L to R: Ms. Jonna Mondares, Dr. Nelly Limbadan, LTGEN Donato San Juan, Dr. Gail Ilagan,Dr. Margie Alvarez, Michael Jess Lapid, and CPT Marco Publico. Photo from COPERS.

The Center of Psychological Extension and Research Services (COPERS) headed by Dr. Gail Ilagan together with COPERS affiliates, delivered psychoeducation seminars for 900 cadets of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) belonging to Classes 2018, 2019, and 2020 on the request of the CPT Marco Publico, chief of the Cadet Welfare Office.

Lieutenant General Donato San Juan, Superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy, received the COPERS Team headed by Dr. Ilagan.

Dr. Ilagan handled the session for Psychological First Aid on 28 March 2017. On the second day, Psychological Association of the Philippines President, Dr. Margie Udarbe-Alvarez gave inputs on Positive Discipline, while AdDU Department of Psychology Chair Dr. Nelly Limbadan conducted the seminar on Anger Management.

The facilitators were ably assisted by COPERS Affiliates Rodge Lelis and Michael Jess Lapid, the latter being on loan from the MSWDO-Polomolok.

“In light of recent events, Ateneo de Davao University would like to clarify that Fr. Albert E. Alejo, SJ has not been connected with the Ateneo de Davao University since April 2013.

Without taking a position on the other allegations in current news reports, the Ateneo de Davao University reiterates its support for the Philippine government’s aspirations through its programs that advance inclusive education, promote care for our environment, focus on renewable energy, and build peace.”

Left to Right: Dr. Rosalie Arcala-Hall, Dr. Gail Tan Ilagan, and Ms. Milet Mendoza. Photo by Hadji A. Balajadia

The Asia Foundation launched the book entitled Local Security in the Contested Bangsamoro Zone: Informality, Hybridity and Pragmatic Imperatives at the Balay Kalinaw in the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines last 29 March 2017. The book is published by the UPV Foundation, Inc.

Edited by University of the Philippines-Visayas Political Science professor Dr. Rosalie Arcala-Hall, the book is a collection of case studies on Maguindanao, Lanao del Norte, the Liguasan Marsh area in North Cotabato, Sulu and Basilan that examines the plural and diverse security arrangements between co-located state and non-state armed actors in the Bangsamoro area..

Included in this book are chapters written by Dr. Hall, ADDU Psychology professor Dr. Gail Tan Ilagan, humanitarian worker Milet Mendoza, and Dr. Hall. Ilagan wrote the chapter on Perceptions of Military Actors on Engaging Civil Society Stakeholders in Conflict-Affected Areas in Mindanao.

The launch was graced by the presence of former chair of the government’s negotiating panel in the GRP-MILF peace negotiations Prof. Miriam Coronel Ferrer, some Bangsamoro Transition Commission members, academics, students, and representatives of the security sector, as well as foreign defense officials and security analysts.

The first 36 graduates of the Tboli Sbù Senior High School pose for a class photo with Department of Education officials, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority officials, the Community Elders and members of the Municipal tribal Council, and partners from Ateneo de Davao University. Photo by Eanna Marie Fernandez.

On 07 April 2017, Jesuit House Minister Fr. Tony Basilio, SJ turned over to COPERS Director Dr. Gail Ilagan the token of appreciation he received on her behalf from First Lieutenant Allan Wadsilang on 26 March 2017 when Ilagan was away on official business.

Wadsilang had traveled from his unit’s headquarters in Sulu to deliver the token, a 16-inch Jolo kris with intricately carved wooden grip and scabbard framed in glass and mounted on a 30”x15”x4” wooden frame. He had initially gone to Gate 3 of the Matina Campus, but was directed by the guard to Fr. Basilio at the Jesuit Residence to help him complete his mission in Davao City.

In the Malay tradition going back to the 3rd century, the kris symbolizes royalty, authority and power. It is rarely manufactured these days.

The gold plaque under the kris is inscribed with the unit’s appreciation for Ilagan’s invaluable service to the troops of the 6th Scout Ranger “The Cutting Edge” Company. The Scout Rangers, known to be the best jungle fighters in the world, are under the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) of the Philippine Army.

Ilagan, author of the book War Wounded that was published by the Ateneo de Davao University in 2010, pursues her advocacy for mental health management among active duty troops in Mindanao. Under her leadership, the Center of Psychological Extension and Research Services (COPER) has recently concluded the pilot of a Combat and Operational Stress First Aid (COSFA) training design among troops in various parts of Mindanao to address their psychological welfare and to help the Philippine Army develop an in-service manual.

For further inquiries, please call (082) 2960724

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Bismillah . Rabiss

Moulders, mentors Fr. Joel E. Tabora, S.J., President of Ateneo de Davao University, your pro-Bangsamoro writings for this generation are for keeps. Dr. Gina Montalan, Academic Vice President Mr. Benjamin Lizada, Chairman of the Board of Ateneo de Davao University Bro. Karl Gaspar, CSsR, Dean of Studies at St. Alphonsus Theological and Mission Institute Atty. Manuel P. Quibod, Dean of the College of Law Dr. Renante D. Pilapil, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Dr. Jenner Y. Chan, Dean of the School of Business and Governance Dr. Patria V. Manalaysay, Dean of the School of Nursing Engr. Randell U. Espina, Dean of the School of Engineering and Architecture Dr. Annabel J. Casumpa, Dean of the School of Education

Striving and selfies, the age of contradictions, our time when quakes can be easily forgotten by the front page story of the next day.

I have so many stories to tell you. So forgive my halo halo, hodge podge narratives. I come from a community of Darangen traditions and deep lake folklore, eager to share what klieg lights would often ignore, to highlight about positive practices from the periphery. One mayor uses his personal money to add to the ira to settle deep-seated rido, one mother of 30 plus survives without a husband, in every corner a nurse passing the board is celebrated with printed ads.

We may be covered but the veiled also seeks to be unveiled of ignorance. Strange is the same…

My story of aspiring brings me when I took up MA in Diliman, it was nosebleed facing a French-trained professor. Only five of us around a table on Political Economy, we each had to pretend to sound smart. Eye-to-eye with the Professor was like melting under the Saudi sun. No hiding behind someone’s head.

It was the same in lawschool with heart pounding as a way of life . Rejected by 3 bar exams, UP College of Law and all broadcasting companies after college, I was a woman on fire. I was going to Pasay at the end of the MRT for law school and Quezon City on the other end for Masters. There was no law prohibiting taking two courses. Twice a week at UP Diliman when I should be resting from whole day readings, I commuted to and fro, siksikan sa MRT, dashing lines, found law books for the Masteral class. I was exhausted, secretly vomited and too thin.

So I honor your journey of sleepless nights, surviving the jungle of words, recitation, and thesis writing . Our zombie life in codals, highlighters, coffee five times daily , was like a Samurai awaking like an alarm clock finding the right defenses. We abstained and we forgot life, liberty and property in no lovelife, dating, etc.

Marching like you are doing today was the headiest feeling, nirvana.

So the value of higher studies. You bring context, pattern, trends into the conversations of fanatics. You shed light on pros and cons, you reason before affirming . A batchmate in bar exams may have suffered stroke or nervous breakdown but this diploma is very meaningful. Especially in a place where one out of 10 Bangsamoro can’t get to school. How do you dialogue with kids who denounce all forms of dialogue anyway? How do you contribute to a society which cannot understand many of the Western theories we are grounded on.

The aspiration for recognition is the same everywhere…

Before I get ahead on the BBL that hopes to address land dispossession, marginalization and discrimination, may I mention the unspoken and the non-tangibles that sometimes aren’t well defined. Trust is a big capital here. Come down to the Moro areas with projects but they do not sustain for there is no trust. Theory and fact must be complemented by long immersion.

That brings me to our work on Bangsamoro Law drafting, efficiency and diversity are what are offered. Co-management of governance by various mechanisms drives away the concentration of power from few hands. When I shake the hands of national officials, I think how could they act on the many hundreds of letters that pile up on their table. This archipelago must be brought together by technology and human talent which can be done through structural arrangements.

The BM bill and enabling peace agreement can only be successful if the professional can assist the non professional, if the haves can provide for the have nots, if you can choose the career working for communities.

My social consciousness wasn’t always this way.

I was born and grew up 15 years away from this country, studied and bffd with refugees from Palestine and Somalia and Ethiopia. Boarded a plane alone when I was 8 years old. I got lucky but the kindness of being fed and schooling compelled me to ask more of life. When school didn’t teach me about Bangsamoro, we travelled every Friday to Quiapo slums to see them. When lawschool didn’t expose me to jails, I visited them regularly. When youth policy lecturers were a few, kapal muks ako to volunteer my way around the regions.

When Muslim women wouldn’t face cops or soldiers, movements here fostered conversations. One old narrative tells of a woman deliberately slashing her face so that soldiers won’t find her attractive.

Rule of law is valuable in a society of factions, sections and islands. You must bring people back to principle versus patronage, science than opinion, technology than human time.

Social justice must bring back our trust in institutions which outlive us.

Working with communities heals you, touches you, deepens you. Do not let titles get u stuck to the desk life, a danger in heart attacks, and suicides of yuppies.

In so doing, passion is an ingredient in what we do, hyper they often tease me. But sitting in one seat is limiting in one forum, that is why it is a forum of life, you have to take other seats. Because often when you want to be a leader, you have to follow, be an assistant of a leader, when you want to stand up for a philosophy, you have to start as a neophyte learner of such idea.

There were times I would cry at the seeming less commitment of peers, feeling as I were the only left. Always on the verge of resigning from the various movements I joined.

There I learned to accept. I thought early on NOT to depend on the words and plans of one, but to take things as they come. Invest but also have contingency.

Freelance work worked for me. I could earn from emailing material such as editing them. I had control over my time. This I credit to my higher studies. Some don’t know your name, but they value your school.

So take it from me, recommit to the communion of life, serve back your community, for ain’t it wonderful to also die where you planted a legacy. Strange is the same.

On a closing note, I fell for an Atenean, did not come true, but thanks for this honor, a dream come true.

Congratulations! Go out into the Filipino sun and make your own sunshines, Sirs and Maams.

Justin Ryan D. Morilla of Ateneo de Davao University placed 5th in the 2016 Bar Exams with  the grade of 88.40 percent.

Ateneo de Davao University maintains its standing as one of the top law schools in the Philippines with these (2017) Bar Stats:

• 1st timers 100% (24/24)
• Retakers 62.5% (5/8)
• Overall 90.63% (29/32)

As announced, a total of three thousand seven hundred forty seven (3,747) lawyers passed the 2016 Bar exams out of six thousand three hundred forty four (6,344) examinees, or an overall passing rate of 59.06 percent.

The highest percentage of bar exam passers ever recorded was in 1954 with 75.17 percent, while the lowest was in 1999 with 16.59 percent.

Prof. John Harvey D. Gamas, from the International Studies Department, presents the Mindanao Muslim History book during its launch last 31 May 2017 at the Finster Auditorium. Photo by Aivy Rose Villarba.

The marginalization of Moro identity and the disregard for their historic agency fostered prejudices and biases that have alienated the Mindanao Muslims from the rest of the country. This alienation is perpetuated by the nationalist historical narrative of the north that continues to be the dominant discourse in what we anachronistically call “Philippine history.” Privileging one version of the struggle against Spanish colonization glosses over parallel struggles across the archipelago. This book, therefore, seeks to address this lacuna in Philippine history by integrating Muslim historical experience in the discourse. It aims to achieve this objective by presenting primary documentary sources. These sources have been carefully chosen to highlight Muslim religio-political independence and the historical injustices committed against them.

Many published works have already sought to highlight and integrate Muslim experience in Philippine history. The most well-known of these works is Majul’s Muslims in the Philippines. But unlike Majul’s book which includes his analysis of events, this book simply offers documentary sources to the reading public.

These documentary sources are the essential building blocks upon which historians reconstruct or interpret the past, hence the label “primary texts.” In the strict sense, primary texts are contemporaneous or eyewitness accounts of past events written in the original language. To purists, a translated work ceases to be primary principally because of the danger that the translation would not be faithful to the original. However, using the original languages here would not serve its purpose of making known the contents of the documents to the ordinary reader. For this reason, we are presenting the English translations of the documents which come from various languages, ranging from Arabic to Chinese, Malay to Tausug, and especially Spanish. To the best of our knowledge, these are reputable English translations, and we welcome scholars who can help us with better translations in future editions.

To preserve the integrity of the texts we opted to retain the grammar, spelling (including misspellings), and the footnotes of the original text. However, in our explanatory notes, we have standardized the spelling of names and places.

The primary sources presented here come in various forms or literary genres. Most of them are correspondences between European colonial officials, travel reports, and treaties from the 1500s to the late 1800s. There are also Chinese court records from the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Some of the primary sources were originally part of oral tradition but were later written or codified. This includes legendary narratives, Muslim royal genealogies, and Moro law codes.

These primary sources come from different published materials. A lot of these materials are already out of print. Some are buried in voluminous collections like Blair and Robertson’s The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898. Though utilized by serious researchers, this multivolume translated compilation of Spanish primary documents looks daunting to ordinary readers. This book, therefore, seeks to give a reader-friendly presentation of the primary texts. Most primary materials are presented in full. Some are excerpts as the original full document contains information that is beyond the scope or objective of this book. Each documentary source is introduced with a short overview so as to facilitate a better understanding of its content and context.

Guests applaud the compilers and editors of the Mindanao Muslim History: Documentary Sources from the Advent of Islam to the 1800s book. Photo by Aivy Rose Villarba.

Since most documents are coming from a Western viewpoint they explicitly and implicitly contain a triumphalist crusading mindset. Other Western sources like those of the English travelers, though less condescending, still showed some orientalist contempt for the people they regarded as culturally inferior. Hence, we have to be circumspect and keep a critical eye in reading these sources.

The compilers have no illusions whatsoever of presenting an exhaustive collection of primary sources of Mindanao Muslim history. It is impossible to capture the wealth of documentary sources in one book. The present work, therefore, is delimited thematically and chronologically. The overarching themes, which also function as the criteria in the choice of primary sources, are Muslim religio-political uniqueness and independence, and the historical injustices inflicted on Moros by the Spanish colonizers and their collaborators.

The book is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 shows the unique culture and history of the Muslims in Mindanao that evolved from local traditions and enriched by Islam. Chapter 2 details the Spanish colonizing activities and the resistance of the Moros. Chapter 3 shows the gains of the Spaniards over the centuries and the decreasing power of the Sultanates. What the documents show are the injustices committed against the Muslims in the form of military attacks, economic disenfranchisement, and socio-cultural insensitivity.

We have included excerpts from four documents that do not fall under any of the chapter headings but which we think are important in shedding light on Mindanao. These are placed in the appendices.

Watch the recorded live video of Our Stories, Our Struggles, Our Hopes: Launching of the Mindanao-Sulu Timelines and Mindanao Muslim History Book last 31 May 2017 at the Finster Auditorium, Ateneo de Davao University.

Certain points must also be clarified with regard to the theme. First, the term Mindanao does not only refer to the big island of Mindanao, but encompasses all the other islands and island groupings, big and small— including Sulu—that are traditionally included in Mindanao as a region. Second, the word “Muslims” or “Moros” (used interchangeably in this book) does not denote a monolithic ethno-linguistic identity. At present, the word refers collectively to the thirteen main Muslim ethnic groups in the Philippines. Third, the emphasis on historical injustices must not to be taken as a project to create a new hegemonic discourse. It does not seek to uncritically solidify the narratives of victimhood and nationalist primordialism nor does it argue that the Moro struggle was a mere part of the wider Philippine national movement. Such narratives have been critized for simplifying the complex reality of Mindanao history.

What this book mainly accentuates, as its primary objective, is the fact that the Muslim ethnic groups suffered and struggled in the midst of injustices committed against them. By highlighting this often neglected and painful part of history, we get a balanced view and understanding of the Mindanao problem. It is our desire that through primary texts we may be able to realize the complexity of this archipelago’s history or histories. Beyond the nationalist historical narrative of the north are diverse historical experiences which must be taken into account. Framing them simply as a part of the Filipino nationalist struggle would diminish the essential differences in identities and contexts. Moro nationalism was born out of a unique historical context where northern Filipinos were also villains and not necessarily co-partners. Integrating the historical experience of Muslim peoples in Mindanao is essentially a call to acknowledge the injustices their ancestors suffered and to which the present generation continues to go through. The legacies of the colonial “othering” of the Moros which justified violence and alienation, have become the wellsprings that inspire the Moros to fight for self-rule. Therefore, apart from material solutions, the Mindanao problem should also be addressed by acknowledging and rectifying prejudices and biases rooted in historical injustices. As B.R. Rodil reminds the editors, it is hoped that “In the end we should create a new generation of relationship, based on mutual acceptance, and a beautiful history, our own creation.”

We hope that all of you have an insightful reading of Muslim Mindanao History.

You may get your copy of the Mindanao Muslim History book from the University Publications Office for only Php350.00. Visit them at 8th Floor Community Center of the First Companions, Ateneo de Davao University, Roxas Avenue, Davao City. You may contact them via landline at (082) 221-24-11 local 8213 or via email at publications@addu.edu.ph.

Guests applaud the compilers and editors of the Mindanao Muslim History: Documentary Sources from the Advent of Islam to the 1800s.  L-R: Mr. Ramon Beleno III, Ustadz Janor C. Balo, Ms. Maria Janua P. Cunanan, Mr. John Harvey D. Gamas, Dr. Anderson V. Villa, and Dr. Mansoor L. Limba.  Photo by Aivy Rose Villarba.

By Aivy Rose Villarba

In order to address the gap in Philippine history by integrating Muslim historical experience in the discourse, the Ateneo de Davao University Publication Office launched the Mindanao Muslim History: Documentary sources from the advent of Islam to the 1800s book last 31 May at the 7th Floor Finster Hall, Finster Auditorium.

The book is compiled and edited by John Harvey Gamas, Dr. Mansoor Limba, Dr. Anderson Villa, Utadz Janor Balo, Maria Janua Cunanan, Dr. Heidi Gloria, and Ramon Beleno III.

“It aims to achieve the objective by presenting primary documentary sources. These sources have been carefully chosen to highlight Muslim religio-political independence and the historical injustices committed against them,” Gamas said during the book presentation.

Historian, novelist, and Anthropology professor of Ateneo de Davao University Bro. Karl Gaspar, CSsR expressed that the compilation is most impressive because it includes important documents from way back the pre-conquest era to documents written in the 1800s.

Gaspar added that the book is very important and timely.

“Apart from material solutions, the Mindanao problem should also be addressed by acknowledging and rectifying the prejudices and biases rooted in historical injustices,” he said.

He also pointed our that the historical injustices committed against the Moro people persist in the manner that many Filipino Christians regard our Moro brothers and sisters.

“Strong prejudices and biases have evolved into very condescending myths. This book debunks all these myths,” he said.

The book is divided into three chapters: Islam and the Rise of the Sultanates in Mindanao, Spanish Colonial Intrusions into Mindanao, and the Decline of the Sultanates in Mindanao.

You may purchase copies of the book at the Ateneo de Davao University Publications Office (UPO) for only P350.00 at the 8th Floor Xavier Hall, Community Center of the First Companions, Ateneo de Davao University, Roxas Avenue, Davao City. You may reach UPO via landline at (082) 221-24-11 local 8213 or via email at publications@addu.edu.ph.

THE EDITORS

John Harvey D. Gamas is an assistant professor and chair of the International Studies Department of the Ateneo de Davao University. He obtained his Master of Arts in International Studies, major in European Studies from De La Salle University. He specializes in non-Western International Relations, focusing on Southeast Asian maritime history as the locus for theorizing the “international.” Currently, he is an active member of the International Studies Association (ISA), the Philippine International Studies Organization (PhISO), and the European Studies Association of the Philippines (ESAP).

Dr. Mansoor L. Limba is an associate professor of the Islamic Studies program and a member of the Al Qalam Institute for Islamic Identities and Dialogue in Southeast Asia of the Ateneo de Davao University. He is associate editor of IQRA Journal and an International Fellow of the Vienna-based King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID). His research interests include international politics, history, political philosophy, intrafaith and interfaith relations, cultural heritage, Islamic finance, jurisprudence (fiqh), theology (‘ilm al’kalam), Qur’anic sciences and exegesis (tafsir), hadith, ethics, and mysticism.

Dr. Anderson V. Villa is an associate professor of the International Studies Department of the Ateneo de Davao University and the Editor of IQRA Journal. His research interests include international migration and immigration policies, migration and citizenship studies as well as ethnicity, conflict and peace studies. He also heads the Migration and Diaspora Section of the Ateneo Center for Politics and International Affairs (CPIA). He is a member of the Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA) and the Association for Asian Studies (AAS).

Ustadz Janor C. Balo is an assistant professor and program coordinator of the AB Islamic Studies of the Ateneo de Davao University. He is a graduate of the Zaid bin Thabit Qur’anic Institute of King Faisal College, Mindanao State University. He finished BS Psychology from the same university. In 2016, he received his Master of Science in Psychology, major in Industrial and Organization Psychology from the Ateneo de Davao University. He is a registered Psychometrician and a Shariah Bar exam passer.

Maria Janua P. Cunanan is a faculty member of the Political Science and History Department of the Ateneo de Davao University. She graduated from the Central Mindanao University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. In 2012, she was awarded as one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (TOSP) at the Malacañan Palace by former President Benigno Aquino III.

Ramon B. Beleno III finished AB Political Science at the Ateneo de Manila University, and Bachelor of Laws at the University of Nueva Caceres. He gained his masters in Political Science major in Global Politics from the Ateneo de Manila University. For four years he served as chairperson of the Department of Social Sciences of the Ateneo de Naga University. At present, he is the chair of the Political Science and History Department of the Ateneo de Davao University.

Dr. Heidi K. Gloria is a professor emeritus of Ateneo de Davao University. She has an MA in History from the University of San Carlos, and a PhD in History from the University of the Philippines. She founded Tambara, Ateneo de Davao University’s multidisciplinary journal on the humanities and social sciences. She was the curator of the Davao Museum and a part of the World Archaeological Congress Council. Dr. Gloria has published on the ethnohistory, ethnoecology, and cultural change of Mindanao indigenous communities.

Watch the recorded live video of Our Stories, Our Struggles, Our Hopes: Launching of the Mindanao-Sulu Timelines and Mindanao Muslim History Book last 31 May 2017 at the Finster Auditorium, Ateneo de Davao University.

Members of the College and Senior High School Community gathered at the Pakighinabi Room last 21 June 2017 for the discussion on Diversity and Religious Freedom. The event is one of the most well-attended Pakighinabi sessions. Photo by Igy Castrillo.

By Patricia Suarez

Members of the Ateneo de Davao University gathered for a Pakighinabi session last 21 June 2017 at the Pakighinabi Room, 3/F Ricci Hall, Community Center of the First Companions.

University President Fr. Joel E. Tabora, SJ,  lead discussant talked about diversity and religious freedom.

He opened the discussion by looking back at history.

“While the country may have celebrated independence from Spain 119 years ago, our struggle today must also be for independence from religious extremism and intolerance.  

This comes from an irreligious position which as a consequence of its claims that there is only one God, that there is only one legitimate religion, and that they are the only true worshippers of God, rejects the concept of diversity of religions and anything like freedom of religion,” he said.

He added monotheism rejects the notion of religious freedom and any person who challenges this notion can be attacked, assaulted, tortured or killed.

The lead discussant continued with a quote from Pope Francis which said: the world’s situation today is a world war being fought by piecemeal. Bombs explode in football stadiums and rock concerts. These terrorist attacks do not target just armed combatant but innocent lives as well. Children.

“No civilized society can be built without repudiating every ideology of evil, violence, and extremism that presumes to suppress others and annihilate diversity by manipulating and profaning the sacred name of God,” Fr. Tabora said quoting the Supreme Pontiff. 

Tabora also stressed that terrorists say “In God’s name I will kill you!”

He explained there is religious diversity and it is presumptuous to annihilate diversity. This fabricated set of ideas is not religion. It does not connect us to God who all regions recognize as the God of compassion. It uses God to carry out the evil designs of human beings, and it drags the sacred name of God into human politics and human conflict.

“God [the Creator of Heaven and earth] does not need to be protected by men. It is he who protects them. It is not we who protect God from evil but God who delivers us from evil. A God who wishes death upon his children is a false God,” he said.

It was also pointed out during the discussion that people were created with religious freedom. The Vatican council only recognized this 52 years ago and proclaimed the right to religious freedom on the basis of the dignity of the human person with the encyclical Dignitatis Humanae. 

The right to religious freedom has its foundation in the very dignity of the human person as this dignity is revealed through the Word of God and in the human person itself.  All men and women are to be immune from coercion in such way that no one is supposed to be forced to act in any manner contrary to his or her beliefs whether privately or publicly.

“We cannot discharge these obligations of seeking the truth unless they enjoy immunity from such external actions of coercion and psychological freedom,” the University President said.

“Seek the truth, religious truth. Adhere to the truth once it is known,” Tabora ended.

The Pakighinabi Conversation Series is designed to provide members of the University community a platform to discuss multidisciplinary issues and concerns in an open and friendly manner. It is a project of the Office of the University President.

MARY QUITE CONTRARY

Homilies and Reflections on Our Blessed Mother By Fr. Renato L. Puentevella S.J.

Published by ADDU University Publications Office. Davao City 101 pages

Karl M. Gaspar CSsR

Before I read my review, I would like to thank the organizers of this book launch for the honor of being able to give this review. It is but a coincidence, but on this day that we have this book launch, we are celebrating the feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Being a Redemptorist Brother, the Our Mother of Perpetual Help icon is very important to our identity as a religious congregation. In fact, last year, we the Redemptorists all over the world celebrated the 150th year Jubilee of the turning over of this icon by Pope Pius IX to our Fr Superior General with the words: make her known! Thus, I am just so glad to do my task at this event on the feast day of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.

Now my review:

There is no question that Mary, a simple peasant woman who became the Mother of God and Our Blessed Mother, remains truly an icon for million, believers all over the world. There seems to be no diminishing of her popularity. Long after she left this planet, she continues to figure in the consciousness of peoples and communities around the world. News stories about her continue to flood various media channels. Whether in visual art, music and films, she has remained a constant presence. This is, of course, especially true for members of the Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity.

As a tradition in the Philippines, the month of May is reserved to honor Mary and to deepen our devotion to her. The Flores de Mayo and the culmination of the month are important dates in the calendar of Catholic parishes and Base Ecclesial communities. Even at the height of the Marawi hostilities the Franciscans of Baloi in the Prelature of Marawi did not allow the war situation to block the culmination of their Flores de Mayo.

Recently, there have been a lot of buzz in terms of her apparitions in Fatima, since this year, 2017, we are celebrating the centennial year of her appearance to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal six times in 1917 every 13th of the month from May to October. Pope Francis travelled to Fatima not just to honor Our Lady of Fatima/but to canonize two of the children. Duplicate images of Our Lady of Fatima journeyed in the whole world, including the Philippines.

Meanwhile, controversies hound other claims of apparitions. Just recently, the former Archbishop of Lipa, Archbishop Ramon C. Arguelles announced that the Holy See had reiterated its negative judgment on the supernatural nature of the apparitions.   It was claimed that on September 12, 1948, Mary — as Mediatrix of All Graces — appeared to Sr. Teresita Castillo, also known as Sr. Teresing, who was just 21 years of when it allegedly took place in the Carmelite convent in Lipa City. On September 12, 1948, the young nun was outside praying when one of the garden vines began to shake. She then heard the voice of the Virgin Mary, who asked Teresita to kiss the ground and return to the same spot for fifteen days.

Another controversial site of an alleged Marian apparition is the one that supposedly happened in Mejugorie, a once-obscure village in Bosnia. Recently Pope Francis voiced his serious doubt about the authenticity of the alleged continuing apparitions of the Madonna. Six children first reported visions of the Virgin Mary in 1981 in a scenario reminiscent of famous apparitions in the French town of Lourdes in the 19th century. But despite this, pilgrims continue to visit Mejugorie. This is true of the site of the Marian shrine in Simala, Cebu. Th9 Local Church of the Archdiocese of Cebu has distanced itself from this site of alleged miracles but hundreds of pilgrims continue to flood this shrine.

So what explains the intense interest and enthusiastic fascination of the thousands of Marian devotees for Our Blessed Mother? Now comes a book — MARY QUITE CONTRARY: Homilies and Reflections on Our Blessed Mother — by Fr. Renato L. Puentevella S.J. This book constituted by two parts (In Praise of Our Lady and Mary and the Spiritual Life including 31 essays shows the reader why one Marian devotee has this interest and fascination. Claiming that this book is a long overdue tribute to Mary, the author hopes that other Marian devotees or non-devotees alike would find reading this book worthwhile.

Fr. Punetevella claims that he is not “a theologian or a Marian scholar” and thus modestly assert that he is unqualified to write about Mary. True enough the published literature on Mary by theologians and scholars have been compiled through centuries that they now constitute the theological discourse on Mariology. But MARY QUITE CONTRARY is a wort y addition to this literature. Whatever may be lacking in theological depth and scholarly breath is more than made up by the very personal take of the author’s grasp of the significance of Mary in our faith-life as Christians. The author, however, does make an effort to bring in a bit of scholarship to this book by quoting the writings of Joseph Landy, James Donelan and Raymond Brown.

Indeed, the reflections of this book are very personal arising out of the author’s long years in the ministry and how Mary constantly was a source of i spiration for his vocation as a Jesuit from the time when he came of age when Mary gave him the “courage to fly off to the novitiate without my father’s permission” to the long years when Mary bailed him “out of a number of times when I got into hot water, metaphorically speaking” including a near drowning at a beach in Cagayan de Oro City.

The essays cover quite a number of the mysteries of the Rosary where Mary takes center stage like the events around the Annunciation, Visitation, the birth in Bethlehem and the Assumption. There are also essays related to the historical moments recorded in the Sacred Scriptures: the appearance of Gabriel (Lk 1:29), her encounter with the prophet Simeon (Lk 2: 35), her visit to her cousin Elizabeth where she sang the famous Magnificat (Lk 14:7-11) of the Magis (Mt 2:11), the wedding at Cana Jn 2:3-4) and her presence at Calvary (Jn 19: 25-27). True, there is no text in the Bible indicating Jesus appearance to Mary after he rose from the dead, but the author posits that there was no need for any of the Evangelist to write of this appearance as common sense informs us that the son would surely first appear to his beloved mother.

Why is the book’s title — MARY QUITE CONTRARY? Taking off from a nursery rhyme, the author explains the choice of the title by indicating that Mary is “a bundle of contradictions” including these opposing poles: that she was conceived without sin but that she, too, needed to be saved just like us; that she was a virgin but a child took shape in her womb; the reference in the Bible that Jesus was her first-born but this gives rise to the question that Mary had other children; that a simple village maiden could become Queen of Heaven; and that people’s devotion to her expressed in reverence for icons and statues violate the Ten Commandments’ exhortation that there be no other gods.

One of the essays in this book is “Mary’s Fifteen Minutes of Fame”. Indeed, the Warholian fifteen minutes of fame could also be appropriated for Mary as her appearances in the biblical texts are quite limited. However, despite this, Mary casts a long shadow in the minds of the believers. In the author’s words: “Mary, after her fifteen minutes, moved into a hidden life of care and service. For years, she quietly nurtured Jesus, taught him, buried her husband, and finally, let her son go as all mothers must. Then she stayed home to help others, going about unrecognized, growing deep into prayer and, most of all, being a special help to the has-beens… Mary’s fiteen minutes of fame, then her long obscurity, gained for her the position of the patron saint of the has-been’s — the lost, those who have strayed, the hopeless sinners, anyone striving to reinvent ways of loving and living again after their fifteen minutes of fame are over. Through her long apprenticeship, Mary became for them the mother of hope, renewal and compassion.”

This is where Ino Cueto’s missiological discourse of debo-misyon comes in. The challenge for Marian devotees today is to resolve another contradiction, namely, the tendency for devotees to remain only at the level of devotion/hat tends to take on only a personal and privatized aspect of Christian faith one one hand/and the challenge of Mary’s Magnificat on the other hand. Today ,.. we Christians need to find a way to bridge these two poles, otherwise, Mary will be fetishized, only as a religious item and not allow to challenge us to take up our missionary role of helping to build a Reign of God there we all enjoy the fullness of life!

Lastly, just a comment on the book’s look. The size, layout and overall design are quite inspired choices as the reader finds reading the text quite easy on the eyes. So also the decision to interface the text with illustrations of art works. A collection of the artworks of four artists find their way to the book’s pages. But the better option would have been to include only those of the accomplished Mindanawon visual artist – Mark Tolentino. His depiction of Mary in the context of the aesthetics of Muslim art (as Gabriel appears to her, in the Nativity scene, the Assumption, as Queen and Mother of God) and many others that do not appear in this book would have suffice.

Thank you.

Ateneans who evacuated in Roxas Avenue seek for higher ground. The evacuation area of the Ateneo de Davao Jacinto campus is located at RMC gym near Madapo Hills Photo by Eanna Fernandez.

By Patricia Suarez

The Ateneo de Davao University and all other institutions and business establishments in the city participated in the first Davao City Shake out Drill last 14 July 2017.  

The drill started exactly 9:00 AM.  The students flooded out of the building in a swift and orderly fashion as they evacuated to their designated areas in Roxas Avenue, Claveria, and Jacinto streets.

“We’re getting better. We were able to evacuate within five to eight minutes, the whole campus,” Jeremy “Bong” Eliab, Ateneo de Davao Executive Vice President said.

He added that Ateneo College and Senior High School Units were able to evacuate within 12 minutes in the last year’s drill.

“This year, we only have the college students. We were expecting yesterday that we will be evacuating around 8500 students and that is really a challenge for us. But right now, the emergency team of the University is improving and we are making necessary drills in order to face the challenges,” he stated.

This drill was a request from the city government. It is a citywide earthquake and tsunami drill that aims to test the capacity of the city to respond in case of an emergency situation of 8.5 magnitude earthquake.

“We are are participating together with them so we are in constant contact. There were two ambulances that passed by the University after. They were supposed to coordinate with us if we have injuries and then they will bring the injured to the medical facility which is located at Crocodile Park,” Eliab said.

Ateneo community prepares to go to the evacuation site after the Tsunami Alert.

In the drill, several scenarios were simulated simultaneously. There was a fire on the roof deck of Finster Hall, so the firefighting team had to respond. Hence, the students staying outside of the university longer because they were trying to put out the fire.

There were also four people injured in different areas of the building as injuries are expected during an 8.5 magnitude earthquake. The first aid medical team had to pull out and rescue people which also took them a significant amount of time.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) evaluated the drill. “By our standards, this is okay already. We passed [the drill],” Eliab said.

Suppose there were a tsunami, the evacuation area of the Jacinto campus is located at RMC gym near Madapo Hills. While the evacuation area for the Ateneo Matina campus is located at GSIS Matina. All injured people will have to be brought to Crocodile Park because the city will set up a large medical facility and command center post in that area.

For more photos during the Citywide Shake out drill last 14 July 2017, visit the Ateneo de Davao University Gallery.

Photo by Gabby Balinas

By Carrine Samantha Yem

The School of Business and Governance (SBG) of Ateneo de Davao University organized a symposium dubbed “Engaging the Leaders of Tomorrow” for the Master in Business Administration (MBA) students last 15 July 2017 at the Finster Auditorium, 7/F Finster Hall.

MAREXA Human Resource and Management Head Nelson P. Casiano and Toffee Ang, owner of The Board Room and Lounge and Stre3ts were the speakers of the forum. They discussed motivations of a millennial in a workplace and  millennial and baby boomer management in the workplace.

Casiano stressed the changes and impact that which millennials hold in the workplace today and the importance of aligning with them.

“Making a millennial engage in happier work is easier than you think, communicate early and often, find ways or even find new ways to collaborate and embrace transparency to engage you millennials, love them or hate them, millennials are here to stay,” Casiano said.

Ang, on the other hand, explained onto the histories and perceptions of these generations and how it has created a gap and to work with them in the working field from better communication and willingness to collaborate with one another as a leader in a work force.

“A leader is someone who establishes a clear vision, and then guides their team towards the vision by empowering them and coaching them to greatness,” Ang said.

Followed after the two discussion was an open forum and to end the program a certificate of thanks was given to the two speakers and a raffle for those who made their participation to the event.

Senior High School students gather at the Martin Hall during the first day of the 6th Ateneo Fiesta. Photo by Ralph Lavapie.

By Mikhaela Doce

The Ateneo de Davao University Senior High School celebrated the 69th Ateneo Fiesta last August 11-13.

The fiesta started with a mass presided by Fr. Jessel Gerard Gonzales, SJ, Assistant Director for Formation at the Martin Hall.

Day 2

The Performing Arts and Sports highlighted the second day of celebration, with art exhibits, cultural and literary presentations, and a volleyball exhibition game as main attractions for Senior High School students.

In the field of arts, the Sabayang Pagbigkas Competition declared Montserrat Cluster the champion, with Rome and Paris as 1st and 2nd runners up respectively. Rome made a comeback as they impressed in the Komikal Skit Competition, leaving Jerusalem and Salamanca as 1st and 2nd runners up.

Rome once again eclipsed over the others in the Pagsulat ng Sanaysay, an essay writing contest on this year’s theme, followed by Paris and Jerusalem as 1st and 2nd runners up.

Also centered on this year’s theme is Perspectives. Located in the Old Bookstore is an art exhibit of all entries of 93 sections of Senior High regarding this Fiesta’s theme. This time, the Jerusalem Cluster outshone the others, keeping Rome and Barcelona as 1st and 2nd runners up.

Ateneo Superstar, a showcase of dancing, singing, and acting talents, aptly capped the performing arts competitions. The ethnic-themed performance of Rome captivated the audience and judges enough to land them the top spot. Salamanca and Montserrat settled for 1st and 2nd runners up.

For sports, the Ateneo Senior High School Volleyball Team fought off the University of the Immaculate Conception Volleyball Team in their home turf at the 7th Floor of Martin Hall. They domineered the Men’s Volleyball in 2 sets, 25-18, and 26-24. They repeated their feat in the Women’s Volleyball with three sets, 25-27, 25-16, and 25-14.

On another note, this year’s Fiesta showed the heart of the students in “Paghahandog,” an event dedicated to help out and serve the families of a chosen community in Davao City. Pulsong Ateneo, with the class presidents, brought games and a joint lunch celebration inside the F711 and F712 rooms of the Finster Building.  Ang Teatro ng Ateneo also entertained with their presentations.

“I felt happy and grateful. It was quite overwhelming but in a good way. To be able to see the smiles on the children’s faces and knowing that smile was because of us made me feel great,” said Hanna Afable, one of the class presidents.

Day 3

Around 4,000 students jumped and swayed to the beat during the Zumba Fest led by the Senior High School Director, Mr. Rikki Enriquez, and the P.E and Health teachers of SHS right after the religious services, rightly beginning the final day of the celebration with a prayerful but festive spirit.

More students crowded the Thibault and Finster hallways as the Cluster Boodle Fight featured unique food accompanied by performances of each cluster. The Salamanca Cluster proved to be the most creative along with Barcelona and Rome as 1st and 2nd runners up.

Tugtog Bughaw, a showdown of bands, concluded the festivities as representatives of the different clusters performed their renditions of songs from the iconic band, Eraserheads. Rome Cluster rose above the rest, while Salamanca and Barcelona remained fixed at 1st and 2nd runners up respectively.

With their clinching of the last gold, Rome garnered this year’s overall champion title. Montserrat, Barcelona, and Salamanca all tied for 1st runner up, while Jerusalem settled for 2nd Runner Up.

The Fiesta celebration ended with a shindig prepared for the students at the 4/F Martin Hall.

For photos during the Ateneo Senior High School Fiesta celebration, visit the Ateneo de Davao University Gallery.

Photo by Eanna Marie Fernandez

By Aivy Rose N. Villarba

The Ateneo de Davao University organized a Pakighinabi on Intra-religious dialogue with Fr. Felix Körner, SJ, PhD last August 30 at the Finster Auditorium.

Christians, Muslims, and Indigenous peoples listened to the German Jesuit priest as he presented his thesis on How a Faith Tradition Can Rediscover its Unity.

Körner holds a doctorate in Islamic Studies and has spent parts of his life in Muslim majority countries including Syria and Turkey. After his second doctorate in Catholic dogmatics, he was called to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, an academic institution founded in 1553 by Ignatius of Loyola and now known for its mission to form future leaders of the universal Church from more than 120 countries.

In his opening remarks, University President Fr. Joel E. Tabora, SJ expressed that as Muslims and Christians seek to find their way to closer understanding and respect for each other in the other’s privileged ways of worshipping the one God, both Muslims and Christian are also invited to find deeper insights into various receptions within their particular faith traditions.

“We are invited to notice that before this God of Truth we have no monopoly on truth, and no warrant to monopolize truth, and certainly no need to speak and act as if we were Truth,” he said.

Photo by Eanna Marie Fernandez

How a Faith Tradition Can Rediscover its Unity

“I have spoken out of Christian experience and as a Christian theologian. Grateful for having found many Muslim friends, I might also give some hints at Islam’s own traditions of Muslim–Muslim understanding and unity-in-diversity,” Körner said.

He discussed the Koran’s fundamental intention is to call everyone to conversion to the one and only God. The Koran speaks to free persons, free to take their own life decisions.

Körner said the Koran’s vision of the Muslims is for them to be the “middle community” and thus God’s “witnesses to all human beings” (šuhadāʾ ʿalā n-nās, al-Baqara 2:143).

 Another thesis Körner discussed is that reconciliation requires healing of memory.

“First we are all still carrying wounds in our memories which need healing. Healing of memory means to let our memories find healing,” the lead discussant said.

He added that memory is also the way for the future. Healing of memory means healing by digesting the past. Memory, remembering is important for the process of our healing.

He also shared the method of differentiated consensus between the Protestants and Catholics.

First step is to express a central faith question in wording that is acceptable for both faith traditions. Second, express why they have a different tradition and write down their particular “concerns.” Third is to write again together, declaring that those concerns do not cancel the common formula found at the beginning.

He said a dialogue that follows differentiated consensus will take different rounds until the right expression is found for the common faith formula.

“If we want to reach unity, our greatest faith teachers must come together, too,” Körner said.

Conceptual Clarification of ‘Unity’

In response to Körner’s presentation, Dr. Mansoor Limba, faculty of the Islamic Studies Department and member of the Al Qalam Institute discussed the concept of Islamic unity.

“Unity requires conceptual clarification. Otherwise, we will commit the same fate of the anecdotal four blind men – in the poetry of Hafiz – who claim to know what elephant is, whereas, in reality, each of them only touched an elephant’s body part,” Limba said.

He said Islamic unity may mean any of the three conceptions.

First is homogenization. He said the way to attain the unity of the Muslim ummah (community) is to homogenize all Muslim schools of thought; to unify the Islamic school of thought. The outcome of this approach to unity is takfir or to declare other Muslims as unbelievers (kafir) and, therefore, as apostates (murtaddin) – “whose blood is ought to be shed”.

“Another way to Islamic unity is ‘heterogeneity’ in which people assume that all these Muslim schools of thought are absolutely correct. The outcome of this approach is, in my view, is something that borders on hypocrisy (nifaq),” he said.

Limba shared the third way to achieve unity among the Muslims is the viable and reasonable one. It is proximity or taqrib. Under this conception of unity, there is the attempt at exploring common grounds as guided by mutual recognition and respect among the various Muslim schools of thought.

“Rather than takfir, taqrib is the way to rediscover Muslim unity, and a simple step viable to you and I at this point in time is the endorsement of the Amman Message,” he ended.

Distinguished leaders of Islam in Mindanao, Ulama, Asatidz, Muslim leaders of the civic community, Christian leaders, theologians, academicians, members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and students also shared their insights in the latter part of the dialogue.

“Through this dialogue may we in our diversity all come closer to the one God and his peace,” Tabora said.

The Pakighinabi Conversation Series is designed to provide members of the University community a platform to discuss multidisciplinary issues and concerns in an open and friendly manner. It is a project of the Office of the University President.

For more photos from the event, visit the Ateneo de Davao University Gallery.

Neuropsycho Division Chief Julie S. Mama, RP (extreme left) and 1Lt Allan Wadsilang of the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion (2nd from right) welcome Fr. Gabriel Jose T. Gonzalez, SJ, Paolo Antonio Jegonia, and Rodge Lelis at Camp Evangelista Station Hospital in Cagayan de Oro City.

By Rogelio P. Lelis, Jr

Troops wounded in the ongoing final assault on the constricted Marawi City stronghold of the Maute Group had been evacuated to the Camp Evangelista Station Hospital (CESH) in the headquarters of the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry “Diamond” Division. The influx of battle casualties on 31 August 2017 prompted the Center of Psychological Extension and Research Services (COPERS) to send a Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) mission to CESH.

On 1 September 2017, COPERS gathered a 24-man team of psychologists, counselors, and helping professionals to assist the CESH Nueropsychology Division. The 3-day mission was the seventh and the biggest volunteer contingent COPERS deployed in support of the government troops since the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) issued the 07 June 2017 board resolution appointing COPERS director Dr. Gail Ilagan to head the Task Force for PAP response to the Marawi Crisis. The resolution instructed her to deploy COPERS psychologists and allied helping practitioners to meet the needs not only of the displaced civilians but the soldiers as well. Since June, COPERS has reached over 300 soldiers recuperating in CESH and in the Adventist Medical Center in Iligan City for MHPSS services.

Ilagan, who authored the 2010 book War Wounded to earn her PhD in Clinical Psychology degree, is a firm advocate of the need to provide early trauma-preventive interventions to soldiers who come off intense combat encounters.  Among others, she has worked for the mental health management of the survivors of the 18 October 2011 Albarka encounter as well as with the sniper teams deployed to help quell the Zamboanga siege in 2013.

“Evidence suggests that early MHPSS interventions help prevent the development of adverse and unmanageable sequelae to combat and operational stress reactions, such as dissociative and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression. This is why we insist on supporting the military establishment. Also, we would like to avoid soldiers figuring in unnecessary post-combat accidents, such as what apparently caused the unfortunate killing last week of Corporal Rodilo Torres Bartolome in Aurora (in Zamboanga del Sur),” she said.

Soldiers recuperating at Camp Evangelista Station Hospital undergo psychosocial stress debriefing courtesy of a volunteer team sent by the Center of Psychological Extension and Research Services.

Fresh off the Marawi battleground, Bartolome had been looking forward to his homecoming with his loved ones. But the family had changed residence while he was in Marawi. It was just a short time after he had called his wife for directions to their new home when he was fatally gunned down by responding policemen who came to investigate reports from concerned residents about the suspicious behavior of an armed stranger loitering in the vicinity.

“He was apparently disoriented and alone in an unfamiliar place. It might have set off his hypervigilant, battle-ready mode, and that indeed must have looked suspicious to others. It could happen that way. The psychological cost of war can exact its fatal toll on the combatant even after he had already left the battlefield. The combat mode stays with him,” explains Ilagan.

While it is regrettably too late for Bartolome, it is not too late for other soldiers to access MHPSS support. Ilagan observed that the military organization now welcomes psychosocial missions, unlike in the past when stigma surrounded the soldiers’ experience of combat stress. Ilagan is working closely with the Office of the Army Gender and Development (OAGAD) to establish an effective referral mechanism for the MHPSS provision to Marawi troops.

Team Leaders Dr. Joey Jegonia and Rodge Lelis confer with 4th Infantry “Diamond” Division commander BGen. Ronald Villanueva prior to exit from CESH.

This latest COPERS deployment in support of the wounded-in-action (WIA) was able to serve 107 troops for stress debriefing, psychosocial support, risk assessment, and individual counseling on grief, physical disability, and trauma issues. Serving on the team were Dr. Joey Jegonia, Fr. Gabriel Jose T. Gonzalez, Dr. Ruel Billones, Luel May Contreras, Rodge Lelis, Jerson Trocio, Alex Montojo, Monna Sawan, Cheene Manalo, Paolo Suelto, John Raymond dela Pena, spouses Elmer and Christine Menor, Marz Solidum, Samantha Moral, Paolo Jegonia, Ralph Elusfa, Thomas Kellenberger, and six volunteers from the Xavier University Department of Psychology.

First Lieutenant Allan Wadsilang, commander of the 6th Scout Ranger “The Cutting Edge” Company, whose troops were among those served by the team, expressed his gratitude for COPERS’ assistance. He observed that stress debriefing and counseling by civilian experts help his troops recalibrate mindset to focus on their mission with renewed commitment.

“Mas maipalabas namin ang aming saluobin. Nakakagaan. Sobra-sobra ang suporta ng COPERS. Di na kami makakabayad ng utang. Pero gagantihan namin ng ibayong lakas para ipaglaban ang ating bayan (We can disclose more fully. It feels lighter. COPERS’ support has been overwhelming. We can’t pay them back enough, but we will definitely give back with more resolve in fighting for our country),” he said.

Wadsilang is among the young commanders who recognize the importance of mental health support for soldiers.