Quevedo's appointment as Cardinal to boost peace, solidarity in Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines  -- The appointment of  Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo as a cardinal will help in forging better relations between Muslims and Christians in Mindanao, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front said.

Quevedo is known for his neutrality and was once given access to military and rebel roadblocks in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao during one of the darkest days of President Joseph Estrada's six-month "all out war"against the MILF in 2010.

Even journalists who covered the highway showdown were denied access to where Quevedo and several other commuters and motorists were trapped.

The MILF information committee, which is led by the group’s chief negotiator, Muhaquer Iqbal, had chronicled the event as a proof that the front has been living up to Islamic warfare principles on respect for religious leaders, regardless of their sectarian identities, and compassion for people who are inclined to peace.

MILF chief political officer Ghadzali Jaafar expressed optimism that Quevedo will have  a bigger influence to support  Muslim-Christian solidarity in Central Mindanao.

Quevedo, born in 1939 in Laoag town in Ilocos Norte, belongs to the  Rome-based Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI)that has been extending humanitarian services to Muslim and Christian communities in Central Mindanao, and the island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, since after World War II.

Quevedo has thanked Pope Francis for recognizing the needs of the faithful in Mindanao in choosing him to become a cardinal.

Quevedo said he prays for the peaceful outcome of the ongoing talks between the government and the MILF. He has been  actively supporting the now 17-year GPH-MILF negotiations.

"I keep praying that I can contribute to the good of the people here in Mindanao and to the peace and dialogue being undertaken by the people of various faiths in Mindanao especially with the Bangsamoro," he said.

The government’s peace panel called Quevedo's appointment as "positive development."

“It reflects the recognition that the Vatican gives to the peace process in Mindanao, which is our very own contribution to the global call of Pope Francis to work for peace,” the GPH panel said in a statement emailed by the Mindanao press office of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

The GPH panel described Quevedo as a “beacon of hope,” citing that his new role in the Catholic community is a big boost to  Muslim-Christian solidarity in Mindanao.

“Throughout the decades, Cardinal Quevedo actively promoted interfaith dialogues among Mindanao's tri-people, or the area's Christian, Muslim, and Lumad sectors, which is one of the cornerstones of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate’s mission in Mindanao, in line with the efforts to achieve just and lasting peace in the island,” the GPH panel said.   - John Unson