The Church Came to Us: Western Jurisdictional Volunteers Visit the Philippines

The Western Jurisdictional UM Volunteers in Mission hosted a virtual solidarity visit to the Philippines, August 18 – 21. Each day included a Bible study led by Rev. Revelation Velunta, author of Reading the Parables of Jesus inside a Jeepney, and professor of New Testament and Cultural Studies at Union Theological Seminary in the Philippines. His commentary on familiar parables pivoted away from traditional interpretations that favor the rich and powerful. He warned against using the Bible as a tool to imperialize. Instead, we should use its stories to liberate people.

The first session, Bishop Ciriaco Francisco, of the Manila Episcopal Area, told how the United Methodist Church has responded to human rights abuses in the Philippines. Bishop Francisco presided in Mindanao in 2016, when the Kidapawan Massacre occurred near the Spottswood Methodist Center. Risking their own safety, United Methodists opened the gates of Spottswood to offer sanctuary to indigenous farmer-protesters who were being attacked by armed troops. The farmers asked for rice, but got bullets instead. The Church sees the injustice of poverty, joblessness, and the need for agrarian reform as the basis of the struggle for human rights. Church people are attacked for sharing the cries of the oppressed. The Church educates, provides emergency relief for people who experience weather calamities, gives food and grants for the poor during the pandemic, counters human trafficking, and speaks with a larger voice through statements from the General Board of Church and Society on a number of justice issues. The UMC in the Philippines is engaged in ecumenical and international advocacy.

On day two, Deaconess Norma Dollaga described how she and other missionary activists visit the families of those who are victims of extrajudicial killings or who have died in Duterte’s war on drugs. A photo of her traversing a cliff illustrated what great lengths she goes to meet people in need where they are. One of the mothers she visited declared, “The church is here. It came to us.” Norma does not assume she knows more than someone who lives in poverty: she listens and allows herself to be ministered to by them. The source of her strength is her love of God.
Deaconess Joyous Prim serves to aid migrant domestic workers at Mission for Migrant Workers of St. John’s Cathedral in Hong Kong. Half of the workers are from the Philippines. Workers may need assistance to recover illegal passage fees they were charged, or to sue an employer for unpaid wages or other breaches of their work contract. The center provides masks and food for workers. They can house a worker who has a lawsuit pending against their employer. Many workers are beaten, overworked, underfed, sexually assaulted, and housed in unimaginable spaces. Joyous and her co-workers help navigate the legal system so workers can fight for better conditions. On Sundays, they gather on the main road of the business district to socialize and support one another.

We considered ways to respond on the fourth day.

1.    Start a legal defense fund for church workers in the Philippines.

2.    Support the UMC Board of Church and Society and the Philippine Central Conference Board of Church and Society advocacies and social justice work on the Philippines
3.    Support & endorse InvestigatePH, the Independent International Commission on Investigation ongoing in the Philippines. https://www.investigate.ph/
4.    Ask your USA Congress Representatives to cosponsor HR 3884 - Philippine Human Rights Act. 
    a)    Ask your senators to be brave enough to introduce it.
    b)    Call on the Biden Administration to stand by their commitment to not send military aid to known human rights violators
5.    Mobilize our faithful to amplify our call: Stop the Killings in the Philippines!
    a)    Hold a USA wide (or Western Jurisdiction wide) day of action for UMC faithful and their friends to have a candle lighting, or ringing of their church bells at the same time with possible messages:
        i.    WE STAND WITH YOU and the FILIPINO PEOPLE, WE CRY OUT: STOP THE KILLINGS! 
        ii.    WE ARE WITH YOU IN YOUR CRIES for Justice and Accountability! Purse the International Criminal Court Investigation!
    b)    USA Congress PURSUE H.R.8313 - Philippine Human Rights Act
    c)    Others in line with ongoing calls
6.    Continue to host these virtual exposure trips and hold follow “reunion” gatherings to stay updated on the situation in the Philippines and Filipino migrant workers.  Once the pandemic has calmed down invite and host representatives from the Philippines to share their testimonies in US audience (especially churches).
7.    Send resources to ecumenical community-based organizations empowering poor and oppressed communities to advocate for their rights and for justice (see separate list of organizations we visited during the first UMVIM Virtual Mission.)
    a)    Rise Up! For Life and Rights: Rise Up families who continue to speak out on their loved ones killings in the name of Duterte’s Drug war face ongoing attacks and harassment. Support for their lobbying and advocacy work in the Philippines and international bodies is needed. Donations and support are needed for continued documentation of the killings, attacks and education of communities affected.
        i.    Further Donations are needed to ensure the Sanctuary and Security of these families, especially those were brave enough to submit to the ICC their intention to cooperate in an investigation against President Duterte. They have stood up courageously, can we work together to protect them? 
    b)    DAMBANA: under the ongoing pandemic lockdowns and the ongoing failure of the government to provide for the basic needs of its citizens, we appeal to churches for immediate relief packages to the families in the urban poor communities. USA-based churches can team up with churches in the Dambana network to send financial support for them to provide to those in their communities
8.    Join in covenant relationships with UMC General Board of Global Ministries Missionaries providing for Filipino migrants in crisis in their destination countries of work. Over 10M Filipinos have been forced out of the Philippines due to no jobs and the failure of the current government to look for work overseas. But the Philippine government continues to fail to provide for their basic needs when they are in crisis in their countries of employment. UMC Missionaries together with migrant grassroots organizations and ecumenical partners provide the needed support and care for migrants in distress. Deaconess Joy Advance number: 3021344
Learn more: https://umcmission.org/missionary-bio/3021344/ & jprim@umcmission.org
9.    Support the Mission for Migrant Workers
a)    Join us in our advocacy to make suitable accommodation for Migrant domestic workers, contact Joy for further instructions: jprim@umcmission.org
b)    Donate to allow us to continue in our work serving migrant domestic workers in crisis and continue to provide relevant and needed services:
i.    Donate through the Global Ministries Advance: https://umcmission.org/advance-project/14241a/
ii.    Through our online platform (you can donate with USA credit cards): https://www.migrants.net/to-donate