Kalinaw News: Religious leaders support whole-of-nation approach in addressing infiltration of the religious sector

Posted to Kalinaw News (Oct 24, 2021): Religious leaders support whole-of-nation approach in addressing infiltration of the religious sector



Ormoc City, Leyte, October 23, 2021 – As an outcome of “Peace Forum with the Religious Sector” sponsored by the Municipal Government of Hinunangan, Southern Leyte, the religious leaders agreed to address the cpp-npa-ndf infiltration of the religious sector and to support the campaign of the Regional Task Force 8 to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) through the whole-of-government and whole-of-nation programs before the end of the Duterte administration as mandated under Executive No. 70, Series of 2018.

The forum was attended by more than 30 participants, including the pastors, preachers, council members and ordinary laymen of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), the local government unit of Hinunangan, the Army’s 802nd Infantry (Peerless) Brigade, 8th Infantry Division, the Situational Awareness and Knowledge Management Cluster of RTF8-ELCAC and the Sentrong Alyansa ng mga Mamamayan para sa Bayan (SAMBAYANAN) Eastern Visayas. Held at the Las Vegas Resort in Barangay Talisay, Hinunangan, Southern Leyte yesterday, the forum tackled the insidious, persistent and pervasive infiltration, manipulation and exploitation of the church by the cpp-npa-ndf terrorists and their front organizations.

The almost five-hour transformative dialogue resulted to the agreement that the participants shall cooperate on the following courses of action: find ways to help stop the communist terrorist group (CTG)’s “resource-generation scheme” using the church; create awareness among church members on the CTG’s sinister infiltration and exploitation of the religious sector using the arouse, organize and mobilize (AOM) methodology; and, prevent/stop CTG’s deceptive recruitment of the youth that results to the destruction of families by abusing legitimate church programs such as the so-called Youth Camps.

The participants unanimously support the call to sustain and expand the church-government-military-private sectors dialogue beginning at Circuit 3, SWLC composed of Southern Leyte’s so-called Pacific towns of Hinunangan, Silago, Hinundayan, Anahawan, St. Bernard, Liloan and San Francisco in Panaon Island.

In his brief remark, Mayor Fernandez, who is also the Chair of Hinunangan, Southern Leyte Municipal Task Force – ELCAC, called on the local church members “to be always aware” on the CPP-NPA-NDF manipulation of their sector and “to nip in the bud” any indication of CTG influence in their churches so it cannot grow any further into a serious problem.

He declared, however, his all-out support to the continuing dialogue with the church and any effort that will lead to the attainment of peace and prosperity in their community and the whole country as well.

In his closing remark, Brig. Gen. Oliveros pointed out the need for the people “to work together” in order to address the CTG church infiltration, to avoid the recruitment of young church people into the communist terrorism movement through deception, and to prevent the division and destruction of the church due to CTG infiltration, manipulation and exploitation.

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