Displaying items by tag: Philippines

In January bold judgments in Philippine courts have been protecting children, and global collaboration is tackling a form of modern slavery that was unimaginable before the digital age. Trafficking convictions, secured in courts across the Philippines, held four Filipina women accountable for abusing and exploiting children, and sharing that abuse with predators around the world who were willing to pay. The Philippine government receives thousands of cybersex trafficking case referrals like these every month - cases in which paying customers around the world can easily connect online with an adult in the Philippines who has access to vulnerable children. With just an internet connection and a webcam or mobile device, these traffickers abuse boys and girls, or force them to perform sex acts, for the foreign customers who are paying to watch. The cases reaching court judgments last month represented over a dozen young survivors - the youngest only three years old.

In May 2017, IS-linked militants took over the city of Marawi. They entered homes and set buildings on fire, including a cathedral and a Protestant-run college. They also took over a dozen Christians hostage, including a Catholic priest, as Christians were a particular target, according to Open Doors. 40% of Marawi was destroyed and 98% of the population displaced during the five-month conflict. Marking the first anniversary of the liberation of the city, local Catholic and Muslim leaders said that the war had brought the two communities closer because of the ‘mutual feeling of having gone through the same struggle’. But many residents have not yet returned home, as Marawi is still dominated by rubble. 75 Christian families are living in temporary shelters, and the prelature is currently hosting over 35,000 Catholics. The government aims to complete the rehabilitation of the city by the end of 2021.

In the Philippines, officials are taking stock of the immense damage caused by Typhoon Mangkhut. On Luzon landslides buried a church where people were sheltering, and engulfed a miners’ bunkhouse with up to fifty inside. The casualties are expected to be 100+. Pray for God to comfort the bereaved and bring healing to the sick. An estimated 5.7 million people have been affected by Mangkhut, and delivering aid supplies is a major challenge. Pray for many workers to come and help repair the infrastructure. In the town of Baggao, where YWAM have a base, houses were demolished, power lines were downed, roads were cut off by landslides, and many remain submerged. Pray for God to give strength and wisdom to those offering counsel and shelter. Rice and corn crops waiting for harvest are under floodwater. Pray for the fishermen and farmers who have lost everything. Mangkhut moved on to Hong Kong and China, tearing off roofs, blowing in doors and shattering glass windows. Pray for the evacuees now returning to devastation.

Praise God for the initiative of the Asi people in forming the ‘Asi Bible Association,’ to oversee New Testament distribution. Pray for good decisions and the finances needed to distribute the Scriptures in written, audio and digital formats, including the Jesus film, DVDs, CDs, and hymn books. Pray that people of the Philippines will be eager to engage with the Scriptures available to them. Praise God also for the hundreds of followers of the Northern Thai Facebook group formed when the New Testament was dedicated in early 2018. Pray for the scripture engagement team as they put out an updated version of the phone app. There will be a meeting of churches in September to encourage support for translation of the Old Testament. Ask God to bring many to the meeting, and that funds will be found to pay the salary for a scripture engagement coordinator for another year.

Tawanda is a Global Mission Fellow for ‘Peace Mindanao’ in the Philippines, working for human rights, peace education and conflict resolution. He is from Zimbabwe with a Bachelor of Social Science degree and a master’s degree in public policy and governance. He says, ‘God has always been involved in my life and it is through his grace that I was lifted from the dust to become someone.’ In May he was detained for overstaying his visa after initiating the process for an extension. Miracle is also a Global Mission Fellow with a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the Catholic University of Malawi. She serves the indigenous people. The Bureau of Immigration withheld Miracle’s passport, restricting her ability to return to Malawi. The United Methodist Church is calling for both their passports to be returned and for swift departures home.

In October Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte declared Marawi city liberated from the terrorists led by Malaysian Mahmud bin Ahmad. Marawi is now battle-scarred and broken, after two months of fierce fighting destroyed half of the homes and killed more than 1,000 people. Countless Muslims like Alayssa Macabaya were forced to flee after their homes were destroyed. Now, he lives 2 hours away in the predominantly Christian city of Cagayan de Oro. He and other Muslim refugees receive food, shelter, and basic necessities from the Christians who live there. ‘We are not driving them from the city. They can stay as long as they want,’ said Mayor Oscar Moreno. ‘Who knows, maybe some will settle down here.’ However, not everyone is happy about the mayor's decision. The city's social welfare officer said that he has received numerous security concerns from residents.

Courts on opposite sides of the USA convicted two men for sexually exploiting children thousands of miles away in the Philippines. Two young survivors flew to California to testify in one of the trials. Last weekend they were home, knowing that their voices had been heard and the men will terrify no more. The FBI shared intelligence with the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the International Justice Mission supported the follow-up operations in the Philippines. The girls are now 10 and 13 years old. Their families supported having their daughters participate in both the local trial and the trial in California, a significant amount of time and preparation. One of the girls’ mothers explained that she was ‘willing to leave our families at home and testify abroad to fight for justice for what the men from California did to our children.’

The IS terrorist group has released a disturbing propaganda video in which its fighters are shown stamping on a bust of Jesus, desecrating religious statues, and ripping up photos of Pope Francis, before the church went up in flames. The video, filmed in the Philippines, features a narrator speaking with an American accent; he praises ‘the truthful soldiers of Mohammed’ who have infiltrated the city of Marawi. About 200,000 residents have been evacuated from the city since the start of the conflict in May, but several hundred - many of them Christians - are held captive inside the city. The video narrator claimed that the Philippine government tried to subjugate the Muslims and expel them from the land, and said IS soldiers freed inmates from the local jail and attacked local churches. He added that ‘the religion of the cross’ would be broken.

Rebel fighters in the Philippines are reportedly using dozens of Christians - including a priest - as human shields, amid an ongoing battle to retake Marawi City. The IS-linked Maute group is believed to be hiding behind 100 Christian hostages after President Duterte ordered intense bombing raids on the rebel zone. Abdullah Maute, one of the group’s leaders, said he would free Father Suganob in return for his parents, currently held by police. His request was refused by the president, who said that any bargaining with terrorists was ‘against government policy’. Most people fled from the city in May; those left have been forced to convert to Islam and be lackeys to the Mautes. The women and girls have become sex slaves and lost all dignity. The White House said, ‘These cowardly terrorists killed Philippine law enforcement officials and endangered the lives of innocent citizens. The US is a proud ally of the Philippines, and we will continue to work with them to address shared threats to the peace and security of our countries.’

The Maute group, an Islamic extremist group linked to IS, captured nine Christians, tied their hands together and shot them dead in Marawi city, according to the Mail Online. Images circulated online show the Christians lying dead face-down in the grass. Reports say villagers are too afraid to move the bodies because terrorists are still in the area. News of the murders comes just days after the same group captured a Catholic priest, Father Teresito Suganob, the church’s secretary, two working students, and a number of parishioners. The militants are holding their hostages at an undisclosed location. They also set fire to the cathedral in Marawi. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines urged the government to make the safety of the hostages top priority.