CCA General Secretary denounces spate of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

No preference updated.

13 March 2021

The General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), Dr Mathews George Chunakara, released a statement denouncing the extrajudicial killings and arrests in Southern Tagalog, in the Philippines.

On 7 March 2021, nine social workers and human rights activists were killed by the Philippines National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a series of raids against suspected “communist insurgents” in Southern Tagalog. All nine activists who were killed belonged to organisations that had been ‘red-tagged’ by the government.

Such actions are carried out as part of counterinsurgency measures, perpetrated against unarmed human rights activists, further violating the fundamental human rights of all Filipino people. The search operations carried out by the police forces often include tactics of evidence planting and suppression with bogus search warrants to justify their actions as legitimate operations.

Dr Mathews George Chunakara in the statement said, “The CCA denounces all human rights violations, decries injustice, and calls upon the Philippines government to protect and safeguard human lives… It is the CCA’s firm conviction that the states which terrorise people through extrajudicial killings are guilty of arbitrary deprivation of their citizens’ right to life.”

In the statement, the CCA General Secretary further observed, “The killing of the nine social and human rights activists and the arrest of six other community workers in the Southern Tagalog region is most brutal and an assault on human rights. While expressing grief and solidarity with the families and communities of the victims, the CCA reiterates its commitment to accompany the Filipino people in their struggle.”

The full text of the CCA General Secretary’s Statement denouncing extrajudicial killings and arrests in Southern Tagalog in the Philippines can be found here: