Two Philippine military generals get Ateneo special awards for peace

Ateneo de Zamboanga University President Fr. Antonio Moreno speaks to participants during a peace forum attended by Lieutenant Generals Raymundo Ferrer and Benjamin Dolorfino in Zamboanga City on Wednesday, February 10, 2010. The two generals are recipients of the Ateneo special awards. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 10, 2010) – Two senior military commanders were given special awards by a Jesuit-run university for their contribution to peace in the southern Philippines.

The Ateneo Peace and Culture Institute cited various accomplishments of Lieutenant Generals Raymundo Ferrer, of the Army; and Benjamin Dolorfino, of the Marines, that largely contributed to peace in the troubled region of Mindanao.

Ferrer, who was a former battalion officer in Basilan province, is the current commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command, who was appointed administrator of martial law in Maguindanao province last year following the brutal killings of 57 people, including at least 31 journalists, by Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the scion of a powerful political clan in Mindanao.

The Ateneo de Zamboanga University cited Ferrer’s stint in Basilan several years ago and said his tour of duty in the province widened his perspective on the complexities of the Mindanao conflicts.

“His dialogues in the island provided him with a new outlook on how to better address these conflicts. This awareness, strengthened by his realizations in the Mindanao Peace Institute and Center for Bridging Leadership, led him to initiate programs to prepare his command to do peace-building work.”

“He played a critical role in the implementation of the GRP-MILF ceasefire agreement and was instrumental in the restoration and preservation of law and order in the aftermath of the tragedy in Maguindanao,” the Ateneo de Zamboanga University said.

GRP-MILF is the acronym for the Government of the Republic of the Philippines-Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which is fighting for a separate rule in Mindanao and is currently negotiating peace with Manila.

Ferrer is based in Davao City and commands half of Mindanao region. “I cannot find any word to express my gratitude to Ateneo University. We will continue our peace advocacy and promote peace throughout Mindanao,” he said.

While Dolorfino, a former Marine commandant, is the chief of the Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City and his meritorious military career is tempered by compassion and is guided by the belief that conflicts can be managed through non-violent measures, the Ateneo de Zamboanga University said.

“He has worked with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process as Chairman of the Joint Action Group in the peace process with the MILF and he was also a facilitator in the peace initiatives with the MNLF .”

“Engaging multi-culturally diverse stakeholders using the Bridging Leadership framework, he believes that the root causes of the conflict must be collectively understood, owned, then resolved through peaceful means,” it said.

MNLF stands for the Moro National Liberation Front, a Muslim rebel group which signed a peace agreement with the Filipino government in 2006.

Dolorfino, for his part, also thanked the Ateneo de Zamboanga University and vowed to continue peace-building efforts in the restive region. “We are all for peace. This is a universal advocacy,” he said.

The Ateneo Peace and Culture Institute envisions a united community of tri-people that understand and appreciate diversity and that collaborate for genuine peace and human development.

It also aims to promote the culture of peace amidst the multicultural and multi-religious backdrop of the academe and of society.

The APCI is actively engaged in peace-building through its programs on education, advocacy, and research that seek to transform values, attitudes, and behavior toward the achievement of a culture of peace.

Earlier on Wednesday, both Ferrer and Dolorfino attended a forum at the Ateneo de Zamboanga which was participated by faculty members headed by Father Antonio Moreno, the university president; and students. (Jung Francisco and Bryan Cachon contributed to this report)

Philippine Military Tags Sayyafs As Behind Kidnappings Of Four Aid Workers; 2 Hostages Freed

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 16, 2008) –

Philippine authorities on Tuesday tagged the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group as behind the kidnappings of four aid workers in the restive region of Mindanao.

The military said two of those kidnapped - Ludy Borja Dekit and Dionisio Estandarte - had been freed by their captors before dawn Tuesday in the town of Tipo-Tipo in Basilan Island. But the militants are still holding hostage Esperancita Hupida and Millet Mendoza.

Two others, Romeo Delos Reyes and Sahida Alasa, earlier managed to escape after ten gunmen intercepted their vehicles before noon Monday near the village of Kabangalan in Tipo-Tipo town, where rebels are actively operating, said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, Basilan's police chief.

He said the victims are members of the Christian Children's Fund and the Nagdilaab Foundation, which are both active in various peace and humanitarian projects in Basilan, Macapantar said.

“This is great news and all of us at CCF are relieved to hear of her release,” CCF President Anne Lynam Goddard said in a statement. "Ludy has been involved in extensive field work and community relations in the Philippines positively impacting the lives of many. I am sure that those who have benefited from her work are as pleased as we are to know of her release."

"We hope that the others will soon be released safely," Goddard added.

The military tagged the Abu Sayyaf group under Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan Jamiri as behind Monday kidnappings. "We still do not know how they were released, but there is an ongoing rescue operation in Basilan. The remaining hostages are being held by the Abu Sayyaf, by Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan (Jamiri)," said Navy Rear Admiral Emilio Marayag.

Dekit has worked directly for CCF for the past three years as a project officer conducting field work and community relations. She works closely with children and families, according to Gaddard. "Our focus can return to our efforts to help children and their families, not only in the Philippines, but in the 31 countries we serve worldwide," Goddard said.

Marayag said the freed hostages will be brought to Zamboanga City for military debriefing, but journalists would not be allowed to interview them. "They are tired. There will be no media interviews," he said.

Police said one of the hostages, Hupida, is the program director of the Nagdilaab Foundation, while Mendoza was a former staff worker at the Office of Presidential Adviser to the Peace Process (OPAPP).

Father Angel Calvo, a Catholic missionary and head of the Peace Advocate Zamboanga, said the kidnappers are holding a fifth hostage, who was helping coordinate peace and humanitarian projects in Basilan. He appealed to kidnappers to free all the hostages.

Calvo said the hostages are community development workers who have been serving the Muslim areas in Basilan for many years now. He said the victims were on their way back to Isabela City from a meeting with town officials when the gunmen flagged down the vehicles.

The Nagdilaab Foundation spun off the Isabela Foundation, which was organized many years ago by the Roman Catholic prelature of Basilan to provide community and humanitarian help to poor residents in the province.

The CCF, an international child-sponsorship group based in Virginia in the United States, has worked in the Philippines since 1954 and has been assisting more than 453,000 children and their families.

CCF has contributed more than $7.8 million for community programs benefiting children and families in the Philippines. It also provides assistance to communities in 31 countries and has assisted more than 13.2 million children and families.

Founded in 1938 as China's Children Fund, the group changed its name to Christian Children's Fund in 1951.Suspected Abu Sayyaf also kidnapped nine people in recent months in Basilan and sent letters to Christians living on the island threatening them with harm if they do not embrace Islam. The letters were signed by Indama and Jamiri. (Mindanao Examiner)

Prestigious Ateneo Awards Conferred To PIME, Nagdilaab Foundation And Naga City Mayor

A Catholic organization, a Philippine foundation and a Filipino city mayor are conferred the prestigious Ateneo awards in Zamboanga City in Mindanao. The Pontificio Instituto Missioni Estere is accorded the Archbishop Luis Del Rosario SJ DD Award. Italian missionary Fr. Julio Mariani represented the PIME. The Nagdilaab Foundation in Basilan province, represented by Jessica Flores, is also conferred the Ateneo Peace Award and so is Mayor Jesse Robredo, of Naga City in Camarines Sur, who received the Mayor Cesar Climaco Award. Fr. Antonio Moreno and Rev. Romulo Valles lead the awarding ceremony in Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 24, 2008) – A Catholic organization, a Philippine foundation and a Filipino city mayor had been conferred the prestigious Ateneo awards in Zamboanga City in Mindanao.

The Pontificio Instituto Misioni Estere (PIME) was accorded the Archbishop Luis Del Rosario SJ DD Award. Italian missionary Fr. Julio Mariani represented the PIME.

Ateneo awarded PIME in recognition of its 40 years of committed service to the people in Mindanao through inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and pastoral ministry among others.

PIME has missionaries across Mindanao, mostly in far-flung areas, helping the poor.

The Nagdilaab Foundation in Basilan province was also conferred the Ateneo Peace Award and so was Mayor Jesse Robredo, of Naga City in Camarines Sur, who received the Mayor Cesar Climaco Award.

The Nagdilaab Foundation, represented by Jessica Flores, was awarded because of its dedicated leadership and unwavering involvement in the “Pantabangan Basulta,” a consortium of ten non-government organizations that engage and support local leader and multisectoral constituents in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi to develop sustainable interventions to promote peace and development in partnership with communities and stake-holders.

The Ateneo de Zamboanga University also recognized Robredo’s outstanding and exemplary achievements in public service. It said Robredo demonstrated peerless brand of leadership, good local governance, and transparency and for giving credence that effective city management is compatible with yielding power to the people.

Fr. Antonio Moreno, president of Ateneo, and Rev. Romulo Valles, the Archbishop of Zamboanga, led the awarding ceremony at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University on Wednesday. (Mindanao Examiner)