DCC NEW ASSIGNMENTS
On May 4, 2009, Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI, DD officially announced the new assignments of the Diocesan Clergy of Cotabato for the Pastoral Year 2009-2014. New assignments will take effect on the first Sunday of June.
Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral Parish
Cotabato City
Parish Priest Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI, DD
Assistants Fr. Edwin de Gracia, DCC
Fr. Benjamin Laforteza, DCC
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish
Rosary Heights, Cotabato City
Parish Priest Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, DD
Assistants Fr. Loreto Sanoy, DCC
Fr. Joel Baes, DCC
St. Joseph the Worker Parish
Notre Dame Village, Cotabato City
Fr. Dario Plantig, DCC
San Vicente Ferrer Parish
Salimbao, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao
Fr. Mario Combong, DCC
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish
Landasan, Parang, Maguindanao
Fr. David Procalla, DCC
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish
Parang, Maguindanao
Fr. Elmer dela Cruz, DCC
Queenship of Mary Parish
Lebak, Sultan Kudarat
Fr. Modesto Marquez
San Isidro Labrador Parish
Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat
Fr. Joevany Centina
San Blas Parish
Pigkawayan, Cotabato
Fr. Zalde Robles
San Isidro Labrador Parish
Libungan, Cotabato
Fr. Allan Crismie Buendicho
Immaculate Concepcion Parish
Alamada, Cotabato
Fr. Nicasio Lozada
St. Joseph Husband of Mary Parish
Banisilan, Cotabato
Fr. Allen Pollaron
San Carlos Borromeo Parish
Isulan, Sultan Kudarat
Parish Priest Fr. Diosdado Esguerra
Assistant Fr. Hermie Albasin
Nuestra Sra. dela Candelaria Parish
Tacurong City
Parish Priest Fr. Arman Dice
Assistant Fr. Salvador Bucario
Our Lady of Hope Parish
Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat
Fr. Ezalde Panaguiton
Sta. Catalina Parish
Dukay, Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat
Fr. Ike Monegro
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish
President Quirino, Sultan Kudarat
Fr. Charlie Siloterio
St. Joseph Husband of Mary Parish
Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat
Fr. Dante Feria
San Nicolas de Tolentino
Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat
Fr. Serlito Vilar
Notre Dame of Tacurong College
Tacurong City
President Fr. Antonio Pueyo
Executive Assistant
to the President Fr. Benito Tamayao
Notre Dame of Salaman College
Lebak, Sultan Kudarat
President Fr. Jessie Pasquin
Notre Dame Archdiocesan Schools
Superintendent Fr. Rex Bacero
Notre Dame Archdiocesan Seminary
Nuling, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao
Rector Fr. Gerard Fornan
Dean of Seminarians Fr. Jude Villa
Archdiocesan Finance Officer and Chancellor
Fr. Joremil Gumban
Social Action Director
Fr. David Procalla
Archdiocesan Pastoral Team Coordinator
Fr. Mario Combong
Archdiocesan Vocation Director
Fr. Rudy Relator
On Study Leave
Fr. Clifford Baira - Islamic Studies, Rome
Fr. Arnold Fuentes - Systematic Theology, Rome
Fr. Charlie Celeste - Canon Law, Canada
Guest Priests in Manila
Fr. Francis Jay Beronio
Fr. Bernard Bueno
On Foreign Mission (Alaska and Canada)
Fr. Ben Toreto
Fr. Jaime Mencias
Fr. George Canto
Fr. Francis dela Cruz
Fr. Lenard Sabio
Regional Major Seminary
Davao City
Vice Rector/PTY Coordinator/Professor of Biblical Theology
Fr. Gilbert Nasataya
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
TWO NEW PRIESTS FOR THE ARCHDIOCESE OF COTABATO
TWO NEW PRIESTS FOR THE ARCHDIOCESE OF COTABATO
On April 28, 2009 Reverend Benjamin Laforteza, Jr. and Reverend Salvador Bucario, Jr. will be added to the Diocesan Clergy of Cotabato as Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI, DD will ordain them to the Order of Presbyterate.
Rev. Laforteza hails from Katiku, President Quirino, Sultan Kudarat. He is the 4th of the nine children of Mr. Benjamin Laforteza, Sr. and Mrs. Gloria Salamanca – Laforteza. He was born on May 26, 1978. He finished his elementary education in 1991 at Katiku Central Elementary School where he graduated Class Valedictorian. He also topped his class when he graduated at Notre Dame of Katiku High School in 1995 and decided to enter the Notre Dame Archdiocesan Seminary right after high school graduation. After graduating from the College Seminary he took a three-year regency and worked as the Archdiocesan Youth Coordinator before proceeding to St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in 2003.
Reverend Bucario was born in Sitio Tinago, Brgy. Tibpuan in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat on October 5, 1975. He finished his primary education in Gestosani Memorial Elementary School in 1989 and his secondary education at Salaman Institute in 1993. He graduated from the Notre Dame of Salaman College in 1997 with a degree Bachelor of Arts Major in Mathematics and in 1999 gained another degree Bachelor of Arts Major in Philosophy from the Notre Dame University in Cotabato City. Last March 2009, together with Reverend Ben, he graduated from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary with a degree Master of Arts Major in Pastoral Ministry.
On April 28, 2009 Reverend Benjamin Laforteza, Jr. and Reverend Salvador Bucario, Jr. will be added to the Diocesan Clergy of Cotabato as Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI, DD will ordain them to the Order of Presbyterate.
Rev. Laforteza hails from Katiku, President Quirino, Sultan Kudarat. He is the 4th of the nine children of Mr. Benjamin Laforteza, Sr. and Mrs. Gloria Salamanca – Laforteza. He was born on May 26, 1978. He finished his elementary education in 1991 at Katiku Central Elementary School where he graduated Class Valedictorian. He also topped his class when he graduated at Notre Dame of Katiku High School in 1995 and decided to enter the Notre Dame Archdiocesan Seminary right after high school graduation. After graduating from the College Seminary he took a three-year regency and worked as the Archdiocesan Youth Coordinator before proceeding to St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in 2003.
Reverend Bucario was born in Sitio Tinago, Brgy. Tibpuan in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat on October 5, 1975. He finished his primary education in Gestosani Memorial Elementary School in 1989 and his secondary education at Salaman Institute in 1993. He graduated from the Notre Dame of Salaman College in 1997 with a degree Bachelor of Arts Major in Mathematics and in 1999 gained another degree Bachelor of Arts Major in Philosophy from the Notre Dame University in Cotabato City. Last March 2009, together with Reverend Ben, he graduated from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary with a degree Master of Arts Major in Pastoral Ministry.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Easter Message of the Archbishop
E A S T E R M E S S A G E
Beloved People in the Archdiocese of Cotabato:
I greet you with the joyful announcement of Easter: Christ has risen from the dead and has given us new life, Alleluia!
The Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ is the central mystery of our Catholic faith. It is the event of our salvation and liberation from sin. It is the event by which Jesus our Lord and Saviour has reconciled us with God his Father and with one another. By dying and rising he has broken the barriers that divide us.
Freed from the slavery of sin we, therefore, must be dead to sin and alive for God. This is the meaning of "new life." We have a radically new life, a life that God himself has shared with us through our Baptism. Being dead to sin, we are enjoined to reject values, attitudes, and behaviour that deal death. Being alive for God we have to live on this earth loving and serving others, particularly the needy.
We would be untrue to our identity as Christians if we fail to love and serve the needy, no matter what tribe or language or culture or religion. We would deny our religious identity as disciples of the Lord Jesus if we fail to promote peace which is the fruit of justice.
Beloved brothers and sisters, together with our beloved Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo I greet you once again with greetings of peace and joy in the Risen Lord! He has died, He has risen, He will come again in glory! Alleluia!
+Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
Easter Sunday 2009
Diocesan and Religious Priests Renew Ordination Vows at Chrism Mass
Diocesan and Religious Priests Renew Ordination Vows at Chrism Mass
The annual renewal of priestly vows both of the religious and diocesan priests was held at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cotabato City during the celebration of the Chrism Mass last April 7, 2009. Most Reverend Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI, DD, together with his auxiliary Most Reverend Jose Colin M. Bagaforo, DD, led the clergy and the religious in their renewal of priestly vows at the sanctuary of the cathedral with the congregation praying earnestly for their priests.
In the morning prior to the celebration of the Chrism mass, the Archbishop gave a recollection to the clergy and the religious at the Notre Dame Educational Association Conference Hall. In his recollection points Archbishop Quevedo stressed the importance of the Paschal Mystery of Christ to priestly ministry. He said that, "the priest as the Alter Christus is entrusted to safeguard and to promote the Paschal Mystery as the central mystery of our faith."
In order to understand more clearly the Paschal Mystery, the archbishop presented as a background the Passover Meal of the Jews. He began by saying that the Jews already celebrate the Passover even before Exodus and it gained a new and a much deeper meaning during the liberation from Egypt. This Passover gained yet another deeper meaning when Jesus gave himself up as a lamb slain for our salvation making for us a Passover from sin to grace, from death to life and to the freedom of God's children.
Archbishop Quevedo also emphasized the significance of the Institution of the Eucharist and of the priesthood. "Each priest", the archbishop says, "must follow Christ in total self-donation, in becoming a servant of all and in total availability to the people of God." He also reminded his priests to "always act in the person of Christ, to act like Jesus, to pray like Jesus and to love the people of God the way Jesus loves."
In the afternoon of the recollection, the priests listened to the President of the Diocesan Clergy of Cotabato and Coordinator of the APA VI as he gave an update on the status of the Implementation and Monitoring of the APA VI Activities in the whole archdiocese. After the afternoon session all priests went to the Cathedral for the Chrism Mass and for the Renewal of their Priestly Vows. Archbishop Quevedo thanked in a special the Mother Butler's Guild for the chocolates they gave as a gift to all priests and religious.
The annual renewal of priestly vows both of the religious and diocesan priests was held at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cotabato City during the celebration of the Chrism Mass last April 7, 2009. Most Reverend Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI, DD, together with his auxiliary Most Reverend Jose Colin M. Bagaforo, DD, led the clergy and the religious in their renewal of priestly vows at the sanctuary of the cathedral with the congregation praying earnestly for their priests.
In the morning prior to the celebration of the Chrism mass, the Archbishop gave a recollection to the clergy and the religious at the Notre Dame Educational Association Conference Hall. In his recollection points Archbishop Quevedo stressed the importance of the Paschal Mystery of Christ to priestly ministry. He said that, "the priest as the Alter Christus is entrusted to safeguard and to promote the Paschal Mystery as the central mystery of our faith."
In order to understand more clearly the Paschal Mystery, the archbishop presented as a background the Passover Meal of the Jews. He began by saying that the Jews already celebrate the Passover even before Exodus and it gained a new and a much deeper meaning during the liberation from Egypt. This Passover gained yet another deeper meaning when Jesus gave himself up as a lamb slain for our salvation making for us a Passover from sin to grace, from death to life and to the freedom of God's children.
Archbishop Quevedo also emphasized the significance of the Institution of the Eucharist and of the priesthood. "Each priest", the archbishop says, "must follow Christ in total self-donation, in becoming a servant of all and in total availability to the people of God." He also reminded his priests to "always act in the person of Christ, to act like Jesus, to pray like Jesus and to love the people of God the way Jesus loves."
In the afternoon of the recollection, the priests listened to the President of the Diocesan Clergy of Cotabato and Coordinator of the APA VI as he gave an update on the status of the Implementation and Monitoring of the APA VI Activities in the whole archdiocese. After the afternoon session all priests went to the Cathedral for the Chrism Mass and for the Renewal of their Priestly Vows. Archbishop Quevedo thanked in a special the Mother Butler's Guild for the chocolates they gave as a gift to all priests and religious.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
APA VI on its 7th Phase
APA VI on its 7th Phase
After the Archdiocesan Vision-Mission Statement was officially declared in May 2008, APA VI Process has now reached its Implementation Phase. This phase, according to the APA VI Coordinator, Rev. Fr. Mario Combong, DCC, is a challenging phase because "we are now appropriating in every parish what has transpired during the Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly VI."
It must be recalled that the Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly VI, held at the OND Convention Center, Tamontaka, Shariff Kabunsuan, last May 27 – 28, 2008, also selected Diocesan Priorities for the year 2008 – 2009 which included Faith Formation for all the faithful and Lay Leaders' Formation. Accordingly, these diocesan priorities should be set as the primary priorities in all parishes including the different Lay Organizations, Movements and Associations (LOMAs) as these two priorities are hoped to lead all the faithful to active Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) participation.
The next targets of APA VI are the parishes of the Archdiocese. This phase will be the ratification of each Parish Identity Statement and the formulation of their respective Parish Priorities that must be in consonance with the Diocesan Priorities. Action Plans will then be created to properly implement the Vision-Mission of the Archdiocese in the parish level.
At present Pilot Parishes were already selected and their BECs serve as vehicles for APA VI implementation. According to the APA VI Team, "choosing 'Pilot Parishes' is a necessary step to reach the BECs." Organizing the BECs should be a real priority as they will be the primordial agents in concretizing the Diocesan Priorities. To make the BEC Organizing effective, two initial seminars were already conducted by the Bukal ng Tipan Team in October 2008. The purpose of these seminars was to equip the Organizing Teams and the Formation Teams in all BECs of the Pilot Parishes of Pigcawayan, Broce, Isulan and Esperanza with skills to effectively organize and sustain the BECs.
APA VI Team
After the Archdiocesan Vision-Mission Statement was officially declared in May 2008, APA VI Process has now reached its Implementation Phase. This phase, according to the APA VI Coordinator, Rev. Fr. Mario Combong, DCC, is a challenging phase because "we are now appropriating in every parish what has transpired during the Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly VI."
It must be recalled that the Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly VI, held at the OND Convention Center, Tamontaka, Shariff Kabunsuan, last May 27 – 28, 2008, also selected Diocesan Priorities for the year 2008 – 2009 which included Faith Formation for all the faithful and Lay Leaders' Formation. Accordingly, these diocesan priorities should be set as the primary priorities in all parishes including the different Lay Organizations, Movements and Associations (LOMAs) as these two priorities are hoped to lead all the faithful to active Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) participation.
The next targets of APA VI are the parishes of the Archdiocese. This phase will be the ratification of each Parish Identity Statement and the formulation of their respective Parish Priorities that must be in consonance with the Diocesan Priorities. Action Plans will then be created to properly implement the Vision-Mission of the Archdiocese in the parish level.
At present Pilot Parishes were already selected and their BECs serve as vehicles for APA VI implementation. According to the APA VI Team, "choosing 'Pilot Parishes' is a necessary step to reach the BECs." Organizing the BECs should be a real priority as they will be the primordial agents in concretizing the Diocesan Priorities. To make the BEC Organizing effective, two initial seminars were already conducted by the Bukal ng Tipan Team in October 2008. The purpose of these seminars was to equip the Organizing Teams and the Formation Teams in all BECs of the Pilot Parishes of Pigcawayan, Broce, Isulan and Esperanza with skills to effectively organize and sustain the BECs.
APA VI Team
After Flood, There's War
After Flood, There's War
The floodwaters in most parts of the Archdiocese of Cotabato have barely subsided since July this year and most families are still in the evacuation centers, yet there's another major problem looming the archdiocese – armed conflict. Reports from the Social Action Ministries of the different parishes show that until today thousands of families are still struggling to recover from the damages brought about by the natural disaster yet another disaster threatens not only properties but also and most importantly lives of people.
Santo Niño Parish in Midsayap, North Cotabato, reported that since July farmers in the low-lying areas suffered so much in the flood. Most of them lost their livestock and their newly planted rice fields as everything went underwater. Rev. Fr. Hilario Asilo, OMI, parish priest of Midsayap said, it was already disheartening to see people suffer their losses in the flood and armed conflict is now added to their suffering. "Our people already suffered so much trauma and confusion. Now they are desperately mustering hope safeguarding their salvaged properties and their lives." The Archdiocesan Social Action Ministry also noted "it is [indeed] demoralizing to see how the same people who struggled from the flood now fall victims to the raging war in most parts of the archdiocese."
"When one visits the evacuation centers, he/she will immediately see so much anguish in the faces of the victims," a diocesan Social Action volunteer said. Misery, pain and hopelessness envelope the victims as they wrestle to survive. Once one sees the plight of the people he/she can readily say, without a doubt there's so much to be done to respond to the needs of the people. This is especially true up to today for skirmishes and bombardments between the military and the rebel groups still make people seek refuge in the evacuation centers. Most of them obviously have doubts whether there's still hope that awaits them.
The archdiocese in an effort to keep the people's hope alive took action by calling on all the faithful of the archdiocese to help by donating money or goods for the immediate needs of the victims. The Archdiocesan Social Action Ministry and the parish based Social Action Apostolates spearheaded the said endeavor. The response of the faithful undeniably radiated God's providence as donations overwhelmed both the archdiocesan as well as the parish based Social Action centers.
The Midsayap Parish for example appealed to the different Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) who generously helped. Among these NGO's were the Aboitiz Foundation, NASSA-CARITAS, Assisi Development Foundation as well as the local government of Midsayap and the provincial government of Cotabato. Volunteers also swarmed Santo Niño parish, showing their desire to help especially in the preparation and distribution of goods to the different evacuation centers not only in Midsayap but also in the neighboring towns of Aleosan and Pikit. They also organized feeding programs for children in the evacuation centers. Medical Missions, in partnership with the Notre Dame of Midsayap College Nursing Students and the Barangay Health Workers, were also conducted especially in the barangays of Patindeguen, Namangkilan, Upper Labas and Sitio Tawi-tawi.
There may be a lot of dispiriting disasters that come our way in the archdiocese but the overwhelming goodness of people continues to radiate God's abiding presence and compassion.
Sr. Luchie, OND
The floodwaters in most parts of the Archdiocese of Cotabato have barely subsided since July this year and most families are still in the evacuation centers, yet there's another major problem looming the archdiocese – armed conflict. Reports from the Social Action Ministries of the different parishes show that until today thousands of families are still struggling to recover from the damages brought about by the natural disaster yet another disaster threatens not only properties but also and most importantly lives of people.
Santo Niño Parish in Midsayap, North Cotabato, reported that since July farmers in the low-lying areas suffered so much in the flood. Most of them lost their livestock and their newly planted rice fields as everything went underwater. Rev. Fr. Hilario Asilo, OMI, parish priest of Midsayap said, it was already disheartening to see people suffer their losses in the flood and armed conflict is now added to their suffering. "Our people already suffered so much trauma and confusion. Now they are desperately mustering hope safeguarding their salvaged properties and their lives." The Archdiocesan Social Action Ministry also noted "it is [indeed] demoralizing to see how the same people who struggled from the flood now fall victims to the raging war in most parts of the archdiocese."
"When one visits the evacuation centers, he/she will immediately see so much anguish in the faces of the victims," a diocesan Social Action volunteer said. Misery, pain and hopelessness envelope the victims as they wrestle to survive. Once one sees the plight of the people he/she can readily say, without a doubt there's so much to be done to respond to the needs of the people. This is especially true up to today for skirmishes and bombardments between the military and the rebel groups still make people seek refuge in the evacuation centers. Most of them obviously have doubts whether there's still hope that awaits them.
The archdiocese in an effort to keep the people's hope alive took action by calling on all the faithful of the archdiocese to help by donating money or goods for the immediate needs of the victims. The Archdiocesan Social Action Ministry and the parish based Social Action Apostolates spearheaded the said endeavor. The response of the faithful undeniably radiated God's providence as donations overwhelmed both the archdiocesan as well as the parish based Social Action centers.
The Midsayap Parish for example appealed to the different Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) who generously helped. Among these NGO's were the Aboitiz Foundation, NASSA-CARITAS, Assisi Development Foundation as well as the local government of Midsayap and the provincial government of Cotabato. Volunteers also swarmed Santo Niño parish, showing their desire to help especially in the preparation and distribution of goods to the different evacuation centers not only in Midsayap but also in the neighboring towns of Aleosan and Pikit. They also organized feeding programs for children in the evacuation centers. Medical Missions, in partnership with the Notre Dame of Midsayap College Nursing Students and the Barangay Health Workers, were also conducted especially in the barangays of Patindeguen, Namangkilan, Upper Labas and Sitio Tawi-tawi.
There may be a lot of dispiriting disasters that come our way in the archdiocese but the overwhelming goodness of people continues to radiate God's abiding presence and compassion.
Sr. Luchie, OND
TYPHOON HITS ARCHDIOCESE OF COTABATO
TYPHOON HITS ARCHDIOCESE OF COTABATO
Thousands of families rushed to find shelter in different evacuation
centers around the Archdiocese of Cotabato when Typhoon "Frank" hit and
devastated this part of the country last June 21, 2008. Frank's strong
winds destroyed thousands of houses and the continuous rain left a vast
area of the archdiocese submerged in floodwaters.
In Shariff Kabunsuan province alone there were more than ten thousand
families that sought refuge in crowded evacuation centers because their
houses were either toppled by strong winds or carried away by the
floodwaters that overflowed from the surrounding rivers. The strong
current and the rapid rising of water levels particularly of Simuay River
and Rio Grande de Mindanao made the residents leave their houses and
properties for fear of endangering their lives. The devastation of the
typhoon was so vast that even the low-lying barangays in Cotabato City
were not spared from the flooding.
Tacurong Vicariate also reported damages by Typhoon Frank especially rice
fields in the area. Fr. Bong Bacero, DCC, Parish Priest of Lambayong
Parish, said that more than 4,000 families from 13 barangays of his parish
were affected by the typhoon. He said Typhoon Frank hit his parish very
badly that many of his parishioners lost their crops and other properties
including their houses. "Typhoon Frank really devastated my parishioners.
It left six thousand hectares of rice fields underwater," he said.
While it is true that the damage made by Typhoon Frank to thousands of
families in the archdiocese was so great it also became an opportunity for
parishes to awaken everyone to help others who are in dire need. Calls
for donations either in cash or in kinds were done in all the parishes in
order to help the victims. Piso Serbisyo played an important role in
providing and distributing medicines, bottled drinking water, clothes and
other relief goods to those who flock the evacuation centers. Different
task forces were also organized in different parishes to help the victims
in their needs and to help hasten the rehabilitation of the flooded areas.
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