The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program has posted video of the February 12, 2009 press conference in the Philippines following the release of Pastor Edwin Egar. Note that some presentations are in Tagalog and in English.
Here's what happened:
On February 11, 2009, Bruce Reyes-Chow, moderator of the 218th General Assembly (2008) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), David Hudson, area coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, Nancy Eng MacNeill, associate with the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, and Bruce’s family were in Manila as one stop on a tour of Asia. They were guests of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP).
The group was sitting down for dinner and a display of cultural dance with their hosts when they learned that a UCCP pastor, Edwin Egar, had been abducted. The pastors present quickly moved into action, something they had done many times before. Through the quick response of church leaders, Edwin was released in a neighboring village in the early morning hours. After a very long night, he was brought to the UCCP Shalom Center and a press conference was held in the afternoon of February 12. Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow and David Hudson participated in the news conference as the faith community spoke out against the political climate in the Philippines that allows this type of situation to take place.
At the request of our partners in the UCCP, video was taken of the speakers at the press conference to document this experience.