Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform

(The Ecumenical Church Leaders Summit on Peace 2011 is a Conference on the peace process between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) which was initiated by the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform and held at the Mary Ridge Spiritual Center, Tagaytay City last July 19 to 21, 2011.)

Peace negotiations between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) have been going on and off over the past four decades in an effort to resolve the armed conflict. In February 2011, peace talks were resumed in Oslo with renewed hopes for a just and lasting resolution to this conflict.
   
It is in this context that the united voice of religious leaders representing the various religious communities in the country can play a significant role in ensuring the validity and sustainability of the peace process.  The success of this approach was historically proven in other countries with armed internal conflicts such as South Africa, Columbia, Ireland and others.

Objectives
   
Following the See – Judge – Act approach, the objectives of this summit of religious leaders are the following:

1. To understand the context and issues of the peace negotiations by listening to spokespersons of the GPH and NDFP panels;
2. To gain information about the current state of armed conflict and military operations in different regions of the country, as well as the estimated costs in terms of loss of lives and properties, and impact on the economy;
3. To be updated with the ongoing efforts of various Civil Society Organizations in monitoring and brokering the peace negotiations – e.g., the Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute (Waging Peace),  Sulong CARHRIHL and Pilgrims for Peace.
4. To review and articulate Christian spiritual traditions from the Bible and social teachings on  peacebuilding;
5. To form a Peace Constituency and to formulate an Ecumenical Plan of Action for religious communities at the local, regional, and national levels.

Participants

Five major federations of religious leaders will be invited to  to the summit:

1. National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
3. Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC)
4. Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF)
5. Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP)

The heads of these federations act as co-convenors of the summit, together with the PEPP co-chairpersons and secretariat head.

Participants are chosen along these guidelines:

1. They are based in ongoing conflict areas;
2. They are major church leaders ( i.e., bishop or equivalent head of  a local diocese or denomination or major religious superior)
3. They are in active service and are involved in promoting the peace process in their jurisdiction.
4. They are ecumenical in their outlook , open to dialogue, and are ready to engage in inter-faith peacebuilding activities in their own areas of responsibility as a follow-up of this summit.

The sub-regions identified with significant conflict situations are the following:

• In Luzon: Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol Region, and Metro Manila
• In the Visayas: Samar/Leyte, Negros island, Panay island
• In Mindanao: Caraga region, Northern Mindanao, South-Central Mindanao.

This summit is supported by the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform and the Norwegian Ecumenical Peace Platform (NEPP). Members of the PEPP Core Group served as secretariat and facilitators of the summit.

Participants gave information of the conflict situation and peace efforts in their local areas, and brought with them peace-building materials that they shared with the other participants.