Philippine United Methodist leaders recently voiced their opposition to the escalating war in the southern island of Mindanao. They also called on the Philippine government and Muslim separatist groups to return to the negotiation table and resume their dialogue.

"As United Methodist Christians, our stand is to continue to reach out to [the Muslims] in dialogue, believing that this is the path to peace," declared the Coordinating Council of the Philippines Central Conference during its meeting in mid-September. "As Christians, we oppose war. We believe that this will only generate hatred and distrust between Muslims, Christians, and Lumads." Lumads refers to the indigenous tribes who, with the Muslims, were among the original inhabitants of Mindanao.

The statement echoes the strong criticism earlier expressed by Catholic and other Protestant leaders against the military offensive launched this month against the Abu Sayyaf group. Extremist Muslim separatists, the Abu Sayyaf group is currently holding 17 hostages, including an American, three Malaysians, and 13 Filipinos. The group had previously released several of its foreign hostages upon payment of ransom amounting to millions of dollars.

On September 16, Philippine armed forces launched a massive assault on suspected Abu Sayyaf hideouts in Jolo, 600 miles south of Manila. According to news reports, as many as 50,000 people have fled their homes in Jolo, which has a total population of 470,000. Reports of indiscriminate killings and summary executions of suspected Abu Sayyaf members have also circulated, but could not be confirmed because of a tight military cordon around the area.

Bishop Paul Locke Granadosin of the Davao Episcopal Area, which covers Mindanao, reported that what used to be clearly-designated battle lines have been totally obliterated, while the field of engagement has widened to include all non-military targets such as children, women, and innocent people. "Buses are now bombed while still in terminals, others are stopped and burned on the highways, civilian vehicles are searched or sprayed with machine-gun fire with passengers still aboard, while bombs are surreptitiously concealed in public meeting places like markets and other gathering places," he said. Granadosin also expressed concern that the episcopal residence and office are adjacent to a military camp and in proximity to a rumored new Abu Sayyaf headquarters.

The Coordinating Council acknowledged in its statement that the critical issue for the Muslims in Mindanao, otherwise known as "Moro people," is one of self-determination. The council pushed for an understanding of the "deep-seated roots of the problem," and for a historically-based response to it. "Historically, our response to their political dissent has always been to suppress and crush their movement; but historically, too, this response has always been proven incapable of solving the crisis," the council stated.

Mindanao, touted as the "land of promise," became the home of Christian migrants from the northern islands of Luzon and the Visayas under a government-sponsored resettlement program in the post-war era. Muslims with ancestral roots to the land soon became a minority among the Christian settlers, and were dominated by them politically and economically. Decades of neglect and marginalization thus erupted in armed secessionist movements among the Muslim population.

The Coordinating Council also criticized big businesses for exploiting the resources of Mindanao and for its role in perpetuating the poverty of its people. It condemned what it viewed as the inhumanity and terrorist acts of the Abu Sayyaf group. Finally, the council agreed to raise one million pesos (approximately $22,000) as a disaster and relief fund to respond to the needs of people affected by the war.

In May, the General Conference passed a resolution supporting the cessation of hostilities in Mindanao and encouraging humanitarian agencies to care for the victims of the armed conflict there.

As of October 2nd, it has been reported that 80,000 people have now fled their homes in Jolo, a 30,000 increase from news accounts just days before, to escape the bombings. 12 of the Filipino hostages have escaped–they were evangelists who had decided on their own to go into the Abu Sayyaf camp to pray and fast for the release of the foreign hostages who were being held at the time. Instead, they were themselves captured and made hostages.

October 3, 2000

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