United Methodist Dec 10, 2006


Over 100 community members from Bay Area organizations and church leaders from various denominations gather at the Daly City United Methodist Church to honor and remember the victims of the violent political killings in the Philippines. The church rite indicates the diversity of faith-based and community-based voices outraged by the rampant violent killings and by the failure of the Philippine government, police or military to stop the crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice.

This photo shows the commisioning of members of the United Methodist Church. 25 of them are going to the Philippines in February for a Fact Finding Mission on behalf of the Northern California UMC Conference. Leading the commissioning is Rev. Pam Shortridge, United Church of Christ, Mill Valley	Photo, top: Pastors and lay leaders from the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ and the PANA Institute cosponsored the interfaith service with community groups including the Filipino Community Center (FCC) in San Francisco, Filipino Community Support (FOCUS) in San Jose, and the Liwanag Kultural Center in San Mateo County. Photo, left: Nimrod Capulong with his wife, niece of Noli Capulong, who was killed this year. With them is a parishioner, Lerma, member of Rev. Jemias Tinambacan, who was also shot by death squads this year in Western Mindanao.

Photos courtesy of FCC/FOCUS/KI





Press Release For Immediate Release: December 6, 2006 Contact: Terrence Valen Mara Mendoza Filipino Community Center (FCC) Filipino Community Support (FOCUS) 415-203-0696 408-569-7895 Bay Area Church and Community Leaders Join Chorus of Voices Worldwide Denouncing Political Killings in the Philippines Multi-Denominational Service on International Human Rights Day Dec. 10 Will Call for "Justice for All Human Rights Victims!" San Francisco, CA – For the first time in Northern California, church leaders and Filipino community groups from around the Bay Area will hold a "Pagsambang Bayan" or "People's Worship" service. The service will raise awareness about and denounce the systematic and politically motivated killing of over 765 Filipino farmers, church people, journalists, union leaders, human rights advocates, students and others since the 2001 inauguration of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The event will take place on Sunday, December 10th 2006, International Human Rights Day, at 4pm at the Daly City United Methodist Church (1474 Southgate Avenue, Daly City, CA 94015). Over 100 community members from Bay Area organizations and church leaders from various denominations will gather to honor and remember the victims of the violent political killings. The church rite shows too the diversity of faith-based and community-based voices outraged by the rampant violent killings and by the failure of the Philippine government, police or military to stop the crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice. The vast majority of the victims have been critical of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. "Freedom of opinion and speech is a human right, and no person should be persecuted, much less killed, for exercising his or her right to dissent," stated Terrence Valen from the Filipino Community Center and committee member of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. Among the hundreds who have been killed, over 20 clergy and church leaders have been slain, including Bishop Alberto B. Ramento, aka the "Bishop of the Poor Peasants and Workers" and former chair of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP). He was found murdered with multiple stab wounds in his rectory on October 3, 2006. Mara Mendoza, director of FOCUS, asks, "How many families are still waiting for justice? This Christmas, how many children and parents will be without a mother, a father, a son, or a daughter? With economic hardships spread across the Philippines, who's going to provide for these families?" These killings and human rights abuses under the Macagapal-Arroyo administration have been well-documented by Amnesty International, Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation, the Paris-based Committee to Protect Journalists, and the U.S. State Department. Resolutions against the killings and human rights violations have come from groups as diverse as San Francisco based GAP, American Eagle Outfitters, Liz Claiborne, Ralph Lauren, Wal-Mart, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, the International Longshoremen's Workers Union, and the Joint Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines. Pastors and lay leaders from the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ and the PANA Institute will cosponsor this interfaith service with community groups including the Filipino Community Center (FCC) in San Francisco, Filipino Community Support (FOCUS) in San Jose, and the Liwanag Kultural Center in San Mateo County. Photo opportunities: Procession of images of victims of assassination, Christian witnessing by clergy and lay leaders from different churches and denominations, Commissioning of Methodist Church Fact-Finding Mission to the Philippines in February 2007, Outdoor Candelight Vigil and Procession following the service. ### _______________________________ Terrence Valen Organizational Director Filipino Community Center (FCC) 35 San Juan Avenue San Francisco, CA 94112 Phone: (415) 333-6267 Fax: (415) 333-6495 Email: filipinocc@sbcglobal.net < mailto:filipinocc@sbcglobal.net>
				Download Invitation to Pagsambang Bayan

				Download sermon of Rev. Wilson Ocera