CARMEL NEWS

A Bi-monthly Publication of Carmel Philippines

And Thc Award GoGSTo...

"Thisj ournalistpersonifeswhntMindanao proud of her.
journalistsharte nlwayswantedto do- report "Staunchadvocateof TRUTH who has
Mindanao nentsthrough theeyesoftheirt'ellow usedthepower of tri-mediato the advantage
Mindnnaoans editors
;t'ought ouerinnccuraciesthat of a causehe has pledgedto pursue:truth
portrayed Mindanao asahopelessly
wnr-prone and behindthenews;and,peaceand development
aiolentlandwithdeliaerance nowhere in sight; in Mindanao/among the tri-people- the
withdntotion thisjoumalist stuck
t0nccuracy, Muslims,indigenouspeopleandChristians,"
- deadlineor
tot'actsin thet'nceof pressures Sr.EstrellaCorotan,OND as she described
othenaise sndwssalwaysquickto lashout Mr. RomyElusfa.His passionto givevoiceto
at colleagues whocompromised thetruth by the Mindanaoans led to the establishment of
acceptingbibes; n relentless
criticof uar snd theFederationof Reportersfor Empowerment
continues to support throughwritingsn uiture and Equality (FREE-Mindanao) last July 5,
ofpeace, culturalunderstanding andn tri-people 1997and now, FREEis a formal Mindanao-
appronch toMindanao's complex problems." wide joumalistorganization. The federation
Pleaseturn to next page @
Andthe awardgocr to.-
Beforeyou castyourvotes,let us takea
sneakpreviewon this year'sawardseason 1//A^ti /"dr;/t
andits rosterof nominees.
Thisyear'sTrtusBrandsma Awardhas tr JPICUpdol€...............
35
beena battleground but compared to other
battles,thisis not a fightoversomepieceof
land,of dominance or rule,evenideologyor
on who'srightor wrong.Thisis thebattleof tr Frcm the Gormelite
the noblest. A hardwonbattlebecause allof 5Ghools...............'...
... 37
them,in theirownlittleway,havemadetheir
existence meaningful carryingin theirhearts
noblecausestheyvowedto pursue.Two
commonpassions bind them,PEACEand
tr Fa Toon Mool ioins
LOVEfor Mindanao.This was,indeed,a Cebu Community....... 38
survivalof thefittest,notof physicalstrength
but shengthof spiritto facethechallenges of
beinga Mindanaoan journalist. tr Preporotion fior
Now,let us takea peekon eachof the
nominees. Seminqrion €oncert ... 38
Sixteenyearsof a buddingcareerin
journalisnr, Ms.EstellaEshemera is now in
herprime.Startingout asa reporterduring o Frcm Titus Brondsmq
the80sandpresently theManaging Editorof
SunStarDavao,shehadcontinuously
Medio .........o.............
39
done
"braveacts"in joumalismasdescribed byher
editor,Mr.AntonioM.Ajero.Shehadwritten
severalinvestigative
I Lefler of Thqnks......... 40
reports,whichmadeher
colleagues in the industry,youngand old
 GARMEL IIIEWS

THE AWARDGOES...frompage1 lies in Sitio Tugaya,Brgy. Dalama,Tubod, enhancement andskillshainingprogramfor

strivestobe"Onethatwouldpersistently seek Lanaodel Norte in their demand to acquire Cagayande Oro-based journalists,the first
thehuth behindthenewsandto presentthe title of their tilled and occupiedland waived timein theorganization's history.Alsoa first
newsandopinionsaccording to theperspec- by formerloggingconcessionaire, FINDLAY timethataPhilippine mediaorganization was
tivesof theMindanaoans." Inc.;asmedialiaisonofficerof the Federation ableto availof anAusAIDgrantthroughthe
"Educatorcumjournalist,"this best of Agrarianand IndustrialToilingHands,lnc. Philippine-Australian Governance Facility
exemplifiesa man who, asidefrom writing (FAITFI,Inc.)helped in organizingcivilians (PAGF). Asa result,Mr.Gomeztogetherwith
stories,hasbeengivingconstantlecturesto in Pagadianand Zamboangadel Sur and in 11otherjournalists weresentto Australia
studentsand evento colleagues for the Mindanaoin assistinglaw enforcementagen- (Sydney andCanbena) toattendshortcourses
enhancement of their craft.This sharingof cies in the maintenanceof peaceand ordel on investigativejoumalismandanti-corrup-
talentis whatsetsapart,Mr.AllanMediante promoting civilian volunteerismagainst tionat theAushalianCenterfor Independent
fromothercolleagues. Heistheeditor-in-chief crime,terrorismand corruption. fournalism(UTS)andAustralianNational
of Gold StarDaily and the President of Another contender was from the University(ANU),respectively. Oneof his
Cagayan deOroPress Club(COPC). Also,he Mindanao Gold Star Daily, Incorporated, greatcontributions is his pioneering the
is the Chairmanof MindanaoCountryside presentlyits executiveeditor.Also, writes for Cagayan deOro-based onlinejoumalism.
Joumalism. Mr. Mediantein his20yearshas the Manila Timesand the wires. Mr. Herbie RomeloQuismundoEndrina,or Mel
alsoworkedwith mediaorganizations as Gomezis a joumalist for more than 13 years Endrinais the columnwriter of the hard-
editorand publisher,which makeshim and has severallaudableaccomplishments hitting columnof FREEHeadlinerToday,
knowledgeable enough to hainpeopleoutside that are worthy of emulation.This Cagayan ZOOMLENS.He hasworkedwith several
themediaindushysuchasmunicipalinfor- deOro-based joumalistadvocates peace,press outstanding mediaorganizations suchas
mationofficers,unionworkers,nursesasso- freedom,good govemanceand environmen- DWOO(correspondent), SouthemRecorder
ciationandemployees of abottlingcompany. tal causes,amongothers,which arereflected (reporter),GoldStarDailt'(staffnriter),RMN-
TheCOPCprojectfor investigative reporting in his writings whateverthe format. He was DXMY-AM(reporter), TheMindanao Express
againstcorruptionmakes himbusythese days twice electedpresidentof the city's premiere (reporter/columnist),MBC-DLRH, Philippine
sinceheis theChairmanof theprojectteam and biggestnews media group, Cagayande NewsAgency, Pmple'sJoumal/Taliba and
of theCOPC. Oro PressClub, Inc. (COPC)and during his ManilaTimesascorrespondent andHeadliner
Recently,
a sadeventhassentanother two terms (1999-2000,2000-2001) receiveda as reporter,town editor,managingand
threateningmessage to theindustry.Joumal- multimillion-pesoAusAID grant for ethical- editor-in-chief.
Presentlv heis thevice-chair-
ists,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
asa broadcaster andinvestigative joumalist
andwasworkingasthemanaging editorof
theweeklyZamboanga Scribeandcommen-
tator/reporterof RPN9 - dxKPin Pagadian
City.Throughhis careeras investigative
joumalist,hemadevariousbut majorconhi
butionsto his Mindanaoanconrmunitvthat
led to counter-correctivemeasures. Toname
a few,he exposedland grabbers in cahoots
with DENRand DARofficials;investigated
and exposed theplight of around400fami- tv1s.Carolyn O. Arguillas as she receives her TitusBrandsmaAward
a a a aaa a a a a a a a a a a a a a ao a aa a a a a a a a aa a aa a a a a a a o a a a a aa a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a aaa

EditOiAI BOArd:MARTON IACAI o SIRENIOIAMNILIAoEDGERTOCK. ATAINDELONBATASABAS a

a

Lay-out Artist IOFTMTTENAo Fncoden NORMIE

a
LACANIIAO a

C CONtTibUtOTS..
TOOTSBUENAFE OPETEMANILAGo ANTONHOOGTAND . NIMFATANGCUANGCO
r BERNARD
ROOSENDAAL.
a
a a a a a a a aa a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a o a a a a a a o a a a a a o aaa
 CARMEL ITIEWS

man of FREE-Mindanao (print) and also a
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
any baccalaureate coursein communication,
but took up postgraduate studies- Masters
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 thebusi-
nessof 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,publishednu-
m 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 criti-
cismsof publicofficialsand eventhegovem-
ment.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 com-
mitment 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 unimagin-
able.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-asamaga-
zine and the Mindanao News and Informa-
tion 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
Peaceand Development (MCPD).
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. Supportgroups havebeenformedin
Dumaguete Cityandtwoneighboring towns.
There isclosecoordination with
Congratuhionsl theDiocesanSocial 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 isrepresentednowin theinternational body. APara-legal seminar isplanned on"Violence against Women" towards
Ccbu theendofOctober,
Tointegrate fustice,PeaceandIntegrityof Creation in theformation Escalanlc
prcgram of SanAlberto,the firstandsecond yearseminarians exposedand A Para-legal hainingwasheldforparticipants of theBasicChristian
immersed themselves regularlyin anurbanpoorareaof Mandaue City Communities ft tober19-202002.
(below theMactan bridge)andthethirdandfourthyearsin aruralbarangay TheEscalante Massacre Anniversary wascommemorated on
in theMunicipality of Consolacion.Aftereveryintegration andimmersion September 20.It wasa successful happening although |PICregretted the
theexperiences wereshared andevaluated. absenceof MountCarmel College dueto thecoincidence of thecelebration
Inputs anddiscussions oncurentsocial issuesaretakeplace duringthe ofthe"lnhamurals".
weekly |PICclasses oftheseminarians andduringspecial fora. Something is brewing in Escalante Citydueto a land-problem. The
Support isalsogiventotheneigbours oftheSanAlberto Community, Caminos familyclaims thelandofthewholecityproper. Since therearcmore
forexample totackle theflooding problems in asitioofNasipit. families
whoclaimthesame, it is fearedthatthewholeissue mayescalate
A |PICBulletinBoardhasbeenplaced in theChapel whilereading intoalocalwar.
materialsconceming JPIC areavailable
in theSeminary library. Investors
stayawayandgotoneighboring townsandtheCityGovern-
Tomake linkages withothergroups isontheagenda oftheprogram till mentplansto transfer theCityCenterto another place. ]PICpromotes an
April2003. ongoingpeacefu I dialogue.
I CARMEL IIIEWS

Arc PoorFamilicsGood
NcwsForlfs Christians?
"Cum Nulla" Celcbralion
To commemorate the 550th year of the Papal 0rArc We ChristiansGood
Bull "Cum Nulla",last Monday,October Z theNCR
TOC Communities led by its National Spiritual Ncwstor PoorFamilics?
Director (Fr. Toto Jaranilla, OCarm) and National
Prioress (Nimfa C. Tangcuangco, TOCarm) 7*a ^* ur"'t7*/n'to
journeyed on a pilgrimage to the Star of the Sea ; t'ra Tr-tt0"V 4 -
Carmelite Monastery in Thnay,Rizal to celebratethe
momentous occasion with the Second Order Nuns, lt"z"/; tl^"rd'"a; /* t6e6, ; *;/"?,
/^*,itrt
led by Mo. Maria de los Angeles, O Carm.
The celebrationstarted with a Living Rosary at
t"? fu hfrb, t* u-ah,rlz, ,.r/"n t* h"4fa,
9:00a.m. ably directedby Sis.Bay Aromin, TOCarm b? 44 /"...
from Fatima, Las Pifras Community and partici-
pated in by members coming from ten (10) NCR/ d"; t6a;t ta%rt eo"'* /.6r/^^/ Tfiorr.ah@
Luzon Communities namely: Tanay, Laguna, Las
*to t* Mrralz - #e ffiucfi'tzzt t4^ @n6"/ -rd, d.rz
Pifras (Fatima and Pilar), Quezon City (Sikatuna,
Proj 4, Cubao, Kamias), Manila (Sta. Ana) and .r"rtl,;"*"/, f*r; yrurza*'.6r??/t, /-r, /W, d*r,
Makati. Mass was concelebratedbv Fr. Toto and Fr.
Martin Pierik, O Carm. A simple lunch was shared W ",'/ t*; hrza^t"*...
in fellowship with one another. iththispublicknowledge, suchasthetitleofthisarticle,
questions broughtabout
Meanwhile, reports reaching the National reflection
andchallenge to usaschurchworken.Thus,theninthTSAT ofihe
Office have it that Thrlac TOCs also celebratedthe Philipprne
Church Communicators' Network(PCCNet)provided thevenue forthiskindof
occasionwith the Carmelite Nuns, headed by Mo. rcflection,
TeresaMedina, O Carm. Triduum Masses for the IhenrnthTSAT "Arepoorfamilies
entitled, goodnews forusChristians?,"
washeld
occasionwere held from Oct 5-7. lastSeptember18,2002atTitusBrandsma CenterOrganized bythePCCNet, where irtus
BrandsmaCenter-Mediaisamember, theTSAT becameavenue fordiscusionandsharing on
Fralcrnal lfisits theplight
ofpoorfamilies
There were fwo (2) fraternal visits held during Unlikethepastforums,thisTSATwasdesignedinatalkshow format(Mel&Jayfytr)
the months of September/October. On Sept. 20, Pleaseturn to next pagevs
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 Ms. NJ Viehlandgiving her welcoming remarks during the ninth TSAT,
Nuns at the nearby Monastery. It was there that
Sis. Nimfa and Sr. Cecilia Rose, OCD, who were * t'
once schoolmatesat the Ateneo de Naga Univer-
N
N
sity, met once again after many years. What is
perhaps significant is that they both entered Carmel t*-
f I
i
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.

Duringthe ninth TSAT

 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
2OO2 CARMEL ITIEWS

sothesharing wouldcome directlyfiomthepanelists, who child,client oi Silong Tanglaw Foundation; Leodegania

aremembers oftheurban poorthemselves, insteadfromthe Bunales, elderly,member ofCoalition of$rvicesoftheEld-
hostsandexperts/specialists. Thisway,thesharing was etly(CCEE);and Notola Omor, froma displaced familyin
rootedin hue-to-life experiences,0pinions andleamed Mindanao. Ourexperts weresocial workers fiomSilong
insightsfromthehosts andexperts sen'ed onlyasthe Tanglarv andDAMPA-Charisma CabatitandEvelln Abagao.
oftheforum.
sy,nthesis Alsowiththisfomat,wewereable Committees tofacilitate
theforum wereformed among
tosavetimebecause theopenforumwasalready inserteoin themembets. UnionofCatholic AsianNewsUCAMwas
theprogram proper. Theaudience canaskquestions or assigned in writingthescriptandprogram proper; Radio
gn'etheirpointofviews simultaneously. Veritas-Asia wasassigned totheregishation ofparticipants;
Theforum wasgiven thisfocus becauseofthecoming Communication Foundation forAsia(CFA) wasto dothe
FourthWorldMeetrng oftheFamilies onJanuary 2003.
Thrs documentation invideo format;TK-Media fortheinvitation
istoanswer orifnottoprovide awareness thatpoorfamilies ietter,
physical anangement andbudget. Mastersof Ceremony
area majorityrnthePhilipprne population andthatwhat- were JoftiVillenaand Imma klza ofLigaya ng Panginoon.
everpreparations or agenda themeeting wouldhave,the Fr. Bernard during his 50th Ordination
Briefing rvasscheduled twohoum before thesched.
celebration (seated, third lrom left)
Church mustbearthemin mindandnottooverlook their uledtime(2-1PM)toprepare thepanelistsandgivethema
needsandplight,Themeetrng givesthetheme, "Christian setofguidequestions. Thetalkshowproper discussedtwo Thankyouaerymuchconfreres,
Family,GoodNewsfortheThudMillennium." Thus,the major concems: "being a Christian andbeing a Chrntian associates, staff-members of Titus
ninthTSAT came upwiththeabove-mentroned theme. The family."Emphasis wasgiventopeace, love,justice,healing,
primary questionthatbrought PCCNet tothistheme was, fotgiveness
BrandsmaCenter,student-friars,
andsolidarity withthepoor,bothin lslamand
where dofamilies atthemargins fit in?Thrsiswhere our Catholic Chri$ianity. Truly, theirstories varybuttheir noaicesand co-TDorkers for the
conhibution wouldfall,toprovide greater sensitivity
and needs, asmentioned, remained thesame. alertness, deepconcernand n)arm
realization,
asmembers ofoneFAITH, Thechallenge, therefore, forus,areweChristians fr ater nity which I ex per i enc ed
Panelistswere members offamilies h'omdifferent
sec- really there to accept themwhole-heartedly, without during my suddenhospitalization.
tors.Wehave GilGaldo, conhactual worker, member oi passing judgment andfreeing ourselves,
ourhearts, from
Samahan ngNagkakaisang Manggagawang Konhaktuwal
It wasan unwantedbutfelt experi-
discrimination? AreweChristians, goodnewsto poor
(SNMK); LucyLopez, batteredwife,member, Alyansa ng families? enceof theaeryhumanwayofGol's
Kababaihang AnakPawis (AKAP); Rejienald Bacosa,sheet Itsuptoustoreflect andtakeaction onit! presence amongus,
For the manygoodzaishes too
on theoccasionof my 50thanniuer-
saryasCarmeliteon September 15,
Maraming,MaramingSalamat,
THE PRECIOUS PEARL Fr. Bernard Roosendaal,O.Carm

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
oriler to buy the field in zahichthe treasureis hidden. Then the
in ^r-?
v Ar*r6t

treasuretnust be dugfor. I should like to apply this image here,

to explain how we are to draw eoerfarther back into ourseloes Noa.L1,2002
to find Christ and lioe withHim. Bl.lohn Sorethhas maile the FinanceCommissionMeeting
Ruleknown to us like the peail of the Gospelsand has taught us Cebu
to sell eaerythingto obtain it,but at the sametime hehas taught Dec.10,2002
us how to dig up the treasure by liuing a life of the greatest O.Carm.- OCD
p ossible pie$. Therefore, this life has t o be ai ded, borne upw ar il loint CouncilMeeting
Dec.13,2002
anil nourished through a neverflagging exerciseof oirtue. ln the
Arriaal of Fr. Tjeu Timmermans,
shining of theseoirtues the glory of the pearl aill be set off. OCann.,Prior Proaincial
Dec.15,2002
Carmelite My sticism Historical Sketches CfS ExecutizteBoard Meeting
by TttusBranilsma,O.Carm.,page43