Monday, January 31, 2011

20110131

To the People of Mindanao of the one Republic of the Philippines

Peace, I salute you -

Let me confirm in all of you,
my dear people of Mindanao,
what I know is already instilled
within each of your heart of hearts -





We are a nation, my dear people,
by pain of battle born and bred
but we shall never attain to victory
if we allow war to rule our way.

Believe with conviction of faith
that there is no hope in war.

For in war is division
and the end of community.

In war is the seeds of discord
and the end to all understanding.

In war is the darkness of deception
and the shadow that keep us in confusion.

In war is the despair of dissolution
and the destruction of our every hope.

So let the stirring in our hearts
awaken us unto a sacred remembrance,
at every present and from every past,
that our promise lies in peace.

Let us strive for this peace,
my fellow Filipino compatriots,
let us work for this remembrance
unto those freedoms cherished
unto that prosperity dreamed about
under the waving of that Banner
that Old Defiant -
of this, our one Republic,
our home away from Home.


So raise that Old Defiant -
rally to the calling of peace!

We shall never suffer loss
without our longing for Justice
but Justice which leads into hope
and an understanding of the peace.

Let that longing within each of us
recall our hearts to the promise of peace
my dear people of Mindanao,
let that longing that have for centuries
beckoned to the will of our people
enable us to know once again,
O my one Filipino nation,
O beloved people of Mindanao
of our one Republic of the Philippines,
what it means for us to labor
together this time
as human beings
responsible for each our common humanity,
under the eternal vigilance of the LORD:
Christians, Muslims, Lumads -
building from hope to hope
and from strength to strength
as citizens to each other,
here and now,
O my one Filipino nation,
at this present time,
and into every present time
for all of our generations
for all of time.
---<--@


Mabuhay ang Pilipinas, long may our remembrance serve us!

Cradle