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Photos by Gladys P. Mangiduyos
John Wesley Park
Participants gather at John Wesley Park for a "Lenten Gig," a gathering of songs, prayers, poems and speeches to protest extrajudicial killings by the Philippines government. The event was organized through United Methodist-related Wesleyan University–Philippines.
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Photos by Gladys P. Mangiduyos
Hope Lights
Participants at the Lenten Gig at Wesley University–Philippines hold up candles in protest of ongoing extrajudicial killings by their government.
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Photos by Gladys P. Mangiduyos
Sanctuary Light
A lamp at the Lenten Gig in the Philippines symbolizes a poem from the event: "It was dark and windy during our call/The light in the sanctuary lamp says it all/With ferocious storm raging outdoors/One must believe in the light in the middle of it all/Holding so fast, dauntless of blast/Only Faith in Light will surely last."
“How many times must a man look up, before he can really see the sky? Yes, how many ears must one man have, Before he can hear people cry? Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows, That too many people have died..."
United Methodist Insight Exclusive
As Holy Week set in, anguish around ongoing killings intensified among United Methodists and people of faith in the Philippines. To encourage each other and protest a wave of government killings, some 100 teachers and students attended an April 11 "Lenten Gig" sponsored by John Wesley Academy and Konseho Critiko (Critical Thinking Society) of United Methodist-related Wesleyan University–Philippines.
Professors, UMC clergy and students joined efforts to call the government to stop killings of alleged drug suspects, along with the poor and dissidents. Songs from Bob Dylan, John Denver and Matisyahu recalled American protest rallies from the 1960s. The gig also had poetry readings and a candle lighting at John Wesley Park to call for government accountability.
The government's "war on drugs" and associated killings overwhelm the Philippines. According to Philippine Daily Inquirer, "The war on drugs continued well until February 16, with both undercover cops and vigilantes sparing no drug suspect nor innocent bystander. It was mentioned that only on December 24 and 25 did Filipinos seemingly receive a respite from the killings."
United Methodists are among the leaders of an alliance of human rights lawyers, civic organizations, survivors and families of victims who are speaking out against drug-related extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.
The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) has expressed dismay at the alarming rate of human rights violations. The group has already made a call to stop the killings.
The following excerpt from the United Methodist Social principles was read during the Lenten Gig:
"Restorative justice is upheld by the Church rather than punitive. "While our allegiance to God takes precedence over our allegiance to any state, we acknowledge the vital function of government as a principal vehicle for the ordering of society. Because we know ourselves to be responsible to God for social and political life, we declare the following relative to governments:
"In the love of Christ, who came to save those who are lost and vulnerable, we urge the creation of a genuinely new system for the care and restoration of victims, offenders, criminal justice officials, and the community as a whole. Restorative justice grows out of biblical authority, which emphasizes a right relationship with God, self, and community. When such relationships are violated or broken through crime, opportunities are created to make things right.
"In contrast, restorative justice seeks to hold the offender accountable to the victimized person, and to the disrupted community. Through God’s transforming power, restorative justice seeks to repair the damage, right the wrong, and bring healing to all involved, including the victim, the offender, the families, and the community. The Church is transformed when it responds to the claims of discipleship by becoming an agent of healing and systemic change."
Photo Courtesy of Allysa Gale Eugenio
Bianca Reading
Poet Sandra Bianca A. Sayson reads her original poem, composed with Mark Mark Ponce C. San Juan while facing dozens of lights representing the lights of hope the demonstrators hope to bring to their country.
An original poem composed by Sandra Bianca A. Sayson and Mark Ponce C. San Juan was read by Ms. Sayson:
Being butchered like animals,
Killed with their voices unheard,
Without having a chance to defend themselves,
Nor be granted a fair trial in court;
Fathers taken from their children,
Husbands taken from their wives,
Sons taken from their parents,
Were they criminals or just suspects.
The right to live ceased its existence,
Bullets fly...Bodies fall...
Absent trial,
Is it not God alone who created life?
Then who are you to take it?
Is there a law?
Is death a penalty?
And who are you to enforce it?"
Event leaders at the event took a recent lectionary passage, Ezekiel 37:1-14, as a scripture text for the Lenten Gig. They said they saw their purpose as the same as Ezekiel's: to prophesy to their country's "dry bones" in hopes of convincing their government to stop the killings, and of convincing their fellow citizens to be "steadfastly intrepid" in holding the government to account.
In their sanctuary was a lamp: "It was dark and windy during our call, The light in the sanctuary lamp says it all; With ferocious storm raging outdoors, One must believe in the light in the middle of it all; Holding so fast, dauntless of blast ; Only Faith in Light will surely last."
Gladys P. Mangiduyos is a United Methodist communicator in the Philippines.