UCCP bishop, human rights defender laid to rest
2 MIN READ
By KIMBERLIE NGABIT-QUITASOL
www.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — Bishop Emeritus Juan Marigza of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP), a vocal critic of dictator Ferdinand Marcos and staunch human rights defender, was laid to rest on September 12 in his hometown Aringay, in La Union province.
In 1984, his oldest daughter Mary Lou disappeared along with six others. The military initially denied having taken the seven. Marigza and his wife went from one military camp to another to locate their daughter. The military eventually produced the seven after two weeks, all of them with traces of torture on their bodies. But they were not immediately released. They were jailed for 13 months.
The painful experience did not silence the Bishop, instead he became a vocal critic of the martial law regime. He led the establishment of the Baguio chapters of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and the North Luzon Human Rights Organization (NL-HRO). He offered sanctuary to ex-political detainees, that included the late Corazon Cortel, wife of late Conrado Balweg.
He was part of the first church-military liason under Martial Law in Baguio City along with bishops of different other church denominations and leaders for dialogue and peace.
The Bishop was against illegal drugs and help in prevention. He even joined the military in uprooting and burning marijuana plants in the hinterlands of Benguet in the 1970s.
At the same time, he spoke strongly against destructive development projects such as the open-pit mining in Itogon, Benguet and the construction of the San Roque Dam.
On his social media account, his son Bishop Reuel Marigza described his father as a pastor who was not confined to the four corners of the church.
“He was an active civic and community leader whose advocacies ranged from Family Planning to environmental protection, IP rights, anti/drugs, anti-Martial Law & dictatorship. He was a strong defender of human rights and of political detainees,” the younger Marigza said.
In 2006, Marigza was among the 12 most outstanding senior citizens recognized by the city government.
Marigza passed away on September 6 after serving UCCP for 60 years. He was 89 years old. # nordis.net
