Fully 240 United Methodists from five countries urged President Benigno Aquino III to uphold his “Jesuit principles” and see to it that the farmers involved in the violent April 1 dispersal of a rally in Kidapawan City are given food and allowed to exercise their rights without fear of punishment.
A delegation of eight Methodist pastors went to the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles on April 14 to present a letter to President Aquino calling on him to stop treating desperately hungry people like criminals and to allow the Methodist Church in Kidapawan to function as their refuge.
They expressed deep concern about the killing of two farmers who joined the protest and the harassment suffered of protesters who sought refuge at the Spottswood Methodist Mission Center by the police.
The delegation met with Consul Rea Oreta in Los Angeles.
“For the past 90 days, [the farmers] have been without food. They are hungry and without the means to sustain themselves. The blockade they set up on the highway was their urgent appeal to the government to address their needs, which was met not with food, but instead with bullets and bloodshed,” the letter said.
“Jesuits believe that Christian faith demands a commitment to justice. This is a passion that is shared by us, and we again call on you to uphold your Jesuit principles,” the pastors told the President, a graduate of Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University.
All of the 240 pastors, who signed the open letter have visited the Philippines and said they saw first-hand the struggles of the Filipino people.
Rea assured the delegation the open letter presented would be sent to the President.
The UMC delegation included Rev. Nestor Gerente, Rev. David Farley, Rev. Sandie Richards, Bentley, missionaries Nan McCurdy and Miguel Mairena, Joy Prim and Professor Marie Pico.