Press Statement from NCCP: Justice for Fallen Martyrs
Statement by Global Ministries Partner, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, on the anniversary of the death of UCCP Conference Minister Rev. Edison Lapuz
Statement by Global Ministries Partner, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, on the anniversary of the death of UCCP Conference Minister Rev. Edison Lapuz
Justice for Our Fallen Martyrs!
One year ago today, the REV. EDISON LAPUZ, Conference Minister of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), leader of the Ecumenical Movement in Eastern Visayas, and, officer of the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR), was killed in San Isidro Leyte.
Rev. Lapuz is one of 15 church persons killed under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration. His advocacy earned the ire of people who want to crush the voices of legitimate dissent. Like others before him, Rev. Lapuz joins the list of Christian martyrs who have been killed because of their dedication to the defense of the powerless .
To this date, his death remains unsolved just like many others before him who were similarly felled by assassins’ bullets. Even as we now observe the day of his martyrdom, REV. JEMIAS TINAMBACAN was ambushed with his wife, REV. MALOU TINAMBACAN. Both are UCCP Pastors. Rev. Malou Tinambacan, former Conference Minister of the District Conference of Northern Mindanao, survived the incident.
The brutal slay of Rev. Tinambacan came following an editorial in a major newspaper expressing alarm on the increasing number of killings among activists. Until now, the president has remains mum on the killings.
Rev. Lapuz and Rev. Tinambacan may have been silenced. But, what happened to them should open the mouths of those who are yet silent on the injustices in this land. What happened to them is outrageous.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) calls for justice not only for the church people who have been killed but for all victims of summary executions. We appeal to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to act and act swiftly in giving justice to Rev. Lapuz, Rev. Tinambacan, and others before them. The NCCP expresses its deep thanks and appreciation to our international partners who sent their messages to convince the Philippine government to put an end to this carnage as well as convey their solidarity with churchworkers and the rest of Filipinos struggling for genuine peace and justice.
Amidst the violence and destruction, the wickedness and the perversion of justice is written loud and clear: “For still the vision awaits its time; it hastens to the end, it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay . . . For the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea,” (Habakkuk 2:3, 14)
MS. SHARON ROSE JOY RUIZ-DUREMDES
General Secretary-National Council of Churches in the Philippines