‘The Philippines as the Pilgrimage Country of Grace’

It is providence, and not coincidence, that June is the anniversary month of Philippine Independence (June 12), of the birth of the national hero Jose Rizal (June 19), and of the founding of the University of the Philippines (June 18) and of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (June 10).

This is my realization as I finalize my script titled “The Philippines as the Pilgrimage Country of Grace,” to be presented in Abu Dhabi, Prague and Rome on Sept. 13-19 as the basis of the Rizal-Blumentritt Pamathalaan Academy for Leadership by Grace, Citizenship by Grace in Education, Governance, Development and Diplomacy.

The grace to conceptualize this UP-DENR pilgrimage script started in Rome during the pilgrimage of our Rizal-Blumentritt Pamathalaan Academy group headed by Rafael A. Morales for the April 27 canonization of Blessed John Paul II. The academy is named after Rizal and the Czech patriot Ferdinand Blumentritt to fulfill the dream of the former to have an institution headed by the latter.

“Pamathalaan” is included in the academy’s name to pay tribute to the prayers and sacrifices through the years of the sacred ancestral communities in the hidden mountain wombs, the open countryside, the mysterious seaside, and even urban centers to realize the prophetic Pamathalaan as 1) sacred prophetic politics; 2) spiritually guided or motivated leadership and citizenship; and 3) leadership by grace, citizenship by grace.

The pilgrimage script is being shaped by the UP-DENR regional workshops and, above all, by the grace of God, the sacred coming together or Katipunan on July 7 of the six Philippine Presidents who figured in my Pamathalaan publications: Ferdinand E. Marcos, Corazon C. Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph E. Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III. We hope and pray to provide an experience of grace for every leader, citizen and community in the Philippines for the world.

—CONSOLACION R. ALARAS