Nilinaw ni Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, pangulo ng Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), na hindi bahagi ang kanilang grupo ng kontrobersyal na anti-communist task force, na bantog sa red-tagging ng activists, journalists at maging ng mga taong Simbahan.
Inihayag ng National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) kahapon na ang Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) ay pumayag nang sumali sa kanila bilang isa sa mga kinatawan ng pribadong sektor.
Ayon kay Bishop David, hindi ang buong CBCP bagkus ay isa lamang sa 31 departmento—ang Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs (ECPA).
Ang ECPA aniya ay nakikipagtulungan sa NTF-ELCAC upang tugunan ang ilang isyu ng Simbahan sa pamahalaan , kasama ang usapin ng red tagging ng ilang cause-oriented groups at Church organizations ng anti-communist task force.
“This Commission has access to the NTF-ELCAC’s executive committee and more opportunity to express the Church’s specific concerns, since its mandate is to act as a liaison of the CBCP to the public and private sectors and to advance some of the social concerns and issues of the Church,” sabi ni David.
“The said Commission also has the intention of providing moral-ethical approaches to dealing with the problem of insurgency,”dagdag niya.
Isiniwalat ni Bishop David ang intensyon na sagutin ang mga usapin sa darating na meeting ng CBCP Permanent Council, na gumagawa ng mga desisyon para sa kanilang grupo kapag ang plenaryo ay walang session.
“Can this Commission engage the said government body in a dialogue without having to join its ExeCom as member — i.e. as private sector representative? We hope to come up with some resolutions on this matter soon,” sabi niya.
