Statement of Support and Solidarity with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines

We have learned with great concern of the emerging development in the Philippines where the ACT Alliance member, the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) has been included on the list of ‘front organisations of local communist terrorist groups’ presented by the Department of National Defense. We are very disturbed by this depiction and find it to be completely out of touch with what we know the NCCP to represent.

ACT Alliance (Action by Churches Together) is a global network of churches and faith-based organisations working in collaboration to support people and communities affected by disasters and poverty. NCCP, as a member of our Alliance, has been instrumental in supporting church-led emergency responses in many natural disaster events and in community-based development programmes, which includes in recent years significant emergency response for Typhoon Haiyan, Typhoon Mangkhut, and the Marawi Siege. NCCP is an active member of the Philippine Faith-Based Organizations (FBO) Forum and an active participant in humanitarian coordination platforms that are led by the NDRRMC and various government and UN agencies. We are extremely grateful for and proud of this work and we know that the lives and dignity of the people and communities served through the ministry of NCCP are better as a result.

We strongly associate ourselves with the identity of NCCP as a fellowship of churches following God’s call to serve the people of the Philippines through service, ecumenical education and Christian unity. This work does not imply any association with terrorist organisations. NCCP has undertaken this work with grace, integrity and exemplary servant leadership.

We stand in solidarity with the NCCP and other partners who have wrongfully been included on the above-mentioned list. We call on the Government of the Philippines to remove NCCP from the list, in view of its unverified nature and the security and operational threats it poses. We call on the Government of the Philippines to ensure the safety and security of all its citizens and to uphold the important role of civil society and social service organisations such as the NCCP. We believe that the Government of the Philippines shares our commitment to serve the needs of communities and address the root causes of poverty and disasters, with a strong recognition of international human rights and humanitarian law, and God’s call to service and unity.