In this Oasis news I focus my attention on Mayor Cesar Cortes Climaco to remember the 34th Anniversary of his death. He was killed on November 14, 1984. I remember him as a personal friend and friend of Silsilah. The year of his death is the same year the beginning of Silsilah Dialogue Movement in Zamboanga City. This occassion helps me to share some points of my relfection.
Acts of violence often signify the life of society and even good leaders are not spared of violence. But when they die they become inspirations for many. This also happened with the death of Mayor Cesar Climaco in Zamboanga City.
My experience in the Philippines as a missionary started in 1977 in Siocon, Zamboanga Del Norte during the Martial Law period. Living with the people, I learned their languages, their pains and aspirations. In the midst of so many contradictions and violence, I learned to love the people of my mission: subanons, christians and muslims.
The militarization in the area was very visible. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was also present in the area. I started to hear stories on how President Ferdinand Marcos justified Martial Law because of the Mindanao conflict and how this conflict had created more poverty and division among christians and muslims.
In this context, I became close to the muslims and I accepted the invitation of the MNLF commander in the area to be their negotiator with the hope to bring peace among the people of my mission.
After living a long time with the people, often in the forest, to meet the MNLF group in my desire to bring peace in the area, the military decided to kill me. Maybe my plan of peace disturbed their strategy of war and so I was ambushed on the evening of February 9, 1981 in Siocon. On that occasion, I remained alive but one of my staff near me was killed and God allowed me to continue the mission. But soon I received an order from my superior to leave the mission and go back to Italy. That was my “first exile” to my country.
I do not remember the day when, for the first time, I met Cesar Climaco in 1983 when I came back from Italy with a new mission in Zamboanga City. Soon I learned from the people that the mayor of Zamboanga City was a great leader and an enemy of President Marcos. Curious to know this mayor, I found a way to meet him. It was a simple and friendly encounter on one occasion when I met Mayor Cesar Climaco for the first time. Without many formalities, he embraced me saying: “Welcome to Zamboanga.”
The dream to continue my mission of dialogue and peace with the Muslims in Zamboanga City gave me the determination to meet many muslims and christians in the city and with them I shared my dream of dialogue and peace. It was not difficult to find many good friends willing to join my dream, but many were afraid to give open support and collaboration. The prejudices between muslims and christians, the MNLF conflict and the Martial Law were part of the daily experiences that caused more fear and affected the christian-muslim relation in the city.
The simple beginning of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement in the PIME House in Suterville, Zamboanga City, on May 9, 1984 was an occasion for me to contact the leaders of the city. At that time, I was able to identify four prominent leaders, two christians and two muslims. They were the Archbishop of Zamboanga Monsignor Francesco Cruces, the grand Mufti Abdulgani Yusof, Haj. Jainuddin Nuño and Mayor Cesar Climaco.
I learned that in critical times in the life of Zamboanga, some of them used to meet with others to rebuild peace in the city. I hope and pray that Muslim and Christian leaders of today will be inspired by the life of Mayor Cesar Climaco to work together in dialogue for peace.
Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra, PIME
Founder, Silsilah Dialogue Movement