The Christians for National Liberation (CNL)–the underground political organization of revolutionary Christians–takes exception in Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.’s recent statement claiming Marcos Jr is “committed to peace.”

Galvez argues this so-called commitment by citing how Marcos Jr “dedicated almost 20 paragraphs in the SONA on his administration’s peacebuilding efforts.” In his most recent SONA, Marcos Jr once again professed his claim of “offering peace”–a claim he has reiterated several times before. But no amount of lofty paragraphs in Marcos Jr’s SONA can belie his administration’s war crimes against the Filipino people.

Contrary to these claims, the Marcos administration’s continued use of military force against Filipino communities, with the full support of the US government including through the Balikatan war exercises, contradicts any semblance of peace he claims to pursue. Repeatedly asserting a commitment to peace while simultaneously engaging in actions that inflict harm and unrest on civilian populations betrays Marcos Jr’s own words.

The Balikatan exercises have been increasingly used in operations that devastate local communities, destroy homes, and disrupt livelihoods. Last May, fishing communities in Ilocos Norte were forbidden to fish in the seas declared as “no-sail zones” to give way for the 2024 Balikatan war games effectively displacing fisherfolk in the area from their only source of livelihood. The said war games are also being used as cover for the direct involvement of US military in “counterinsurgency” operations such as in the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trident commanded by US military that killed and tortured NDFP peace consultants Benito and Wilma Tiamzon and eight others in 2022.

If Marcos Jr was truly “committed to peace” as Secretary Galvez puts it, his administration would prioritize the cessation of military operations that have been devastating rural communities since he took power three years ago. The relentless bombing campaigns in Bohol, Cagayan Valley, Masbate, Mindoro, Negros, Panay Island and other parts of the country in recent months not only betrays the very principles of peace and justice but also violates international humanitarian law that protects civilians in the context of armed conflict.

To wit, fascist troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) continue to impose arbitrary lockdowns in several barangays in Catubig, Northern Samar since May this year as part of the 20th Infantry Battalion’s focused military operations. Reports from the ground indicate how the AFP have forcibly prevented farmers in Barangay Hitapian and Barangay San Vicente from accessing their farms since July 19, 2024. Similar lockdowns have been imposed on these barangays in November 2023 and February earlier this year.

Scripture reminds us in John 14:27 that genuine peace is profound, sustaining and transformative. Genuine peace cannot coexist with the devastation and trauma inflicted by the fascist AFP troops on innocent civilians. For true peace to be realized, the Marcos Jr. administration must halt its relentless military operations immediately and seriously engage in peace negotiations with the NDFP.