BAGUIO CITY — A broad alliance of religious denominations is set to join various sectors in a march against corruption on November 30, Bonifacio Day.
The Baguio City Ecumenical Council (BCEC) said the decision reflects its “moral and religious obligation to confront injustice,” according to BCEC President Fr. Genesis Langbao.
Langbao emphasized that the Council’s mandate is to help build a “society transformed by the values of Christian faith.” He said their mission requires speaking out against systemic inequalities that harm communities, particularly the poor.
The BCEC — formerly the Baguio-Benguet Ecumenical Group (BBEG) — represents diverse churches including the Roman Catholic Church, mainline Protestant bodies such as the Lutheran, Methodist, UCCP, and ECP, and evangelical groups such as Epicenter Church AG, Yashua Glorious Kingdom Family Church, Grace Communion, and Mt. Zion Church.
Langbao explained that the Council interprets Shalom not as passive peace but as “the active confrontation of injustice.” He said the BCEC sees itself as a prophetic voice in the city, symbolized by the gangza in its logo — a call to “sound the alarm against the theft of public resources.”
The Council said corruption directly impacts the marginalized communities the churches are committed to serving.
“The Council explicitly joins various sectors in a ‘common action to demand integrity, uphold human dignity, and witness to the truth,’ citing the biblical command in Isaiah 1:17 to seek justice and defend the oppressed,” Fr. Langbao stressed.