They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14, NRSV)
The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) is saddened and alarmed over the death of NDFP Consultant Rogelio Posadas, who the military claimed they killed after a series of encounters in the boundaries of Isabela and Binalbagan, Negros Occidental on April 20, 2023.
The news of the killing of Posadas came a few days after the announcement of the deaths of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, who were reportedly captured in August 2022, with eight others. The Communist Party of the Philippines claimed that the Tiamzons and their companions, who were all unarmed, were allegedly tortured, killed, and their bodies placed in a boat which was later blown up ostensibly by the military.
The killings of Posadas and the Tiamzon couple are allegedly similar to the killings of other NDFP consultants. According to reports, several peace consultants, including Ericson Acosta, were all killed under highly suspicious circumstances after they allegedly fought back. This is similar to the “nanlaban” narrative that is usually used to justify drug related killings. As such, the killings can also be investigated as they are violative of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), the body of international law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects1.
What is also alarming is that these killings perpetuate a vicious cycle of violence that will only intensify the armed conflict in the country that has raged for more than half a century. Ironically, many of these victims of violence were willing to engage in peace negotiations. The Tiamzon couple, for example, were very active in the formal peace talks, Benito was a member of the NDFP peace panel while Wilma chaired the reciprocal working group on End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces. Sadly, former President Rodrigo Duterte terminated the peace negotiations, forcing the couple to return to the underground.
As church leaders, we remain firm in our conviction that lasting peace in our nation will not be won by the power of war and the tallying of dead bodies on each side. Just as the prophet Jeremiah warned Jerusalem of old, peace must be the way, not further bloodshed (cf. Jeremiah 6:14, NRSV).
A just and lasting peace can be achieved through principled peace negotiations that will address the root causes of the armed conflict, such as hunger, poverty and the suffering of the majority. This must be done with goodwill from both parties. If this is not relentlessly pursued, the violence will only escalate and peace will not be achieved, no matter how many dead bodies are suffered by both sides.
We thus call on both the government and the NDFP to resume the formal peace talks. We also reiterate our appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to reconsider his administration’s approach to peace. We maintain that his predecessors’ all-out-war policy has failed to resolve the decades-old armed conflict despite the investment of huge resources and personnel. Such investment could have been better spent on poverty alleviation and sustainable development.
Issued and Signed on this day, April 24, 2023.
Sgd.
Archbishop Emeritus Antonio J. Ledesma, S.J., DD
Co-chairperson, PEPP
Sgd.
The Right Rev’d. Rex B. Reyes, Jr., ECP
Co-chairperson, PEPP
Sgd.
Rev. Dr. Aldrin Penamora
Executive Director
Peace and Reconciliation Commission, PCEC
Sgd.
Ms. Minnie Anne M. Calub
Acting General Secretary
National Council of Churches in the Philippines
Sgd.
Sr. Mary John D. Mananzan, OSB
Women and Gender Commission
Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines
Sgd.
Bishop Emeritus Deogracias S. Iniguez, Jr., D.D.
Head of the Secretariat, PEPP
*The PEPP is a platform for 5 church institutions/groups, namely, the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), Conference of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (formerly AMRSP) with organizations of Religious Mission Partners, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) and the Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum (EBF), in working for a just and enduring peace by supporting the peace process between the GRP-NDFP.
[1] According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), these laws “specifically protect people who are not taking part in the hostilities (civilians, health workers and aid workers) and those who are no longer participating in the hostilities, such as wounded, sick and shipwrecked soldiers and prisoners of war”. ICRC further states that these “Conventions and their Protocols call for measures to be taken to prevent or put an end to all breaches” and “they contain stringent rules to deal with what are known as ‘grave breaches’. Those responsible for grave breaches must be sought, tried or extradited, whatever nationality they may hold””. http://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions/overview-geneva-conventions.htm.
