Press Conference in the Philippines
On February 11, 2009, Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), David Hudson, area coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, Nancy Eng MacNeill, associate with the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, and Bruce’s family were in Manila as one stop on a tour of Asia. They were guests of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP).
That evening the trip took a turn from listening to stories from those in the church to being a story of the church at work. The group was sitting down for dinner and a display of cultural dance with their hosts when they learned that a UCCP pastor, Edwin Egar, had been abducted. The many pastors present for the evening quickly flew into action, something they had done many times before. Through the quick action of church leaders, Edwin was released in a neighboring village in the early morning hours. After a very long night, he was brought to the UCCP Shalom Center and a press conference was held in the afternoon of February 12. Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow and David Hudson participated in the news conference as the faith community spoke out against the political climate in the Philippines that allows this type of situation to take place.
Videos of the news conference follow beginning with an introduction from the Rev. Ray Gelloagan. some speakers use both Tagalog and English.
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Bishop Eliezer M. Pascua: general secretary, United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP)
Ptr. Edwin Egar: local church pastor, United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP)
The Rev. Fr. Rex Reyes: general secretary, National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)
Bruce Reyes-Chow: moderator, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Dr. Prawate Khidarn: general secretary, Christian Conference of Asia (CCA)
Rev. David Hudson: coordinator, Asia and the Pacific, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Marie Hilao-Enriquez: general secretary, Karapatan
Nardy Sabino: Promotion of the Church People's Response (PCPR) |
