Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Bishop supports plea of POW's family to stop pursuit operations
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NEWS RELEASE
November 12, 2009
DAVAO CITY --- Aglipayan Bishop Delfin Callao supports the call of the family of New People’s Army’s Prisoner of War (POW) Corporal Dominador Alegre for the military to stop its pursuit operations in Comval in order to expedite Alegre's safe release.
“We call on the leadership of the 10th Infantry Division of the AFP to act with prudence and bear in mind the safety of Cpl. Alegre as well as the well-being of his family. This is a time of giving prior importance to the life and safety of your comrade-in–arms rather than of haste and arrogance, and of asserting military might,” urged Bishop Callao who is also a convener of the Exodus for Peace and Justice (EJP).
Bishop Callao also called on the Arroyo government to expedite Alegre’s safe release by resuming the stalled peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front (NDF) and by ordering the military to cease the military operations in the region in order to create a conducive atmosphere for the POW’s safe release.
The church leader expressed concern on the consequences of the 7th special operations company and the 25th IB's pursuit operations to the safety of the civilians in the military’s areas of operation.
“We are worried of the severe impact of the military operations to the safety of the civilian populace. The church, the society has witnessed from the beginning that it is the civilians who bear the suffering, the deaths, and the trauma at the wake of every military operation,” Bishop Callao said.
Stressing the church people’s role in the issue of armed conflict, Bishop Callao recalled the captivity of P03 Eduardo Tumol and 1Lt Vicente Camayo in 2008 wherein the EJP network led the campaign for the safe release of the two POWs.
Bishop Callao also underscored the key to addressing the raging “civil war” in the country which lies in “genuinely resolving its root causes such as the glaring problems of poverty and hunger, the landlessness of the peasantry, disenfranchisement of the indigenous peoples’ rights, and in general the unequal distribution of wealth, and lack of social services.” ###
This post was written by: Exodus for Justice and Peace
Exodus for Justice and Peace is a clergy-led peace group. Follow EJP on Twitter
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