Stand Point

We appeal to you to let Marawi be rebuilt the way our ancestors did: one house at a time, one masjid at a time. One village at a time. We welcome those who are willing to help us in this endeavor, for the challenges are daunting and the costs are high. We appeal though that please help us rebuild according to our will in pursuit of the will of Allah (swt). Stand with us, help us, please, be one of us.

Year after year, the rituals of Holy Week will come and go. But how have they transform us? Perhaps this year, as we go about the rituals and liturgies, we could make a difference if we try to listen to the voices of those crying for justice, to cross the borders of difference and animosity, and to walk the paths of the people closest to Jesus heart: the poor and the sinner.

To express one’s dissent is of course not the ultimate solution to everything, but it is incorrect to dismiss it as useless. It is only when we talk that we generate better ideas; it is only when we generate better ideas that we create better policies; it is only when better policies are created that we, our actions are better directed.

Speech of Bro. Carlito "Karl" Gaspar, Ph.D., one of this years' Datu Bago Awardees, during the conferment ceremony on March 13, 2018 held at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City. The award is the highest honor given by the local government of Davao City to its outstanding constituents.

*The Mindanaoans for Civil Liberties' (M4CL) manifesto of unity read during the 7th Mindanao Human Rights Summit on February 23-24, 2018 in Davao City. M4CL is a broad formation of…