Quevedo: ‘Listening’ key to lasting peace

PEACE PARTNER Moro Islamic Liberation Front chair Murad Ebrahim sets foot on what would have been otherwise lion’s den, the military headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo, during a goodwill visit on Nov. 19. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

KORONADAL CITY — A respected Church leader in Mindanao called for continuing dialogue to bring just and lasting peace in Mindanao.

Retired Cardinal Orlando Quevedo said dialogue made peace possible between the military and Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“Dialogue is not mere intellectual discussion,” Quevedo said.

“It is first of all listening humbly and respectfully to the other,” he said.

“Listening not only with one’s ears, but most importantly listening with one’s heart,” he added.

New leaf

Decades of rebellion by Moro separatists have stunted the growth of many parts of Mindanao, which host vast fertile land and huge mineral deposits.

Quevedo, on the occasion of Mindanao Week of Peace (MWP), expressed optimism that a “bright new leaf” is turning for the island.

The Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC) initiated MWP, which the government institutionalized through two presidential proclamations.

In a statement, BUC organizers said dialogue was important because “humans are destined to associate in order to survive and to grow in humaneness.”

According to Quevedo, dialogue is just listening that “transforms hostility and suspicion into understanding and trust.”

Quevedo, the Philippines’ eighth cardinal, retired on Nov. 6 and was replaced by Jolo Bishop Angelito Lampon.

Commitment

After retirement, Quevedo vowed to continue working for lasting peace in Mindanao.

He said Mindanao was now on the “threshold of definitive peace” referring to the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), which would be subjected to a plebiscite.

BOL sought to create a new autonomous region to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.