CLARK FREEPORT – Amid controversies that rocked Catholic bishops on SUV donations from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), Pres. Aquino has told protestant church leaders that the nation still continues to “look upon our shepherds of faith to inculcate ideals, values and morals that would help us all act as conscientious and responsible citizens.”
The President conveyed this statement in a message he sent to the 29th Biennial National Assembly of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) which he attended yesterday at the Terra Tent of Hotel Vida here.
In his statement printed on the souvenir program handed out during the assembly, the President stressed the role of evangelical churches in “strengthening Christian faith and sustaining its relevance in this time of national renewal.”
The President was welcomed to the affair by PCEC National Director Bishop Efraim Tendero, Chairman Dr. Andrew Liuson, iHELP Chairman Dr. Glenn Obligacion and some 250 other leaders of various protestant denominations and organizations from all over the country.
Bishop Tendero presented to the President an audio-visual presentation on the programs and projects of PCEC. The Philippine Bible Association also gave the President a bible as gift.
In his message, the President underscored the importance of uniting with religious sectors in the administration’s continuing fight against the culture of corruption and impunity.
“We look upon our shepherds of faith to inculcate ideals, values and morals that would help us all act as conscientious and responsible citizens,” the President said.
The 29th Biennial National Assembly of the PCEC, which has for its theme “Churches Transforming Communities (Working Together Towards National Transformation),” opened last July 12 and will end on July 15.
The PCEC is the largest network of evangelical churches in the Philippines and has been described as “unifying body in disciplining and transforming the nation for the Lord Jesus.”
