The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) has appealed to the people to continue to pray and work for peace.
In a statement dated December 15, the group said it should be a peace that "is not for the silencing of critical voices but a peace that addresses the root causes of dissent."
PEPP said this as they expressed alarm and concern over the "deteriorating" prospects for peace in the land.
"The advent season is upon us, yet unpeace reigns. Respect for human rights, which is a primary requisite for peace, is ignored, or worse, demonized as a barrier to 'peace and order,'" said the group.
This, they said, is evident in the recent arrests of a journalist and six union organizers, the arrest and killings of activists in the past few months, and the numerous lives that continue to be claimed under the campaign against illegal drugs.
"The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) is relentless in its malicious red-tagging of organizations and individuals critical of the government, including churches and church personalities, by falsely accusing them of being linked to terrorism," PEPP said.
"This is in sharp contrast with the advent period a year ago when back channel negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) resulted in a Christmas ceasefire which redounded to a hopeful atmosphere for peace," added the group.
PEPP said its unfortunate that the government rejected the results of the back channel talks, unilaterally stopped the peace negotiations, and proceeded to heighten its war against the communists.
"This drive to annihilate the CPP-NPA-NDF without seriously addressing the long-standing issues of poverty, landlessness, and inequality in the country will not bring about a just and enduring peace. It will only further fan the flames of the armed conflict," said PEPP.
The group then called on the government to re-focus its efforts and funds for medical and socio-economic solutions to heal the nation rather than spending for counter-insurgency and all-out war.
"We call on both parties to silence their guns during this season of hope and open their hearts to peace," PEPP said.
The PEPP is a platform for five church institutions/groups working for a just and enduring peace by supporting the peace process between the GRP-NDFP.
It's members are the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP), Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC), and the Ecumenical Bishops' Forum (EBF).