Interfaith Dialogue: Government as Catalyst The Philippine Experience

(Country Report: The Republic of the Philippines) Interfaith Dialogue: Government as Catalyst The Philippine Experience The Philippines believes that an international community that chooses the route of sincere interfaith dialogue is on the right track and a step closer to peace, harmony and genuine understanding. Interfaith dialogue is a celebration of cultural and religious diversity. Its practice is an open acknowledgment and welcome acceptance of cultural and religious differences. But more than this, interfaith dialogue is primarily a celebration of the commonalities that flow in all religions and cultures, at the center of which is the respect for human dignity and the devotion to a culture of peace. The concept of interfaith dialogue is not new to the Philippine experience. Philippine history has been molded out of the reality of cultural and religious diversity. Like many of our neighbors in Southeast Asia, we continue to confront problems related to ethnic and religious minority populations. Thus, keeping the peace and achieving national unity has always been a priority concern of Philippine governance given the fact that we are a diverse, multicultural country which is home to 90 known ethnic groups further subdivided into over 150 ethno-linguistic communities scattered over 7,100 islands. Ninety million strong, our archipelagic nation is also home to many faiths and religions. While majority of our people, about 80.9%, are Catholics, about 5% are Muslims and the rest belong to a host of other religious sects. Interfaith dialogue, through the years, has proven to be an effective answer to such a dilemma, bridging the gap and drumming up the importance of tolerance, harmony and respect for each other s culture or belief system in a country operating under a unitary, republican form of government with its three main repositories of power, namely the executive, legislative and judicial branches. 1

Interfaith dialogue promotes respect for and better appreciation of our country s cultural and religious diversity, making it an excellent channel to discuss and address the hidden roots of conflicts and violence as well as to foster cooperation and understanding. The Philippine Government has vigorously promoted interfaith dialogue, with the hope that an open, frank and honest exchange of views among representatives of different faiths will lead to greater understanding, tolerance and ultimately peace among our people. The Philippines has long been at the forefront of interfaith dialogue even before the latter became an international phenomenon. As early as the 1960s and 70s, religious and grassroots organizations as well as other civil society groups, particularly in Muslim Mindanao, have already been long engaged in the practice of interfaith dialogue, knowing it to be an effective tool for peace between and among various and divergent groups espousing different belief-systems or faiths. The Philippines has a rich network of interfaith groups and organizations which, together with the Philippine Government, have been instrumental in fostering a culture of peace, cooperation and development especially in the Southern Philippines. Such organizations include the Interfaith Commission, the Bishops-Ulama Council, the Episcopal Commission on Interreligious Dialogue, the Miriam College Center for Peace Education, the Interfaith Center for a Culture of Non-Violence, the Peacemakers Circle Foundation, Inc., among others. These organizations work hand-in-hand with religious groups such as the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, the Philippine Islamic Council, the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, the Baptist Conference of the Philippines and the Hindu Temple to name a few. The Philippine Government s frequent interactions with these groups are largely consultative and coordinative in nature. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and the 2

Presidential Council on Values Information (PCVF) are the prime agencies of government tasked to promote the country s interfaith advocacies and initiatives. DFA handles the promotion and coordination of the country s various interfaith initiatives and advocacies internationally while OPAPP takes charge of coordinating and promoting the Philippines local interfaith advocacies. PCVF on the other hand serves as the Presidential Liaison on interfaith matters. The Philippines is of the view that for a truly authentic interfaith dialogue to prosper, government must ensure and provide a conducive environment for it, serving as a catalyst for it to prosper. In the Philippines, government has adopted and instituted several key social development policies to pave the way for a vibrant culture of interfaith dialogue. The Philippine Constitution, which enshrines the bill of rights, has been the basis of several laws enacted to strengthen socio-economic programs and further stress the government s commitment to guarantee the socio-economic, political, and religious empowerment of its nationals. Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article lll, Section 5 allows for the free exercise and enjoyment of any religious profession and worship without discrimination or preference. Article XIII, Section 1 directs Congress to give highest priority to the enactment of measures that will protect and enhance the right of all people to human dignity, reduce social, economic and political inequalities and remove cultural inequities by equitable diffusing wealth and political power for the common good. Republic Act No. 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 stands among the world s strongest state-promulgated policies that recognize, respect, and protect the fundamental freedoms and ways of life of indigenous peoples. It recognizes the right to ownership by Philippine indigenous peoples of their ancestral domains, and their guaranteed participation in policies, programs and projects involving their development. It also created the National Commission on 3

Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) which is in charge of ensuring that the goals of the law are carried out and its objectives realized. Republic Act No. 8425 or the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act of 1998 created the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) which places basic sectors, through sectoral representatives, in the mainstream of public policy discourse and decision-making on social reform and poverty reduction. Executive Order No. 19, series of 1992 established the National Unification Commission (NUC) as an ad hoc advisory body tasked to formulate and recommend after consulting with the concerned sectors of society... a viable general amnesty program and peace process that would lead to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace. Executive Order No. 125, series of 1993 lays down the basic principles of a comprehensive peace process. It created the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and paved the way for the attainment of peace with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), culminating in the signing of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Philippine Government and the latter The Six Year (2004-2010) Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan, which is the framework for governance of the Arroyo Administration, mentions in Chapter 14 thereof, under the heading National Harmony: The Peace Process, the importance of interfaith dialogue, education and advocacy as effective tools for the conduct of healing and reconciliation programs in conflict-affected communities. Item nine (9) in the 16-Point Counter-Terrorism Program stipulates the promotion of intercultural and interfaith solidarity through the conduct of conferences in key cities in the country, particularly in the Southern Philippines. Legacy No. 9 of President Arroyo s 10-Point Legacy Program calls for a just closure to all armed conflicts and cites community-based interfaith, multi-cultural dialogue, healing and reconciliation as vital tools toward achieving the abovementioned goal. 4

By adopting policies conducive to interfaith dialogue, the country has made it possible for various civil society groups to assist in the development efforts of the government in different provinces and local communities of the country. The Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC), in particular, has extended its reach internationally even before the international community started to advocate interfaith dialogue. In August of 2003, the BUC organized and launched the First Encounter of Muslim Ulama and Christian Bishops of Asia in Subic, Olongapo City. It was attended by over 100 religious leaders, representing 19 countries, who discussed peace concerns and other problems in Asia, including ways by which to forge greater cooperation between Christians and Muslims in the fight against terrorism. Today, the BUC is among the Philippine Government s reliable allies in its peace initiatives. The Gawad Kalinga (which means to extend or give care, love and attention), organized by the Couples for Christ, a Catholic organization, has provided assistance in building homes to informal settlers all over the country, without prejudice to their creed, faith or religion, and has mobilized a great number of people to its cause. So far, more than 200,000 homes have been built and many more are under construction. Moreover, today, in Mindanao, civil society, religious leaders, and even the business community are converging in building a brave, vibrant, creative, and dedicated peace constituency by carving out Zones of Peace which bar armed conflict within delineated territories. The Philippines has also instituted a number of pioneering projects that work towards advancing the cause of interfaith dialogue in the world community. Through our UN Mission in New York, the country successfully lobbied for what is now the UN Resolution on the Promotion of Interreligious Dialogue (UN/RES/59/23). The resolution was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 2, 2004. Forty-five (45) other countries co-sponsored the Resolution together with the Philippines. Most recently, on March 14, 2007, the Philippines, together with Pakistan, was also instrumental in the successful passage 5

of the UN Resolution on the Promotion of Interreligious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue, Cooperation and Understanding for Peace (RES/61/221). It aims to promote dialogue as a tool that would address the common concerns surrounding religious and cultural differences. On June 22, 2005, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo chaired the historic UN Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace while no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo chaired the momentous Informal Summit of Leaders on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation at the sidelines of the UN World Leaders Summit on September 13, 2005. This was the first interfaith summit ever attended by Heads of State. The meeting produced the Interfaith Summit Declaration on interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace, which calls for an annual meeting of Foreign Ministers of the participating countries among others. The Philippines also recently hosted the Cebu Dialogue on Regional Interfaith Cooperation for Peace, Development and Human Dignity on March 14-16, 2006 and co-sponsored the 3 rd Regional Interfaith Dialogue with Indonesia. This dialogue was a follow up to the Yogyakarta and Cebu dialogues which was held in Waitangi, New Zeland on May 29 to 31, 2007. On March 24, 2006, the Philippines, through its UN Mission in New York, launched the Tripartite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace (TFICP) wherein a troika partnership, which is now composed of 12 UN systems, 50 government partners and over 100 UN-accredited NGOs, pledged to work towards enriching interfaith dialogue and cooperation on a multilateral, open-ended level. On September 21, 2006, TFICP together with the Philippine UN Mission in New York successfully organized two groundbreaking interfaith events at the UN Headquarters. These are the High-Level Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace and the First Ministerial Meeting on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace. The Philippines zeal in promoting and advancing interfaith dialogue and understanding continues. 6

Locally, the country has recently instituted interfaith-related steps in the field of education. Basic Madrasah Education (BME) has now been institutionalized by the Department of Education in all public elementary schools populated by Muslim pupils in Metro Manila. BME calls for the use of an enriched curriculum which stipulates the teaching of Islamic values and the Arabic language, in addition to the regular subjects of English, Science, Mathematics, Filipino and Makabayan (Civics). Today, a number of local universities are developing and incorporating peace studies into their school curricula for both undergraduate and graduate courses. In the international arena, the Philippines submitted two project proposals to UNESCO in January 2006 which are both geared towards furthering the values of interfaith dialogue in the country. These are: 1. Establishing a Center for Children s Interfaith Education for the Promotion of Peace; and 2. Convening an Interfaith Assembly of Women who are loved ones of combatants in ethnic- or religious-rooted conflict in the Philippines. Interfaith dialogue is an effective vehicle for building and sustaining peace and human security especially in multi-cultural and multi-faith countries. As such, the Philippine Government has long adopted interfaith dialogue as a cornerstone policy, particularly in the realm of peace building to peacemaking and peacekeeping. The Philippine experience has clearly demonstrated the fruitfulness of interfaith initiatives in preventing conflicts and healing social wounds in war-torn communities, especially in the southern Philippines. The Philippine Plan of Action on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for 2006-2010 provides the overarching framework to guide government, civil society and faith-based organizations to further various interfaith initiatives at the regional, national and local levels. 7

This Action Plan was jointly adopted on August 18, 2006 by members of the Executive Committee of the Interfaith Commission, civil society, interfaith NGOs as well as officials and representatives of government agencies, in the presence of H.E. the President. The Plan aims to strengthen government and civil society partnership and capacities in promoting interfaith dialogue and solidarity. Towards this end, on 04 June 2007 the President issued an Executive Order creating a National Committee on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation. Internationally, the Philippines shall continue to advance the strides it has made in the United Nations and push for the establishment of an interfaith center or office within the UN that will coordinate all interfaith initiatives and projects on a multilateral level. As current head of the government side of the TFICP, the Philippines shall push for the membership of other countries in the forum to enhance networking internationally. Also, the country plans to convene follow-up meetings to the two high-level conferences it helped organized in September 2006. Locally, the country s interfaith partners continue to pursue their respective interfaith dialogue initiatives on the ground in the areas of education and training, media advocacy, peace process, healing and reconciliation, human rights promotion, environmental protection, women empowerment, anti-corruption and poverty reduction in support of the Philippine Plan of Action on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation. 8