While supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte painted a rosy picture of the present state of the nation, a huge Christian group said the Philippines “is now in sickbed.”
The Council of Bishops of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), which boasts of 50,000 members from all over the country, has expressed doubts about Duterte’s sincerity due to his alleged failed promises.
The group cited Duterte’s failure to abolish contractualization, end armed hostilities, and stamp out illegal drugs in six months, which the President promised when he was campaigning for President.
The bishops said that during their recent conversation with Duterte in Malacañang shortly after he took office, the president promised to address their concerns, such as resuming peace talks between the government and communist rebels and stopping the culture of impunity in the country.
“Our own experiences as a church are enough testimonies to doubt the sincerity of the President. A number of our members in the North Luzon Area, for example, are being subjected to harassment by state forces. At least 5 church members in North Luzon are now facing trumped-up charges,” the UCCP Council of Bishops said.
“The nation is now in sickbed and our people are in distress. Is there no balm in the Philippines?” they added in a statement signed on July 18.
The UCCP, which described itself as “an indigenous evangelical church formed by the union of Protestant Mission churches and institutions,” was founded in 1948.
The UCCP and the Catholic Church have served as the staunchest critics of Duterte’s policies.
Recently, both groups condemned the President after he called God stupid, as he continues to lambast Catholic bishops and priests for hypocrisy.
Meanwhile, militant leader Renato Reyes Jr. of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and National Capital Region Police Office Chief Guillermo Eleazar shared “lomi” as their breakfast meal Monday early morning before the third State of the Nation Address of President Duterte.
Both promised to maintain peace and order within the designated areas of their protest rallies along Commonwealth Avenue.
Eleazar, however, said only pro-Duterte supporters were allowed to stage their own rally near the Batasang Pambansa Complex.
According to Reyes, they stayed in front of St. Peter Parish Shrine and Ever-Gotesco to accommodate more than 3,000 protestor from various groups belonging to the United People’s Sona.
He said they declined the offer of the NCRPO to come closer to Batasan Hills.
Eleazar invited representatives from the Commission on Human Rights to closely monitor the protestations.
The League of Filipino Students called for the ouster of the President for inflation brought about by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law and extrajudicial killings due to the government’s war on drugs.
The Kilusang Mayo Uno that joined the protest rallies against Duterte slammed the government’s failure to end contractualization.
“Under Duterte, our jobs remain contractual. Our wages remain cheap, and our rights are further trampled,” KMU national chairman Elmer Labog said.
In a related development, Globe Telecom and Smart Communications temporarily cut their services in areas near the Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City on President Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address.
Globe users could no longer call, text or use mobile data from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm in the Batasan Complex, Commonwealth Avenue and Barangay Culiat.
Smart’s service was shut from 3 pm to 7 pm in the same areas.
The National Telecommunications Commission on July 20 ordered carriers to cut signal coming from cell sites in areas specified by the Presidential Security Group.
A July 20 memorandum directed ABS-CBN Convergence, Digitel Philippines, Globe Telecom and Smart Communications to temporarily cut their signals in the Batasan Complex, Commonwealth Avenue, and Barangay Culiat for security purposes.