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The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) has called on voters to elect candidates for the Senate and local positions who genuinely desire peace and support the call for the resumption of negotiations between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP.)
In an official statement released through its national coordinator Ofelia A. Cantor on May 7, 2025, PEPP said “on May 12, we will have another opportunity to make a change in the direction of our progress as a nation towards just and lasting peace. The 2025 National, Local, and BARMM Midterm Elections will determine the new senators, congressmen, provincial, city and municipal officials, and party-list groups who can either spearhead or prevent such a change. The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP), the largest ecumenical formation of church leaders today, calls on the people to vote for peace.”
PEPP explained that voting for peace means voting for candidates who work for a just and enduring peace. These candidates must be humble and willing to serve others. They must prioritize the welfare of their brothers and sisters and be vessels of Jesus’ promise of abundant life for all. “Hence, we encourage the electorate to choose candidates who do not only pay lip service to peace but also have a track record of addressing the root causes of the armed conflict, e.g., poverty, landlessness, inaccessibility to social services, and inequitable distribution of resources. They must also have displayed efforts to push for fundamental socio-economic reforms to address these social injustices,” PEPP stressed.
Ultimately, we may choose the candidates who support the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDFP, as it is a viable and less costly way to address the decades-long armed conflict in the country. “We invite the electorate to humbly seek God’s wisdom and guidance as they carefully discern and choose the candidates who prioritize peace. May our vote, valuable and powerful as it is, start a ripple of transformational change, reflecting our participation in peacemaking as children of God,” PEPP said.
Furthermore, as we work for peace, let us shun the politics of patronage, family political dynasties, and corrupt practices and the practice of “guns, goons and gold” (GGG) that continue to dominate the Philippine political landscape. After the elections, let us stay vigilant and ensure that elected officials fulfill their promises. “Finally, let us not get weary of praying and working for a just and lasting peace. Because, with our collective and active participation, we shall reap the fruits of our labor in due season,” PEPP argued.
Drawing inspiration from the instruction of King Lemuel’s mother to his son, PEPP counseled voters: “May we listen to the pleas of our motherland and choose the rightful leaders who will sincerely answer her lamentations. May they be peace-loving leaders who will judge righteously, uphold the rights of the destitute, and become the voice of those who cannot speak (Proverbs 31:8.)” The statement was signed by the following: Archbishop Emeritus Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, D.D., Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro City Co-Chairperson, PEPP; Rt. Rev. Rex B. Reyes, Jr., Episcopal Church in the Philippines, Co-Chairperson, PEPP, Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum (EBF); Bishop Emeritus Deogracias S. Iñiguez, Jr., D.D., Diocese of Kalookan, Head, PEPP Secretariat, Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum (EBF); Sr. Mary John D. Mananzan, OSB, Office of Women and Gender Concerns-Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (OWGC-CMSP); Rev. Dr. Aldrin M. Peñamora, Executive Director, Peace and Reconciliation Commission-Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PARC-PCEC), and; Ms. Minnie Anne M. Calub, General Secretary, National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP.)
PEPP is a platform for five church institutions, namely the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP), the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC), and the Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum (EBF.) It works toward a just and enduring peace by supporting the peace process between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
PEPP’s call for voters to elect peace advocates comes as National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano vowed to go hammer and tongs against progressive party lists and the Makabayan Coalition, with red-tagging against legal democratic organizations being unleashed without let-up by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) , the military and police as well as rabid fascist groups aligned with Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio and her detained father, the unlamented ex-president Rodrigo Duterte. Bayan Muna has already complained about the rash of harassment and threats on the lives of its campaigners while other partylists also slammed the arrest or abductions of its leaders and members in Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Bicol, Davao City and in Luzon. (DIEGO MORRA)
