U.S. State Department cites RP’s promotion of inter-faith dialogue

MANILA, Oct. 5 (PNA) -- “The Philippine government’s promotion of interfaith dialogue ‘to build mutual trust and respect among various religions and cultural groups’ was among the improvements noted by the U.S. Department of State in the 2008 report on religious freedom in the Philippines.”

Thus revealed the US State department whose Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor came out with its “International Religious Freedom Report 2008” on Sept. 19, a day before President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo left for the United States to attend the 63rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

While in New York in the USA, the President had also met with various foreign leaders, including the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), Edmeleddin Ihsanoglu, whom she regaled with the Philippines’ promotion of inter-faith dialogue.

The Philippines is scheduled to host in May 2009 the Special Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Meeting on Inter-Faith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and Development (MMIFDC-PD).

Some 118 heads of state and government have already acceded to the Philippines’ offer to host the said international inter-faith dialogue.

The Philippine section of the State Department report -- entitled “U.S. Report on Religious Freedom Notes Promotion of Interfaith Dialogue in RP” -- was posted in the website of the US Embassy in Manila.

A sub-section entitled ‘Improvements and Positive Developments in Respect for Religious Freedom’ noted, thus: “On March 12, 2008, the President (Arroyo) created the Council on Interfaith Initiatives to strengthen the Government's existing institutional arrangements for interfaith activities. The Council replaced the National Committee on Interfaith Cooperation as the highest policy-making body for the Government's interfaith initiatives.”

“The Department’s International Religious Freedom Report 2008 also noted that mainstream Muslim leaders in the country rejected the Abu Sayyaff Group’s (ASG) claim of affiliation with Islam, and denounced ASG’s terrorist methods of achieving autonomy in the Mindanao region…” thus started the report.

Saying that the 1987 Philippine Constitution “provides for freedom of religion, and other laws and policies contributed to the generally free practice of religion,” the International Religious Freedom report added:

“The Government generally respected religious freedom in practice. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the Government during the period covered by this report.”

“The armed insurgent Muslim group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) continued to seek greater autonomy. At the end of the period covered by this report, the Government and the MILF maintained a cease-fire and continued their peace dialogue,” said the report which, however, did not reveal the cut-off date of its research findings.

The report’s Section 2 on the Legal/Policy Framework of Religious Freedom also noted, “The law at all levels protects this right in full against abuse, either by governmental or private actors. There is no state religion, and the Constitution provides for the separation of church and state.”

“The law requires organized religions to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission and with the Bureau of Internal Revenue to establish tax-exempt status. There is no penalty for failing to register, and some groups do not. There were no reports of discrimination in the registration system during the period covered by this report,” it added.

It continued: “The Government's National Ecumenical Consultative Committee (NECCOM) fosters interfaith dialogue among major religious groups, including the Roman Catholic Church, Muslim groups, Iglesia ni Cristo, Aglipayan, and Protestant denominations.