DAVAO CITY, January 29, 2008—Mindanaoan bishops have said that their role in the community consultation plan especially on the possibility of the resumption of peace talks and the aftermath of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) controversy is consistent with their mission.
Archbishop Fernando R. Capalla said that Mindanao bishops believe that their participation in the consultation of communities in Mindanao is consistent with their mission and role as bridge builders.
Capalla added the bishops are committed to the promotion of the culture of peace and to the need of building bridges of understanding among the peoples of Mindanao.
“This they have to do regardless of the existing governmental structures and officials” he said, adding:
“Even if the government’s public request to lead the consultation was addressed to the Bishops–Ulama Conference (BUC), the BUC Catholic sector of Mindanao bishops decided to make their own plan.”
Capalla said that their plan will also be shared to the Ulama and Protestant sectors. “The Indigenous Peoples will have their own consultations since they are also official observers in the BUC,” added Capalla.
Under the general and particular objectives, the bishops shall undertake a general process of community consultations on the aspirations for justice, development and peace of the lumad, Islamic and Christian communities particularly the 23 indigenous peoples tribes and the Bangsamoro.
The bishops will limit the consultations within their respective constituents who are situated in the church territories known by the words “diocese” and “ecclesiastical province.”
Within the jurisdiction of each bishop and archbishop, three major groups will be consulted, that is, clergy, religious and laity, including those in the different church ministries and apostolates like family, youth, social action, education, liturgy, formation, media among others.
There are 5 ecclesiastical provinces or subregions, each under a metropolitan archbishop as titular head. They are clustered as KIDMACO (Kidapawan, Marbel, Cotabato), DOPIM (Dipolog, Ozamis, Pagadian, Iligan and Marawi), ZAMBASULI (Zamboanga, Basilan, Ipil), CABUSTAM (Cagayan, Butuan, Surigao, Tandag, Malaybalay) and DADITAMA ( Davao , Digos, Tagum and Mati).
The consultations in KIDMACO, DOPIM, and ZAMBASULI will have more focused guidelines in view of the recent incidents in those areas which are now highly militarized due to the presence of armed groups and hunted “outlaws”.
“In those places also are located the evacuation centers and damaged properties and abandoned houses,” said Capalla.
The consultation guidelines, it was learned will include discerning what the situation is (like the past and the present, especially the peace process and the aftermath of the MOA-AD controversy); knowing “who we are” in the situations; reflecting on these “in the light of our faith”; planning the implementation of these decisions (reference to Archbishop Quevedo’s concept paper on healing Christian-Muslim relations).
The staff members of the BUC will serve as the secretariat who will tap the expertise and resources of non-government organizations (NGOs) and peace advocates such as the Mindanao Peace Weavers and the Mindanao Peace Caucus like Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Initiatives for Interreligious Dialogue (IID) among others. (Mark S. Ventura)
