An ecumenical and interfaith coalition of Filipino religious leaders has issued a statement of support for Bishop Efraim Tendero, who witnessed the signing of affidavits by 18 individuals identifying themselves as former Philippine Marines, while calling on both the Office of the Ombudsman and the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into their allegations.
The Religious Leaders Council for National Transformation (RLCNT), whose signatories span the Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim faith communities, said in the statement that Tendero “acted in good conscience” in serving as a witness, attesting only to the voluntary nature of the signings before a notary public and not to the truthfulness of the affidavits’ contents.
“We hold Bishop Tendero in high regard for his longstanding integrity, his commitment to truth, and his service to the broader Christian community both here and abroad,” the group said.
The statement did not detail the specific allegations contained in the affidavits but noted that they involve “hundreds of billions of pesos said to be public funds intended for the welfare of our nation,” and warned that if even a portion proved true, the implications could be severe — including threats to economic stability and oil supply security.
The coalition urged the Ombudsman to examine the case “with comprehensive fairness and impartiality,” and called on the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to hold “a thorough, open, and public inquiry” so that Filipinos could hear directly from those involved.
The statement closed with a line in Filipino: “Litisin lahat, mula taas hanggang baba, hindi dahil sa galit, kundi dahil sa pagmamahal sa bayan at sa katotohanan” — “Investigate everyone, from top to bottom, not out of anger, but out of love for the nation and for the truth.”
Who signed the statement
The signatories represent senior leadership across the country’s major religious institutions.
On the Catholic side, the statement was signed by Most Rev. Roberto O. Gaa, Bishop of the Diocese of Novaliches, and Most Rev. Gerardo A. Alminaza, Bishop of San Carlos and president of Caritas Philippines, who has been one of the Church’s most prominent voices on environmental justice and human rights. Also signing was Most Rev. Jose Colin M. Bagaforo, Bishop of Kidapawan, who chairs the CBCP’s Commission on Inter-Religious Dialogue and has long worked on social and peace issues in Mindanao.
Other Catholic signatories included Rev. Fr. Antonio E. Labiao Jr., Vicar General for Pastoral Affairs of the Diocese of Novaliches and former executive secretary of Caritas Philippines; Fr. Albert N. Delvo, president of the Manila Ecclesiastical Province School Systems Association; and Rev. Fr. Wilmer Joseph S. Tria, head of the RLCNT’s National Secretariat.
From the Protestant and Evangelical communities, the statement was signed by Most Rev. Noel A. Pantoja, National Director of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, which represents more than 40,000 local churches, and Ms. Minnie Ann Mata-Calub, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines — a lay leader from the Iglesia Filipina Independiente who became only the second woman to lead the NCCP in its six-decade history.
The Muslim community was represented by Imam Ebra M. Moxsir, National President of the Imam Council of the Philippines and a retired police colonel who served as acting chief of police in Marawi City during the 2017 siege, and Imam Aleem Naguib Taher, Grand Mufti of the National Capital Region.
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