

 

Let us also continue to pray for our clergy and church workers who suffer persecution and who live under the incessant threat of death as they pursue the mission that God has entrusted to the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.

 

Pro Deo et Patria,

 

 

† THE MOST REVEREND GODOFREDO J. DAVID

   Obispo Maximo

 

3rd September 2008

 

Their Graces

THE VENERABLE BISHOPS

Iglesia Filipina Independiente

 

Dear Brother Bishops,

 

Grace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

The Church will commemorate the second death anniversary of the Most Reverend Alberto B. Ramento, our ninth Obispo Maximo, on 3rd October 2008.

 

The Diocese of Tarlac, in coordination with the Obispado Maximo, will be holding a commemoration service on 3rd October at 8:30 in the morning at San Sebastian Parish in Tarlac City. The service will be attended by the clergy and faithful in the nearby dioceses, ecumenical friends and people’s organizations. To pay tribute to the memory of Bishop Ramento and to present an update on his murder case, a forum in the afternoon of that day will also be held at Aglipay Central Theological Seminary (ACTS) in Pangasinan.

 

We strongly desire to have your presence on these occasions, but if time and distance would be a restriction for you to join us, we urge you to say a Requiem Mass on October 3, or on October 5, which is the Sunday closest to Bishop Ramento’s death anniversary, in your diocese and parishes.

 

Let us all pray for the eternal repose of our brother, Bishop Alberto Ramento, and find inspiration in his life and ministry as we carry on the work for justice and peace.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

 

† THE MOST REVEREND GODOFREDO J. DAVID

   Obispo Maximo

 

STOP THE bloodshed and immoral war,

pursue PEACE for the people of MINDANAO

 

‘May the Lord give strength to his people.

May the Lord bless his people with peace. (Psalm 29. 11)

 

The Iglesia Filipina Independiente is deeply alarmed by the escalating war between the government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). We are pained to see that the aspiration for peace of the people of Mindanao, Muslims, Christians and Lumads alike, has been thrown once more into the fire with the resurgence of war.

 

In the midst of the bloodshed, we can loudly hear the Bangsamoro people’s cry for justice against political oppression and racial discrimination. Underneath the raging war that now grips the entirety of Mindanao is a saga of the century-old struggle of the Bangsamoro people for self-determination and right to ancestral land.

 

This is the fundamental issue that Ms. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had missed when she wickedly toyed with the most precious dream of the Bangsamoro people with a mirage of autonomy under the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD). We have serious doubts over her intentions and suspect that everything was merely a part of her political antics as she knows very well that the creation of an autonomous jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro people has essential constitutional limitations.

 

We hold Ms. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo responsible for the raging war in Mindanao. Ms. Arroyo’s charade over the welfare of the Bangsamoro people hastily collapsed with her unparalleled penchant for military options once again unravelling before our very eyes. The order she had given the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to carry out an all-out war against the MILF plainly attests to the duplicity of her intentions that, in return, only resulted to the sabotage of the peace negotiations between her government and the MILF.

 

In the same manner, we urge the MILF to pursue their conviction and assert their honour in a principled struggle and not to resort to rogue military operations that would harm non-combatants and the civilian population. The struggle to uphold the dignity and integrity of the Bangsamoro people is justifiable in the backdrop of aggression. However, respect for the safety and protection of non-Moro people must be observed since the defence of life is an essential human responsibility even in times of waging a just war.

 

The way to peace in Mindanao lies not in an all-out-war as advocated by Ms. Arroyo. We believe that the application of military solution to force the capitulation of the MILF without addressing their demands is morally unacceptable and will not bring peace for the people of Mindanao. Ms. Arroyo must look into the root of the social discontent of the Bangsamoro people and not whipped them with war that rips the whole of Mindanao.

 

The war in Mindanao must be stopped for it is immoral. The killing of people and the shedding of blood are unnecessary. In this spirit, we strongly call the cessation of all armed hostilities between the AFP and MILF, and to give way for the rehabilitation of the affected communities. We particularly urge Ms. Arroyo to mobilize government agencies and resources to undertake social services for people traumatized by the war.

 

We strongly call Ms. Arroyo and her government to take the path of peace, and shun all militarist solution and opt for the principled resolution of the conflict in Mindanao. We strongly urge her to initiate the resumption of the peace negotiations with the MILF in utmost urgency to discuss the legitimate demands of the Bangsamoro people that are essential in bringing peace for the people of Mindanao.

 

The Iglesia Filipina Independiente prays for and commits herself to work for the resolution of the conflict that the war may come to an end and hope that peace eventually would reign in Mindanao and in our beloved nation.

 

 

† (SGD) THE MOST REVD GODOFREDO J. DAVID, D.D.

  Obispo Maximo

 

Feast of Birhen ng Balintawak

26th August 2008