MANILA — The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) has joined the appeal for the release of a missionary who is reportedly in custody of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) since last month.
“National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) joins the call of the United Methodist Council of Bishops including the United Methodist Bishops in the country for the immediate release of Tawanda Chandinawa and let him go home to his family in Zimbabwe. Tawanda is a missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church (GBGM-UMC) who was assigned in Mindanao,” the group said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
They are also appealing to the government to allow two other missionaries to leave the country.
“Two other GBGM-UMC missionaries, Adam Shaw from the US and Miracle Osman of Malawi, are also experiencing difficulties in obtaining the necessary papers and legal documents in order for them to leave the country,” the statement said.
The three missionaries are reportedly on a “watchlist” after participating in an international ecumenical fact-finding investigation of alleged human rights violations in Mindanao, particularly in General Santos City.
The NCCP reported that Tawanda has been in custody of the BI in Davao City since May 9 and was transferred to the BI detention center in Taguig last June 4.
He was charged with overstaying his missionary visa, although he was in the process of applying for a tourist visa for the remaining period of his 20-month mission service in the Philippines.
Osman’s passport was confiscated while in the process of renewing her missionary visa, while Shaw did not manage to obtain an exit clearance certificate.
“Like Sr. Patricia Fox, the three missionaries have earned the ire of the Bureau of Immigration for doing what their Christian faith calls them to do – to advocate for peace and human rights and to be in solidarity with the least of our sisters and brothers. These are young people who have dedicated their lives to follow Christ’s teaching,” the NCCP statement read.
“We fully believe that the mission of the church knows no borders even as NCCP member churches, like the UMC, have always sought to comply with government rules and regulations,” the statement added.
At the same time, the NCCP urged the members of its church to pray and work for Tawanda’s immediate release and the resolution of the cases of all three missionaries.
“We respectfully call on President Rodrigo Duterte to settle this matter with compassion and concern,” the group added. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
