Leaders of ecumenical group calls for peace amid COVID-19 pandemic

In observance of the International Day of Peace on September 21, Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Emeritus Antonio Ledesma urged the public to “to think creatively and collectively about how to help everyone recover better, how to build resilience, and how to transform our world into one that is more equal, more just, equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and healthier.”

The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) has called on the government to prioritize the country’s need for “transformative healing” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In observance of the International Day of Peace on September 21, Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Emeritus Antonio Ledesma urged the public to “to think creatively and collectively about how to help everyone recover better, how to build resilience, and how to transform our world into one that is more equal, more just, equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and healthier.”

The group also called on the government to focus its attention and resources on the health crisis instead of intensifying its counter-insurgency campaign.

“Today, the quest for peace to end the decades-old armed conflict between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) has become elusive again,” it said in a statement.

“With the breakdown of the peace negotiations, record shows there had been significant increases in armed encounters between the AFP and the NPA.  There were many recorded violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, even in the midst of a debilitating health crisis,” the group added.

With this, the PEPP enjoined the public to commemorate the International Day of Peace and call on the government to prioritize the country’s need for healing.

“Let us also call on the GRP and the NDFP to join the whole world in this important remembrance day by returning to the negotiating table, and together putting an end to further rights violations and the loss of life that result from the conflict.” — Ma. Angelica Garcia/BAP, GMA News

Leaders of ecumenical group calls for peace amid COVID-19 pandemic
Source: Filipino Viral News PH