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Christian youth group criticizes CBCP panel's inclusion in NTF-ELCAC

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Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president, Most Rev. Pablo Virgilio David during his homily for the Solidarity Mass held at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help or Baclaran Church on April 6, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/09/02/20220406-election-cbcp-solidarity-mass-gc-8.jpg"/><figcaption>Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president, Most Rev. Pablo Virgilio David during his homily for the Solidarity Mass held at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help or Baclaran Church on April 6, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — The Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP) on Saturday criticized the inclusion of the unit of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in the country&#x27;s anti-insurgency task force, advising it to be cautious. Kej Andres, the group&#x27;s national chairperson, said they were &quot;very surprised&quot; with the news that the CBCP joined the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), because the CBCP had been vocal on the &quot;excesses&quot; of government on human rights and red tagging. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/01/23/cbcp-clarifies-engagement-with-ntf-elcac">CBCP says only its panel will engage NTF-ELCAC on red-tagging, other issues</a></li></ul>&quot;Since the red-tagging of NTF-ELCAC has killed, put into bars numerous church people, it is very disturbing for the religious people... this kind of engagement [of the CBCP] with [the task force],&quot; said Andres. The CBCP on Friday clarified that the Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs&#x27; involvement with the NTF-ELCAC would address Church concerns on red-tagging of some cause-oriented groups. CBCP President and Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David added that the commission intended to provide &quot;moral-ethical approaches&quot; in addressing insurgency in the country. But Andres said the CBCP &quot;should look into the limitations&quot; of its involvement of the task force. He also does not believe that the episcopal commission would be able to enforce reforms in the NTF-ELCAC. &quot;The NTF-ELCAC cannot be reformed and should be abolished because it has not been accountable for the crimes it committed to the people. Many church people have been persecuted, killed because of the red-tagging spree,&quot; he said. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/31/23/cbcp-commission-joins-ntf-elcac">CBCP commission joins NTF-ELCAC</a></li></ul>The task force, he alleged, aims to &quot;militarize&quot; the civilian aspects of the Filipino public in terms of social development and caring for the poor. Earlier in the day, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año welcomed the Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs&#x27; inclusion to the anti-insurgency task force, saying he looks forward to a productive engagement with the religious sector. Año said the presence of the commission would help address the Church&#x27;s concerns in the task force.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/22/22/ntf-elcac-gets-share-in-proposed-2023-national-budget">NTF-ELCAC gets share in proposed national budget for 2023</a></li></ul>&quot;The Church will have more opportunity to relay its concerns, since its mandate is to act as a liaison of the CBCP to government,&quot; said Año. “We are opening the doors of NTF ELCAC to the Church because it has an important role to play in ending violence and terrorism in the country,&quot; he added &quot;For more than 50 years, we have lived under the scourge of the communist armed conflict. With peace now in sight, the Church has an important role to play in ensuring peace and development in the long term,” he said.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. Bayan President Renato Reyes also warned the CBCP that joining the NTF-ELCAC could send the wrong message to public as the bishops&#x27; body might be used to &quot;deodorize the counter-insurgency task force amid a long list of abuses and violations attributed to it.&quot;<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2787416" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The Christian youth group said the CBCP 'should look into the limitations' of its involvement of the task force. 

Christian youth group criticizes CBCP panel's inclusion in NTF-ELCAC

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Christian youth group criticizes CBCP panel's inclusion in NTF-ELCAC

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 02, 2023 03:00 PM PHT

|

Updated September 02, 2023 04:09 PM PHT

Read More:

NTF-ELCAC

CBCP

Student Christian Movement of the Philippines

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

red-tagging

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