STATEMENT ON THE POST-MAY 9 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS MAY 25, 2022

THE 12th QUADRENNIAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Statement on the Post-May 9 National and Local Elections
May 25, 2022

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Jesus wept. (John 11:33, 35)

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.” (Psalm 46)

The Philippines went through what could likened to a death experience. The result of the recent Philippine elections is a death experience to the Filipino people as everything that we know and understand as true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing and commendable conduct of choosing our next set of leaders have been thrown out of the window.

A “whole-of-nation” conduct of fraud and mis/dis-information clouded the whole campaign and election process ensuring a favorable outcome for the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos and his team. Reports of massive vote-buying, high level of failures of vote counting machines, disturbing levels of state and military orchestrated red-tagging of candidates and parties all contributed to the bastardization of the supposedly sacred practice of suffrage.

Moreover, the proliferation of fake news in various popular news outfits and social media destroying the reputation of worthy candidates as well as the spread of false information benefitting the Marcos family and the revision of history characterizing the Martial Law years of the Philippines as a “golden age” of our country, all run counter to what is true and is therefore a vicious attack and disrespect not only to the Filipino nation but to all freedom-loving nations of the world. All these constitute the killing and death of the Filipino people’s sense of dignity and worth. With the outcome of the recent elections, death becomes us and we all weep at what we have now become.

As a Church, we are in the process of reflection and self-examination on the result of the 2022 national and local elections. We reckon with the lack of depth of our Christian Education in the Church. The teaching ministry has emphasized the centrality of truth of our humanity imaged in the person of Jesus Christ, however, popularity of political figures, espousing modern day idolatry has sidelined the ethical imperative of radical self-emptying love. We regret that we have failed to give credence to our liberating faith that could have raised a matured, analytical and ethically minded electorate.

Our moral and ethical judgement as a people, especially the marginalized and other sectors of society were clouded and swayed by the political schemes and machinations of the oligarchs and political dynasties, such as the smothering of the devastating impact of Martial Law declared in 1972 on the lives of the victims of human rights violations, and the inability of the Marcos authoritarian regime to carry out sustainable economic development and respect for human rights and civil liberties for the majority of the Filipino people.

We have come to realize that within our household of faith, there is a need to focus more on relentless education among our members down to local churches, communities and church workers, and carry out staunch efforts on church and community organizing. We will continue to be steadfast and unrelenting in our pastoral and prophetic resolve to be the beacon of hope for the poor, deprived and oppressed Filipinos. We should continue to embark on a more wholistic, effective and relevant mission and evangelism ministry.

As Jesus our Lord wept at the death of Lazarus, our Savior is also weeping with and for us right now in what we have experienced and what we have become. As followers of Christ, we should do the same, we express our disapproval, our disgust, our strong condemnation to the fraudulent conduct, in all fronts, of our May 09, 2022 national and local elections.

As in the time of Prophet Ezekiel, we are facing a greatly divided and devastated nation, confronted with a challenge to rebuild and restore to life the seemingly hopeless dry bones brought about by our stubborn departure from God’s instructions. God calls us to “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” The same is what we intend to carry out as a Church of Jesus Christ.

But this is not the end. As Jesus our Savior resurrects Lazarus back to life, we trust that our Savior will do the same for our country as we all commit to become instruments of Christ’s resurrection power in our struggle to bring back the truth, to continue with our vision for a government that serves and truly takes care of the needs of the people, to continue our quest to establish God’s reign where justice, peace and human rights prevail.

Approved by the 12th Quadrennial General Assembly
25 May 2022