Carrmel News - Sept-oct 02

CARMEL NEWS A Bi-monthly Publication of Carmel Philippines

And Thc Award GoGSTo... "Thisj ournalistpersonif eswhntMindanao journalists harte nlwayswantedto do- report Mindanao nentsthrough theeyes oftheirt'ellow Mindnnaoans editors ouerinnccuracies that ;t'ought portrayed Mindanao asahopelessly wnr-prone and aiolentlandwithdeliaerance nowhere in sight; withdntotion t0nccuracy, thisjoumalist stuck - deadlineor tot'actsin thet'nceof pressures othenaise sndwssalwaysquickto lashout at colleagues whocompromised thetruth by n relentless acceptingbibes; criticof uar snd continues to support throughwritingsn uiture ofpeace, culturalunderstanding andn tri-people appronch problems." toMindanao's complex Andthe awardgocr to.Beforeyou castyourvotes,let us takea sneakpreviewon this year'sawardseason andits rosterof nominees. Thisyear'sTrtusBrandsma Awardhas beena battleground but compared to other battles,thisis not a fightoversomepieceof land,of dominance or rule,evenideologyor on who'srightor wrong.Thisis thebattleof the noblest. A hardwonbattlebecause allof them,in theirownlittleway,havemadetheir existence meaningful carryingin theirhearts noblecausestheyvowedto pursue.Two commonpassions bind them,PEACEand LOVEfor Mindanao.This was,indeed,a survivalof thefittest,notof physicalstrength but shengthof spiritto facethechallenges of journalist. beinga Mindanaoan Now,let us takea peekon eachof the nominees. Sixteenyearsof a buddingcareerin journalisnr, Ms.EstellaEshemera is now in herprime.Startingout asa reporterduring the80sandpresently theManaging Editorof SunStarDavao,shehadcontinuously done "braveacts"in joumalismasdescribed byher editor,Mr.AntonioM.Ajero.Shehadwritten several investigative reports, whichmadeher colleagues in the industry,youngand old

proud of her. "Staunchadvocateof TRUTH who has usedthepower of tri-mediato the advantage of a causehe has pledgedto pursue:truth behindthenews;and,peaceand development in Mindanao/among the tri-people- the Muslims,indigenouspeopleandChristians," Sr.EstrellaCorotan,OND as she described Mr. RomyElusfa.His passionto givevoiceto the Mindanaoans led to the establishment of theFederationof Reportersfor Empowerment and Equality (FREE-Mindanao) last July 5, 1997and now, FREEis a formal Mindanaowide joumalistorganization. The federation Pleaseturn to next page @

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GARMEL IIIEWS THE AWARDGOES...frompage1 strivestobe"Onethatwouldpersistently seek thehuth behindthenewsandto presentthe newsandopinionsaccording to theperspectivesof theMindanaoans." "Educatorcumjournalist,"this best exemplifiesa man who, asidefrom writing stories,hasbeengivingconstantlecturesto studentsand evento colleagues for the enhancement of their craft.This sharingof talentis whatsetsapart,Mr.AllanMediante fromothercolleagues. Heistheeditor-in-chief of Gold StarDaily and the President of Cagayan deOroPress Club(COPC). Also,he is the Chairmanof MindanaoCountryside Mr. Mediantein his20yearshas Joumalism. alsoworkedwith mediaorganizations as editorand publisher,which makeshim knowledgeable enough to hainpeopleoutside themediaindushysuchasmunicipalinformationofficers,unionworkers,nursesassociationandemployees of abottlingcompany. TheCOPCprojectfor investigative reporting against corruption makes himbusythese days sinceheis theChairmanof theprojectteam of theCOPC. Recently, a sadeventhassentanother threatening message to theindustry.Joumalists,because of thenafureof theirworkneed tobewhereeventsareastheyhappenevenin a war zonearea.Theyareknownto risk their livesto gettheirnews"hot fromtheoven." Mr. EdgarDamalerioat 34 was at the heightof hiscareer asjoumalistandcoulddo morefor hisMindanaoans if faceless enemies did notcuthislifeshort.Hewasshotdeadby twomotorcycle-riding suspects ona Monday eveningof May afteremergingfroma press briefingcalledby the Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperative,Inc. Heleda colorfullife joumalist asa broadcaster andinvestigative andwasworkingasthemanaging editorof theweeklyZamboanga Scribeandcommentator/reporter of RPN9 - dxKPin Pagadian City.Throughhis careeras investigative joumalist,hemadevariousbut majorconhi butionsto his Mindanaoanconrmunitvthat led to counter-corrective measures. Toname a few,he exposedland grabbers in cahoots with DENRand DARofficials;investigated and exposed theplight of around400famia

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lies in Sitio Tugaya,Brgy. Dalama,Tubod, Lanaodel Norte in their demand to acquire title of their tilled and occupiedland waived by formerloggingconcessionaire, FINDLAY Inc.;asmedialiaisonofficerof the Federation of Agrarianand IndustrialToilingHands,lnc. (FAITFI,Inc.)helped in organizingcivilians in Pagadianand Zamboangadel Sur and in Mindanaoin assistinglaw enforcementagencies in the maintenanceof peaceand ordel promoting civilian volunteerismagainst crime,terrorismand corruption. Another contender was from the Mindanao Gold Star Daily, Incorporated, presentlyits executiveeditor.Also, writes for the Manila Timesand the wires. Mr. Herbie Gomezis a joumalist for more than 13 years and has severallaudableaccomplishments that are worthy of emulation.This Cagayan joumalistadvocates deOro-based peace,press freedom,good govemanceand environmental causes,amongothers,which arereflected in his writings whateverthe format. He was twice electedpresidentof the city's premiere and biggestnews media group, Cagayande Oro PressClub, Inc. (COPC)and during his two terms (1999-2000,2000-2001) receiveda multimillion-pesoAusAID grant for ethical-

enhancement andskillshainingprogramfor journalists,the first Cagayande Oro-based timein theorganization's history.Alsoa first timethataPhilippine mediaorganization was ableto availof anAusAIDgrantthroughthe Philippine-Australian Governance Facility (PAGF). Asa result,Mr.Gomeztogetherwith 11otherjournalists weresentto Australia (Sydney andCanbena) toattendshortcourses joumalismandanti-corrupon investigative tionat theAushalianCenterfor Independent fournalism(UTS)andAustralianNational University(ANU),respectively. Oneof his greatcontributions is his pioneering the Cagayan deOro-based onlinejoumalism. RomeloQuismundoEndrina,or Mel Endrinais the columnwriter of the hardhitting columnof FREEHeadlinerToday, ZOOMLENS.He hasworkedwith several outstanding mediaorganizations suchas DWOO(correspondent), SouthemRecorder (reporter), GoldStarDailt'(staffnriter),RMNDXMY-AM(reporter), TheMindanao Express (reporter/columnist), MBC-DLRH, Philippine NewsAgency, Pmple'sJoumal/Taliba and ManilaTimesascorrespondent andHeadliner as reporter,town editor,managingand editor-in-chief. Presentlv heis thevice-chair-

tv1s.Carolyn O. Arguillas as she receives her TitusBrandsmaAward a

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oEDGERTOCK . ATAINDELON EditOiAI BOArd:MARTON IACAI o SIRENIOIAMNILIA BATASABAS Lay-out Artist IOFTMTTENAo Fncoden NORMIE LACANIIAO C CONtTibUtOTS.. OPETE . NIMFATANGCUANGCO TOOTSBUENAFE MANILAGo ANTONHOOGTAND r BERNARD ROOSENDAAL.

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CARMEL ITIEWS (print) and also a man of FREE-Mindanao memberof BayanMuna. With this trail of joumalism experiences, he surely is one of those few whom you can depend on to delivernewsand informationthatwe need. If you area regularINTERNETuserand happento be a subscriber of MindaNews,an onlinenewspaper,thenthenamePatDaz will ring a bell for you. He wasnot a graduateof coursein communication, any baccalaureate studies- Masters but took up postgraduate in English - from Xavier University in Cagayande Oro City. Though,an education graduate,which makeshim fit in the arena of joumalismin its battlesto uplift theplight o f t h e F i l i p i n o p e o p l e e s p e c i a l l yt h e Mindanaoansthrougheducation.He sounds morelike TitusBrandsmaaseducator,though we might think,how did he getinto thebusinessof writing news?h/ell, he did not have any formal schoolingin joumalism.Pahicio PonceDiazbuilt hisjournalismprofession on professionaland liberal reading,masteryof English,seminars,conscientiousself-critical practiceand good community relations.His careerhail startedwhen he was a high school teacherat Notre Dame of Cotabato,college teacherin Englishand Literatureat Notre DameColleges(now a university),editedtwo majorpublicationsin thehistoryof Mindanao press- MindanaoCrossand MindanaoKris,

written bookson Mindanao,publishednum e r o u sa r t i c l e si n v a r i o u s p u b l i c a t i o n s (MindanaoCrossand Mindanao Kris as editor;MindanaoTrendandSun.Star Gensan as columnist;Philippine Daily Inquirer as contributor),now asa regularopinionwriter (COMMENT)for MindaNews.He is well known for his hard-hitting and strong criticismsof publicofficialsand eventhegovemment.As joumalist,he was givena chanceto havel to differentparts of the world - United StatesandASEANcountries.Now in his 70s, he is still activein writing his comments thoughhe is in his residence and,of course, up to dateto what is happening.Thus,with this kind of exemplarydedicationand commitment to educationand nublic information to Mindanaoansas loumilist, educatorand peaceadvocate for nearlythreedecades, Titus Brandsma Award,with theJury'sdecision,is giving LifetimeAchievementRecognitionto PatDiaz. Finally,we havereachedthe end of a list of highly qualifiednominees.The Jury decidedunanimouslyon which one best epitomizesthe spirit of Titus Brandsma- his convictions,his life and principleson press freedom and education.A true-blooded Mindanaoanwith a passiongreaterthan anybodyhaswitnessed.Shebleedswhenever herislandof birth is featuredasa war shicken

areawherehope is unknown and unimaginable.Shefeelsthe sameanxietywheneverher fellowMindanaoans particularlytheMuslim is pictured as a savagepeoplewho brutally kill or who haveno regard for life. All these c h a l l e n g e sl e d t o p i o n e e rw i t h k i n d r e d Mindanaoanjoumalist in severalinitiatives, though short-livedbecauseof lack of funds and marketingsavvy.Among thesewere the CooperativeMedia of Mindanao(CMM), which publishedthe weekly Pag-asamagazine and the Mindanao News and Information Center(MNIC) and its news arm, MrndaNews.Shewasalsothemain organizer of theFirstMindanaoMediaSummitthisyear, which resultedin a Code of Protocoland iournalisticethicswhen reporting about Mindanao.With her insights,she helped form the MindanaoInstituteof Joumalism (MinJourn)and the Mindanao Center for (MCPD). Peaceand Development Hope your guessis the samewith the fury's wmner.Thisyear'srecipientof theTrtus BrandsmaAward is Ms. CarolynO. Arguillas of Mindanao News and Information Center. Her devotion to accuracyand biasedfor TRUTH uncompromisinglywon her the award. Titus BrandsmaAward will again open its searchin 2004.

Dunaguclc Themainfocus inDumaguete isatthemoment theasistance toarape victimandanabused live-in.Bothsufferbcausethesame person, aforeigner, whowithhismoneycanbuypeople. Support groups havebeenformedin Dumaguete Cityandtwoneighboring towns. There isclosecoordination with Congratuhionsl theDiocesan Social ActionCenter through Rene Gomisong. Fr,ArtemioJusayan wasappointed member oftheIntemationalJustice A complaint is filedandthepreliminary investigation isupcorning. A andPeace Commision oftheOrder. greathelpwasthebriefingofAtty,CarlitoRanoco abouthowto engage in a Weareveryhappywiththischoice andveryhappytoothatSouth East legalbattle. Heassisted alsoinmaking theaffidavit ofthevictims. AsiaandthePhilippines isrepresented nowin theinternational body. APara-legal seminar isplanned on"Violence against Women" towards Ccbu theendofOctober, Tointegrate andIntegrityof Creation in theformation Escalanlc fustice,Peace prcgram of SanAlberto,the firstandsecond yearseminarians exposed and A Para-legal hainingwasheldforparticipants of theBasicChristian immersed themselves regularly in anurbanpoorareaof Mandaue City Communities ft tober19-202002. (below theMactan bridge) andthethirdandfourthyearsin aruralbarangay TheEscalante Massacre wascommemorated Anniversary on in theMunicipality of Consolacion. Aftereveryintegration andimmersion September 20.It wasa successful happening although the |PICregretted wereshared theexperiences andevaluated. absence of MountCarmel College dueto thecoincidence of thecelebration Inputs anddiscussions oncurentsocial issues aretakeplace duringthe ofthe"lnhamurals". weekly oftheseminarians andduringspecial fora. Something is brewing in Escalante Citydueto a land-problem. The |PICclasses Support isalsogiventotheneigbours oftheSanAlberto Community, Caminos familyclaims thelandofthewholecityproper. Since therearcmore forexample totackle theflooding in asitioofNasipit. problems families whoclaimthesame, it is feared thatthewholeissue mayescalate A |PICBulletinBoardhasbeenplaced in theChapel whilereading intoalocalwar. materials conceming areavailable in theSeminary library. Investors stayawayandgotoneighboring townsandtheCityGovernJPIC Tomake withothergroups linkages isontheagenda oftheprogram till mentplansto transfer theCityCenterto another place. an ]PICpromotes April2003. ongoing peacefu I dialogue.

I CARMEL IIIEWS

"Cum Nulla" Celcbralion To commemorate the 550th year of the Papal Bull "Cum Nulla",last Monday,October Z theNCR TOC Communities led by its National Spiritual Director (Fr. Toto Jaranilla, OCarm) and National Prioress (Nimfa C. Tangcuangco, TOCarm) journeyed on a pilgrimage to the Star of the Sea Carmelite Monastery in Thnay,Rizal to celebratethe momentous occasion with the Second Order Nuns, led by Mo. Maria de los Angeles, O Carm. The celebrationstarted with a Living Rosary at 9:00a.m. ably directedby Sis.Bay Aromin, TOCarm from Fatima, Las Pifras Community and participated in by members coming from ten (10) NCR/ Luzon Communities namely: Tanay, Laguna, Las Pifras (Fatima and Pilar), Quezon City (Sikatuna, Proj 4, Cubao, Kamias), Manila (Sta. Ana) and Makati. Mass was concelebratedbv Fr. Toto and Fr. Martin Pierik, O Carm. A simple lunch was shared in fellowship with one another. Meanwhile, reports reaching the National Office have it that Thrlac TOCs also celebratedthe occasionwith the Carmelite Nuns, headed by Mo. TeresaMedina, O Carm. Triduum Masses for the occasionwere held from Oct 5-7. Fralcrnal lfisits There were fwo (2) fraternal visits held during the months of September/October. On Sept. 20, Fr. Toto with the National Prioress and NFC Director left for Bicol and paid a visit to the TOC Community in Guinobatan, Albay. Fr. Gerry Sabado,O Carm took the opportunity to tag along for his Vocation Promotion initiatives. Since the visit coincided with the Bicol Region's well known Peflafrancia Fiesta, the Guinobatan TOCs included a visit to Naga in the itinerary. On Sept.2L, Sunday, the group proceeded to Naga and attended Mass at the PefrafranciaBasilica. In the afternoon, they decided to visit the OCD Carmelite Nuns at the nearby Monastery. It was there that Sis. Nimfa and Sr. Cecilia Rose, OCD, who were once schoolmatesat the Ateneo de Naga University, met once again after many years. What is perhaps significant is that they both entered Carmel at the same time, in February of 1991,. Last October 5, Saturday, the three (3) National Council Officers again left for Sta Cruz, Laguna. They were joined later by Mila Exconde, TOCarm (Regional Coordinator) and Mila Irasga,TOCarm.

Arc PoorFamilicsGood NcwsForlfs Christians? 0rArc We ChristiansGood Ncwstor PoorFamilics? 7*a ^* ur"'t7*/n'to

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W ",'/ t*; hrza^t"*... iththispublicknowledge, questions suchasthetitleofthisarticle, brought about reflection andchallenge to usaschurch worken.Thus,theninthTSAT ofihe (PCCNet) Philipprne Church Communicators' Network provided thevenue forthiskindof rcflection, "Arepoorfamilies IhenrnthTSAT entitled, goodnews forusChristians?," washeld lastSeptember 18,2002 atTitusBrandsma Center Organized bythePCCNet, where irtus Brandsma Center-Media isamember, theTSAT became avenue fordiscusion andsharing on theplight ofpoorfamilies Unlike thepast forums, (Mel&Jayfytr) thisTSATwas designed inatalkshow format Pleaseturn to next pagevs

Ms. NJ Viehlandgiving her welcoming remarks during the ninth TSAT,

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Duringthe ninth TSAT

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2OO2 wouldcome sothesharing directly fiomthepanelists, who aremembers oftheurban poorthemselves, instead fromthe Thisway,thesharing hosts andexperts/specialists. was rooted in hue-to-life experiences, 0pinions andleamed insights fromthehosts andexperts sen'ed onlyasthe Alsowiththisfomat,wewereable sy,nthesis oftheforum. tosave timebecause theopenforumwasalready inserteo in theprogram Theaudience proper. canaskquestions or gn'etheirpointofviews simultaneously. Theforum wasgiven thisfocus because ofthecoming Fourth WorldMeetrng oftheFamilies onJanuary 2003. Thrs istoanswer orifnottoprovide awareness thatpoorfamilies area majority rnthePhilipprne andthatwhatpopulation everpreparations or agenda wouldhave,the themeeting Church mustbearthemin mindandnottooverlook their "Christian needs andplight,Themeetrng givesthetheme, Family, GoodNewsfortheThudMillennium." Thus,the ninthTSAT came upwiththeabove-mentroned theme. The thatbrought PCCNet primary question tothistheme was, where dofamilies atthemargins fit in?Thrsiswhere our wouldfall,toprovide conhibution greater sensitivity and realization, asmembers ofoneFAITH, were Panelists members offamilies h'om different sectors.Wehave worker, GilGaldo, conhactual member oi Samahan ngNagkakaisang Manggagawang Konhaktuwal (SNMK); LucyLopez, battered wife,member, Alyansa ng (AKAP); Kababaihang AnakPawis Rejienald Bacosa, sheet

CARMEL ITIEWS child,client oi Silong Tanglaw Foundation; Leodegania Bunales, member elderly, ofCoalition of$rvicesoftheEldetly(CCEE);and Notola froma displaced familyin Omor, Mindanao. Ourexperts weresocial workers fiomSilong Tanglarv andDAMPA-Charisma Abagao. Cabatit andEvelln Committees wereformed tofacilitate theforum among themembets. UnionofCatholic AsianNewsUCAMwas assigned in writingthescriptandprogram proper; Radio Veritas-Asia wasassigned totheregishation ofparticipants; Communication Foundation forAsia(CFA) wasto dothe documentation invideo format;TK-Media fortheinvitation ietter, physical anangement andbudget. Mastersof Ceremony were Villena and Imma klza of Ligaya ng Panginoon. Jofti Fr. Bernard during his 50th Ordination Briefing rvas scheduled twohoum before thesched. celebration (seated, third lrom left) uledtime(2-1PM)toprepare thepanelists andgivethema setofguidequestions. Thetalkshowproper discussed two Thankyouaerymuchconfreres, "being major concems: a Christian andbeing a Chrntian associates, staff-members of Titus family." Emphasis wasgiventopeace, love,justice, healing, BrandsmaCenter,student-friars, fotgiveness andsolidarity withthepoor,bothin lslamand for the Catholic Chri$ianity. varybuttheir noaicesand co-TDorkers Truly, theirstories alertness, deepconcernand n)arm needs, asmentioned, remained thesame. Thechallenge, therefore, forus,areweChristians fr ater nity which I ex per i enc ed really there to accept without during my suddenhospitalization. themwhole-heartedly, judgment passing andfreeing ourselves, ourhearts, from It wasan unwantedbutfelt experidiscrimination? AreweChristians, goodnewsto poor enceof theaeryhumanwayofGol's families? presence amongus, Itsuptoustoreflect andtakeaction onit!

For the manygoodzaishes too on theoccasion of my 50thanniuersaryasCarmeliteon September 15, Maraming,MaramingSalamat, THE PRECIOUS PEARL BlessedI ohn Sorethcotnparesthe practice , of the Rule,in the sectionabout the weekly chapter, with the precious pearl of the gospel which keeps its oalue in spite of its being despisedby some. The wise merchant sellseoerythinghe possesses in oriler to buy the field in zahichthe treasureis hidden. Then the treasuretnust be dugfor. I should like to apply this image here, to explain how we are to draw eoerfarther back into ourseloes to find Christ and lioe withHim. Bl.lohn Sorethhas maile the Ruleknown to us like the peail of the Gospelsand has taught us to sell eaerythingto obtain it,but at the sametime hehas taught us how to dig up the treasure by liuing a life of the greatest p ossible pie$. Therefore, this life has t o be ai ded, borne upw ar il anil nourished through a neverflagging exerciseof oirtue. ln the shining of theseoirtues the glory of the pearl aill be set off. Carmelite My sticism Historical Sketches by TttusBranilsma,O.Carm.,page43

Fr. Bernard Roosendaal,O.Carm

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Noa.L1,2002 FinanceCommissionMeeting Cebu Dec.10,2002 O.Carm.- OCD loint CouncilMeeting Dec.13,2002 Arriaal of Fr. Tjeu Timmermans, OCann.,Prior Proaincial Dec.15,2002 CfS ExecutizteBoard Meeting