PANA Philippines Focus

PANA's involvement with the issue of human rights and extrajudicial killings in the Philippines began with the Human Rights Day People’s Worship (Pagsambang Bayan) in Daly City on Dec. 10, 2006. Little did we realize that there was a powerful convergence of forces and Spirit about to take place. Bishop Eli Pascua and Rev. Tess Vertucio from the United Church of Christ Philippines arrived in Northern California and spent one month speaking at numerous venues about the issue; seventeen members of the United Methodist Cal-Nevada conference were sent on a fact-finding trip to the Philippines in February 2007; during this trip, the U.N. Rapporteur, Philip Alston, issued his report on the extra-judicial killings implicating the military; and then the Philippines government finally released the conclusions of their own Melo Commission report which also pointed to the military as responsible for the killings. In February, we began a flurry of legislative visits in Northern California with the strong participation of several Filipino-American pastors and community leaders. Our target was Senator Boxer, with the request of an official on-the-congressional-record Senate hearing in her new post as chair of the Asia Pacific subcommitee of the International Relations Committee...

In May 2007, the USAPAN email list was created, supporting further networking, action alerts, and joint statements by the Ecumenical Advocacy Network on the Philippines.

Events timeline

For more details and current events, join the USAPAN email list.

  • September 20, 2008 - Rev. Israel Alvaran reflects on the 36-year anniversary of the Marcos declaration of martial law in the Philippines
  • June 29, 2008 - Bishop Eliezer Pascua, General Secretary of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines, and Mylene Guerrero, wife of abducted-tortured Pastor Berlin Guerrero, speak at Mill Valley UCC, California.
  • March 14, 2008 - Welcome reception for activist Dr. Edith Burgos at the Filipino American United Church of Christ, in Fremont, CA
  • January 2008 intersession - PSR course, "Asian-Pacific Islander Diasporic Political Theology in the Context of Empire Building" taught by our guest scholar Dr. Eleazar Fernandez
  • November 14, 2007 - "Voices from the Philippines" event at PANA
  • Fall 2007 - PSR Bulletin article, "PANA Takes on Human Rights Abuses in the Philippines"
  • August 2, 2007 - 49 members of U.S. Congress sign a letter to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, calling for “strong and immediate leadership” to investigate and prosecute individuals and groups responsible for the surge of extrajudicial killings and abductions
  • July 12, 2007 - Ms. Sharon Ruiz-Duremdes, general secretary of the National Councilof Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), speaks at at the South Hayward United MethodistChurch
  • June 10, 2007 - Pagsambang Bayan (People's Worship) on Philippines Independence Day at Pinole United Methodist Church
  • March 14, 2007 - Rev. Deborah Lee attends U.S. Senate hearing on extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.
  • March 7, 2007 - International Women's Day presentation by Rev. Teresita B. Vertucio, elected Conference Minister (Pastoral/Executive Position) of the United Church of Christ
    Philippines, Northeast Southern Tagalog Conference.
  • March 2, 2007 - Ecumenical Vigil at the California State Capitol (World Day of Prayer)
  • February 13, 2007 - Bishop Eli Pascua, General Secretary of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), speaks at PSR of "Faith Under Fire"
  • December 10, 2006 - Pagsambang Bayan (People's Worship) on Human Rights Day, at Daly City United Methodist Church.

Human Rights Documents

More Links