26 July 2005 – The Department of Foreign Affairs reported that the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Interfaith Dialogue, with the theme “Building Interfaith Harmony Within the International Community,” held in Bali, Indonesia on 21-22 July 2005, issued the Bali Declaration that recommended practical areas of interfaith cooperation among ASEM member countries.

Executive Director Rey Carandang of the DFA’s Foreign Service Institute (FSI) reported to the Department that Hon. Rene V. Sarmiento, OIC of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and head of the Philippine delegation said he was “pleased to note that the Bali Declaration reflected the major thrusts of the Philippine Government’s policy as enunciated by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and reaffirmed by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto G. Romulo during the historic UN Conference on Interfaith Cooperation held in New York on 22 June 2005.”

During the first plenary session, Mr. Sarmiento read a statement emphasizing the Philippine Government’s commitment to inter-religious dialogue and cooperation as a means to pursue peace, particularly in Mindanao.

Executive Director Carandang, who was member of the Philippine Delegation to the Bali meeting, said the thrusts pursued by the Philippines, which were reflected in the final text of the Bali Declaration, include the following:

     · Acknowledgement of the importance of interfaith dialogue and cooperation among U.N. initiatives in promoting the culture of peace;

     · The inclusion of interfaith studies in post-elementary curricula;

     · The education of grassroots communities on pluralism and diversity;

     · The cooperation of ASEM with international organizations in the field of education;

     · The need for close cooperation between government and civil society sectors, particularly the media, in their respective programs to share best
       practices and promote interfaith dialogue and cooperation;

     · The promotion of gender equality and recognition of the role of women in peace-building and interfaith dialogue; and

     · The need to combat corruption in all its forms.

Executive Director Carandang further reported that the Philippine delegation participated actively throughout the Dialogue from interventions during the plenary sessions to discussions in the parallel working groups until the deliberation of the text of the Bali Declaration.

Fr. Albert Alejo, SJ, Rector of the Ateneo de Davao University and member of the Philippine delegation, was the moderator of the first panel discussion on “The Commonalities in Promoting Interfaith Harmony.”

The Philippine delegation was composed of OIC Sarmiento of OPAPP, Executive Director  Carandang of the FSI and the Technical Cooperation Council of the Philippines (TCCP), both attached agencies of the DFA; Mr. Raymond Balatbat of the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta,  Ms. Bernadette Mendoza, Office of European Affairs (DFA); Fr. Albert Alejo, SJ; Fr. Vicente Cajilig, OP; Fr. Jose Antonio Aureada, OP; Fr. Ernesto Lapitan, OP, of the University of Santo Tomas (UST); Bai Yasmin Lao of Al-Mujadillah; and Ms. Myla Leguro of the Catholic Relief Services-Philippines.  END
 
 
 
 
 

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