The event “Sowing Seeds of Faith Solidarity for the Filipino People’s Struggle for Peace” (Paghahasik ng Punla ng Nagkakaisang Pananalig para sa Pakikibaka ng Sambayanang Pilipino para sa Kapayapaan) was held in Rome, Italy on June 27-28. More than 70 representatives from various faiths and human rights groups from 13 countries attended the gathering. The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP), the International Interfaith Network of ICHRP, and the Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines led the event. The gathering responded to the urgent need for unity among church people to support the Filipino people’s struggle for peace.
ICHRP Vice Chairperson Rev. Patricia Lisson opened the gathering by honoring Ka Louie Jalandoni, the long-time National Democratic Front of the Philippines chief negotiator.
“Ka Louie did not merely call for peace, he demanded a just peace. He never sought quiet resistance with token reforms. It was a peace of people’s power,” Rev. Lisson said.
In his keynote, Caritas vice president Bishop Gerardo Alminaza emphasized the church’s duty to “accompany those under threat, listing political prisoners, searching for the disappeared, [and] advocating for peace talks, not surrender.” He drew inspiration from the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, themed “Hope,” where the church must “plant seeds of justice” even in hostile environments.
The gathering highlighted ongoing human rights violations in the Philippines, including thousands of extrajudicial killings in the name of the “war on drugs” under the former Duterte regime, plunder of land and resources under the Marcos regime, and repression of environmental activists and church people. Human rights activist in Southern Tagalog Charmane Maranan described this culture as “unpeace,” the opposite of peace, marked by repression, normalization of violence, suppression of critical thinking, and criminalization of resistance. She also described it as the US assault on the Philippines under the guise of “development” and “defense from China.”
Meanwhile, NDFP Negotiating Panel member Coni Ledesma recounted the delay in peace negotiations and said the GRP uses every opportunity to “block, suspend, or terminate all efforts to advance the process.”
International solidarity was a key theme in the statements of peace advocates from Catalonia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Australia, and the US. They affirmed their support for the Filipino people’s struggle against obstacles to peace. They pledged to launch actions, demand ending military aid used for repression, stand with vulnerable communities and human rights defenders, call for the release of political prisoners, participate in campaigns to defend the oppressed and stop Red-tagging, and support the families of victims of the “war on drugs.”
The “Sowing Seeds” event served as a space to “plant the seeds of justice and unity in faith,” aiming to nurture and harvest peace by addressing the roots of conflict and absence of peace in the Philippines.
