Category: Philippines

The Bukas Palad Award was originally named after Fr. Manuel Peypoch, a Jesuit who taught at the Ateneo de Manila and distinguished himself in serving the Jesuit Order, the Church and society in the areas of education and culture, in social and human development concerns. The Award was first given, in 1963, to Msgr. José Jovellanos. It was renamed BUKAS PALAD AWARD to “capture the Ignatian spirit of “generosity” and to give recognition to the unconditional, dedicated service of the Religious in Christ’s Kingdom. Motivated by Gospel values, [the awardee’s] “notable and invaluable contribution is an unmistakable evidence beyond the ordinary of an understanding of the prophetic role of the Church in today’s world and giving tangible proofs of this in the service given to his/her fellowmen, especially the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, the sick, the suffering – in faith, justice and love.”  The award to Fr. Sebastiano is in recognition of his founding of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement “which helped plant the seeds of interreligious dialogue in the Philippines, particularly, in Mindanao, and nurturing and spreading them through leadership roles in the interreligious dialogue thrusts of Pontifical Institute for Foreign Mission (PIME) and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).” In his acceptance speech, Fr. Sebastiano expressed his deep gratitude to the Ateneo for the award and he said: “It is not just an honor but a responsibility to fulfill.” He added he shares the award with every Christian and Muslim in Mindanao who are committed to the mission of dialogue and peace. Further, he said: “Many are not ready for peace… peace must be sincere. In the deeper part of the conscience of each person, there is goodness. In dialogue, we have to reach that level. It is like a soil; you allow putting some elements just for the seed to grow. This is a movement, not an NGO in the usual sense; it is a movement and we want to stress this point. Thanks be to God that there are people entering in this spirit.” Fr. Sebastiano is a native of Sicily, Italy. He was assigned to the Philippines in 1977. He founded the Silsilah Dialogue Movement in 1984. The Movement marked its 25th anniversary in May, 2009. Over the 26 years of its existence, Silsilah has focused its efforts and resources on the promotion of dialogue, to bring people to a greater awareness of and faithfulness to what is taught in their respective religions. Because Christians and Muslims are the two dominant groups in this part of the country, Silsilah focuses on the promotion of dialogue between these two groups – in the hope that the understanding born of dialogue will bring out the fruit of peace in the region. 

In the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao, only 40% of children complete primary school, against the national average of 75%, while younger-than-five mortality remains three times as high as the national rate.  In August 2008, renewed hostilities between government forces and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) broke out when a memorandum, that would have given the MILF control over land they claimed as ancestral domain, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, resulting in more than 700,000 displaced. According to the International Organization for Migration, close to 83,000 people remain displaced due to conflict or clan violence, also known as Rido.  

The climate of violence, lawlessness and impunity makes life difficult for the people of Mindanao. The incident of kidnapping and barbaric execution of 57 people in the province of Maguindanao has gained the attention of the international press. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo declared Martial Law (lifted after eight days) in the southern provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato City allegedly to prevent further violence among the clans (especially among the Mangudadatu and Ampatuan, long-time rivals). Thousands of soldiers have been deployed and the Government has assured that they will make “every effort to punish those responsible with utmost rigor.”  But the issue is upstream, according to Fr. Eliseo Mercado of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Professor at Notre Dame of Cotabato and well-informed on the area of Mindanao: “There is no doubt that the proliferation of illegal small arms in southern Philippines is the main problem, which contributes to an increase in the number of wounded and dead, to human rights violations, and to fueling the war between rival gangs.”  The point is that even the civilians have begun to arm themselves to defend themselves from the violence that abounds. It is estimated that over 1.1 million illegal weapons without license are in circulation in the Philippines, a large majority of the percentage being in the South. In addition, there are 1.8 million legally held weapons in the entire nation. According to data from the police, 97% of crimes recorded between 2004 and 2008 were committed using illegal weapons. “It’s a phenomenon that helps to create instability and deteriorates peace and public order,” notes Fr. Mercado.  Recently, the government issued an “amnesty” in which the owners of illegal weapons that had them registered would not incur penalties. But the results were not satisfactory, indicating that most of the weapons are in the hands of criminal gangs. “This is an important issue that the new legislators and the new government (elections are in 2010) must urgently address,” notes the missionary. “It is the future and social peace in Mindanao.”  The world’s biggest exporter of small arms is the United States, from whence come the vast majority of the weapons found in the Philippines. Recently, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly declared that its government will work to stop the proliferation of small arms in the world. “It is a position we welcome, hoping that it could affect the plight of the Southern Philippines,” said Father Mercado.