“While the Church and State may, indeed, be separate, it

The Philippines remains the bastion of Catholic faith in Asia. We, Filipinos, celebrate a lot of religious holidays. Most, if not all, of our town fiestas are actually held during the feast days of patron saints.

One of those Catholic celebrations is Pope’s Day, where I had the honor to represent President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in an event at the Papal Nuncio Archbishop residence last Friday night.

Papal Nuncio Gabriele Giordano Caccia and I had a very productive meeting. We discussed that the best way moving forward, which is also in the best interest of the Filipino people, is for both State and Church to work together for the benefit of the people. During our meeting, we also agreed that President Duterte will have a one-on-one dialogue with the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to iron out issues and clear any misunderstanding.

We must take the dialogue between the President and the CBCP as a positive step towards having better ties with an institution, which plays a big influence in the Filipino way of life.

The government has always had a healthy respect for the different religions in the country. In fact, an individual’s right to freedom of religion and worship, as well as its free exercise, is guaranteed by our Constitution.

Over a decade ago, in June 2007, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Executive Order 626 strengthening the government’s interfaith program. It created a National Committee on Interfaith Cooperation, tasked with formulating, consolidating, rationalizing and recommending Philippine policies and positions on various interfaith initiatives both in and out of the country.

This has been the basis for President Duterte’s creation of a four-man committee to hold dialogues with the leaders of the Church and improve relations with the government. The President designated me, Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr., Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella and EDSA People Power Commission member Pastor Saycon to lead the dialogue with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and other religious groups. Sec. Evasco was a former priest in Bohol. Usec. Abella was a board member of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches.

On top of the agenda during the dialogue is to start improving the relations between the President and the Church. There is a strong sense of optimism in resolving the concerns of both sides. CBCP president Archbishop Romulo Valles is the father of the flock of the Archdiocese of Davao and is one of the few religious leaders with close ties with the Chief Executive dating back when he was still mayor of Davao City.

In fact, Malacanang welcomed and congratulated the election of Archbishop Valles as CBCP president. The Palace released a statement saying this “signals a new day of peace for a multi-cultural Philippines.” It also commended Archbishop Valles, who served Mindanao as a prelate for 40 years, for “his familiarity with Davao and Mindanao… as we promote interfaith dialogue and intercultural understanding as part of our efforts to rebuild Marawi and to transform Mindanao into a land of fulfilment.”

While the Church and State may, indeed, be separate, it does not mean they cannot work together for the betterment of the Filipino people. A Pulse Asia September 2017 survey showed most Filipinos (58 percent) wanted the leaders of the Catholic Church to help with the rehabilitation of drug addicts as part of the administration’s war on drugs. Only about one in 10 Filipinos would like for the Church to take a hands-off policy in the anti-illegal drug campaign.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) drug rehabilitation partnership agreement with the Diocese of Novaliches, Quezon City government for a community-based drug rehabilitation program in the Batasan area is, therefore, a welcome development. This is the kind of partnership that we hope we can replicate in many areas. This is the kind of collaboration between the government and the Church that our people expect.

Let us, therefore, see the President’s willingness to have a fruitful dialogue as a good start to open an avenue for a meaningful complementary work between the State and the Church.