Category: ECONOMIC-ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION
Stories and ideas about being in harmony and at peace with the Creation.
The Philippines and the United States carried out their 7th joint maritime sail on Wednesday, 04 June 2025, in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), with the announcement released on Thursday, 05 June 2025 (Reuters, 2025). This development places the Philippines at a volatile crossroads as maritime disputes with China escalate. The recent drills — the seventh such exercise in 2025 — highlight Manila’s deepening alignment with Washington amid Beijing’s growing assertiveness (Reuters, 2025). These operations go beyond naval maneuvers; they signal a broader geopolitical recalibration, reflecting Manila’s determination to defend its sovereignty while heightening reliance on foreign partners. The intensifying standoff raises pressing questions about the Philippines’ foreign policy trajectory, its economic resilience, and the prospects for peace across the Indo-Pacific.
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2025/06/philippine-china-relations-and-the-quest-for-stability-amid-a-widening-rift/
The Bagobo-Tagabawa of Upper Catigan, Toril, Davao City, are an indigenous community rooted in rich traditions and ancestral stewardship of the Mt. Apo foothills. Despite their legal recognition under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, they continue to face encroachment from settlers, developers, and commercial interests. Their struggle is not only about land but about dignity, cultural survival, and ecological balance. As Chair and CEO of Coffee for Peace, Inc., and as President of both the Davao City and Davao Regional Coffee Councils, I have witnessed these challenges firsthand. The Bagobo-Tagabawa entrusted me with the title Bai Kasunayan, a sacred responsibility to walk with them in truth and trust. Through agroforestry initiatives and coffee social entrepreneurship, we have worked together to link their ancestral wisdom with sustainable livelihoods. This partnership demonstrates how indigenous aspirations can align with regional coffee development and climate resilience. Yet it also calls policymakers and the wider public to ensure that justice, inclusion, and ancestral land protection remain at the heart of development in Mindanao.
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2025/05/beyond-farmers-in-a-supply-chain-the-bagobo-tagabawa-coffee-producers-of-upper-catigan/
The National Social Entrepreneurship Conference (NSEC) 2025, held on 29-30 April 2025 at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, was a transformative gathering of over 500 changemakers—social entrepreneurs, government leaders, academics, grassroots advocates, and impact investors—committed to building a more just, inclusive, and sustainable future through social enterprise. It was spearheaded by four remarkable institutions—the Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship (ACSEnt), the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA), the University of the Philippines Institute for Small Scale Industries (UP ISSI), and the Poverty Reduction through Social Entrepreneurship (PReSEnt) Coalition. The conference highlighted both the urgency of our nation’s social and ecological challenges and the powerful role that over 164,000 social enterprises across the country are playing in response. With its theme, “Scaling Change: Advances of Social Enterprises in Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development,” the event served not only as a platform for sharing solutions and innovations, but also as a celebration of resilience, collaboration, and our shared responsibility to center people, planet, and purpose in economic life.
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2025/05/scaling-change-from-the-heart-my-reflections-on-the-national-entrepreneurship-conference-2025/
As an ordinary Filipino concerned about peace, justice, and our nation’s future, I am alarmed by the escalating geopolitical tensions stoked by U.S. President Donald Trump and his billionaire backers. His rhetoric and policies are dangerously provocative, designed to secure U.S. dominance at the expense of global stability. The Philippines, positioned in the Asia-Pacific, risks being dragged into wars not of our making, turning our land and people into pawns of empire. Trump’s disregard for diplomacy weakens global institutions, fuels arms races, and breeds mistrust among nations. Small sparks in places like the South China Sea or the Middle East could trigger interconnected conflicts that spiral into world war. Such a catastrophe would devastate Filipino families, wasting resources meant for education, health, and development. We must resist militarism and demand leaders who value life, dignity, and genuine peace for our children’s future.
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2025/04/manufactured-global-conflicts-trump-weakens-international-institutions/
This Easter Sunday, I walk slowly, reflectively. I carry in my heart not just the memory of an empty tomb, but the weight of what that empty tomb demands of me. The Risen Christ comes to me, as he did to his first disciples, and says, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). These words are not merely to soothe; they are a revolutionary summons—to receive, embody, and proclaim the salaam-shalom of God in a world torn by violence, inequality, and despair. The peace of Jesus is not sentimental. It is subversive. “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you,” he says (John 20:21). The Father sent him into the heart of empire, injustice, and religious corruption. Jesus responded not with the sword, but with humility, suffering love, and bold truth-telling—even unto death. And when he rose, he did not return with vengeance but with peace. “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!” (Luke 24:39).
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2025/04/resurrection-sunday-contemplative-walk-a-revolutionary-call-to-the-peace-of-christ/
Over the past decade, significant efforts have been made to promote gender justice and economic empowerment in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), with Bangsamoro women playing a crucial role in peacebuilding and development. Oxfam and The Asia Foundation (TAF), supported by the Australian Government, have implemented programs that provide marginalized women with training, mentorship, and access to financial resources to help them thrive as entrepreneurs. These initiatives culminated in the Bangsamoro WEE Learning Exchange in 17-19 February 2025, which highlighted policy support, Islamic Finance, and inclusive growth strategies. As a panelist at this event, I shared insights from my work with Coffee for Peace, reinforcing my belief in the transformative power of inclusive economic growth as a path to lasting peace in the region.
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2025/02/building-peace-through-economic-empowerment-the-role-of-bangsamoro-women/
A pioneering agroforestry initiative is set to take root in the ancestral lands of the Bagobo-Tagabawa community in Barangay Binaton, Bansalan, Davao del Sur. Spearheaded by PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. (PBCI), Coffee for Peace (CFP), and the Indigenous Ancestral Domain Association (IADA), this project seeks to rehabilitate deforested lands in the foothills of Mt. Apo while fostering sustainable livelihoods for indigenous farmers. The initiative will commence with a 2-hectare demonstration farm, serving as a model for best practices in agroforestry. This initial phase will allow farmers to refine cultivation techniques, integrate traditional ecological knowledge with modern scientific approaches, and assess the economic viability of the project before scaling up operations. The long-term goal of this initiative is to expand up to 32 hectares, contingent on funding availability. This ambitious expansion plan underscores the project’s commitment to widespread environmental restoration and economic empowerment.
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2025/01/bagobo-tagabawa-farmers-and-pbci-cfp-team-launch-agro-forestry-project-in-mt-apo-together/
My journey in using AI within the framework of social ethics and peacebuilding has been a process of discernment, balancing the potential benefits of technology with the ethical challenges it presents. AI can serve as a tool for justice, conflict prevention, and reconciliation, but only if it is framed with human dignity, fairness, and accountability at its core. I have explored its role in early warning systems, mediation, and restorative justice, recognizing both its promise and its risks. Ethical AI must be human-centered, participatory, transparent, and committed to nonviolence. As peacebuilders, we must ensure that AI amplifies the voices of the marginalized rather than reinforcing systems of oppression. The future of AI in peace work is not just about innovation but about moral responsibility—using technology to build a world rooted in justice, equity, and peace.
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2025/01/my-journey-in-using-artificial-intelligence-framed-in-social-ethics-and-peacebuilding/
PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. (PBCI) is proud to announce the election of Emil Jonathan Soriano as Chairman of its Board of Trustees. His appointment marks a pivotal moment in the organization’s ongoing mission to promote justice, reconciliation, and sustainable peace across the Philippines. With over a decade of partnership with PBCI and its co-founders, Rev. Dann “Lakan” Pantoja and Joji “Bai Kasunayan” Pantoja, Pastor Jon Soriano brings leadership that is both deeply aligned with PBCI’s core values and forward-looking in its approach to peacebuilding. “I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to learn and grow in my journey of peacebuilding,” Pastor Jon shared, expressing his gratitude and confidence in this new role. PBCI looks forward to collaborating under Pastor Soriano’s leadership as it embarks on the next chapter of innovative and inclusive peacebuilding efforts.
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2025/01/emil-jonathan-soriano-is-the-new-chairman-of-the-pbci-board-of-trustees/
At PBCI, we join our peacebuilding colleagues in calling on the National Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to accelerate the full implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), with a particular focus on the Annex on Normalization, while ensuring inclusivity for marginalized groups such as women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples. Our call stresses the importance of unity among the Bangsamoro people, rejecting divisive initiatives, and urges a clearer process and understanding on Sulu’s historical and political relationship with BARMM. PBCI also emphasizes the need for prompt resolution of election-related petitions to avoid undermining self-determination and calls for strengthened protections for vulnerable communities and ancestral domains. Lastly, it appeals for collective solidarity to hold leaders accountable and advance peacebuilding efforts that promote justice and inclusivity.
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2024/12/a-call-on-the-gph-and-the-milf-to-move-with-greater-urgency-in-completing-the-implementation-of-the-cab/
On the afternoon of 16 November 2024, the Malipayon Peace Hub in Managa, Bansalan, Davao del Sur, became the vibrant venue for PeaceBuilders Community, Inc.’s (PBCI) First Annual General Meeting. The hybrid event—combining onsite and online participation—brought together 42 attendees, including field volunteers from across the Philippines, from Canada, from among PBCI and Coffee for Peace (CFP) staff, partners, impact investors, friends, and online followers. This diverse gathering marked a milestone in the organization’s journey, fostering a collaborative spirit to shape its strategic direction. Emil Jonathan Soriano (PBCI Board Chair) and Joseph “Ka Boyet” Ongkiko (PBCI’s Executive Vice President for Institutional and Program Development) led the meeting with a balance of warmth and clarity, ensuring both onsite’ and online participants were fully engaged. The three-hour session was structured yet dynamic, creating space for individual reflection, group collaboration, and collective decision-making.
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2024/11/first-pbci-annual-general-meeting-generates-strategic-plan/
“Only through sustained peace talks and the commitment towards a transformative political settlement of the conflict can we achieve an improvement in the quality of life of all Filipinos, implement significant socio-economic development for conflict affected communities that are sustainable, culturally and conflict-sensitive, and resolve the long-standing conflict towards a just and lasting peace.” This is the call of the Voices of Peace on the first-year anniversary of the Oslo Joint Communique signed last November 2023 by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). As the Mindanao Week of Peace also officially begins today, PeaceBuilders Community is taking this opportunity to stand together with the Voices of Peace and echo the call to resume the peace talks between the GPH and the NDFP as a necessary step to transform the conflict nonviolently.
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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2024/11/we-stand-together-with-the-voices-of-peace-in-the-call-to-resume-peace-talks-and-to-transform-the-conflict-nonviolently/
