CBCP to evaluate commission's engagement with NTF-ELCAC

MANILA — The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) clarified on Friday that only its commission would engage with the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and not the entire body.

In a statement, CBCP President and Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said the Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs's involvement with the NTF-ELCAC would address Church concerns on red-tagging of some cause-oriented groups.

David also said that the commission intended to provide "moral-ethical approaches" in addressing insurgency in the country.

"It’s not exactly CBCP as a conference but the Episcopal Commission of Public Affairs that is there as a private sector representative," David said.

"As such, this Commission has access to the NTF-ELCAC ExeCom and more opportunity to express the Church’s specific concerns, since its mandate is to act as a liaison of the CBCP to the public and private sectors and to advance some of the social concerns and issues of the Church."

David said that the CBCP as a whole would discuss the issue and evaluate whether it is necessary for the commission to join the NTF-ELCAC's executive committee.

"We intend to tackle this matter and come up with a concrete resolution on it in our forthcoming meeting of the CBCP’s Permanent Council," David explained.

"Can this commission engage the said government body in a dialogue without having to join its ExeCom as member — i.e. as private sector representative? We hope to come up with some resolutions on this matter soon."

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The CBCP drew flak after reports that it joined the NTF-ELCAC, which was previously criticized for its counter-insurgency measures, including the alleged red-tagging of some individuals and progressive organizations.

• CBCP now a member of NTF-ELCAC

Some Church members have been the target of red-tagging in the past, including Catholic nun Sr. Mary John Mananzan, a known political and feminist activist.

In a Facebook post in 2020, NTF-ELCAC's former spokesperson Lorraine Badoy called the 85-year-old Benedictine nun a “long-time ally” of a “communist terrorist organization”

• Mission in peril: ‘Red-tagging’ the religious sector in the Philippines
• Church-based org RMP slams terrorism financing charges vs nuns

Earlier, NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Usec. Ernesto Torres said the body agreed to have a member from the religious sector as one of the private sector representatives.

Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista, who heads the Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs, along with Fr. Jerome Secillano, will act as the representatives of the religious sector among the private sector.

But Bayan President Renato Reyes warned the CBCP that joining the NTF-ELCAC could send the wrong message to public as the bishops' body might be used to "deodorize the counter-insurgency task force amid a long list of abuses and violations attributed to it."

"The CBCP should continue to let its voice heard on matters affecting the people, but it should be cautious on what 'engagement' with the NTF ELCAC execom entails and its implications especially on the ground, in the localities and the sectors at the receiving end of state terror," he said.

Reyes added the CBCP should study the National Security Policy of the Marcos administration. The progressive leader said "red-tagging" and "sham localized peace talks were further entrenched in the policy instead of a series of peace negotiations to address the roots of armed conflict.

"The problematic NSP framework should be enough to clarify whether it is even necessary for the CBCP to join the NTF ELCAC execom as a private sector representative," Reyes said.

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