Evangelicals affirm Duterte’s call to ‘let healing begin’

WE, THE Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC), congratulate Rodrigo Duterte as the newly elected president of the Republic of the Philippines. We thank God that after the May 9 elections, we can move on as one people in building our nation. We are specifically touched by Duterte’s call, “Let the healing begin.”

Indeed, let the healing begin. In response to his call, we ask our incoming president to please allow us to express to him the following:

• We affirm his passion to fight the systemic injustice, the result of patronage politics. Therefore, we, as a church council, will do our best to teach our religious leaders and exhort our people to repent our corrupt ways and to renounce patronage politics as part of our practical Christian discipline.

• We affirm his promises to fight crime, corruption and the drug lords that afflict the lives of our people. Therefore, we, as a church council, will do our best to teach our religious leaders and exhort our people to sharpen our spiritual discernment in order to enable us to reject finances and other resources borne out of corruption, criminal activities and drug-related deals, especially those from politicians who are behind, directly or indirectly, those illegal drug productions and distributions.

• We affirm his new office through which he will represent the Filipino people before the watching world with dignity, honor and respect for our basic human rights. Therefore, we, as a church council, will do our best to teach our religious leaders and exhort our people to support him in prayers so that the

Filipino people will be treated with dignity and honor and be respected with our basic human rights.

Again, we ask our incoming president to please accept our sincere congratulations.

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1).

—BISHOP NOEL ALBA PANTOJA, national director, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches