Paghilom: Gerechtigkeit und die Suche nach Heilung

Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta is an award-winning writer from the Philippines. She has published five collections of poetry, two of which one first place at the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards, the foremost literary prize in the Philippines. Her latest poetry collection College Boy won the National Book award in 2023.

During the pandemic, Katigbak-Lacuesta wrote Assembling Alice, a biofiction on the life of Alice Feria, her maternal grandmother, and one of the first Filipina journalists in the Philippines. It was hailed as an audacious invention that was also “a sharply-observed and lyrically-rendered depiction of an era.”

Katigbak-Lacuesta has been the Filipino delegate to international literary festivals in Dubai, Rotterdam, Medellín, San Francisco, Macau, Kuala Lumpur and South Korea. In 2015, she completed a writing residency for the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.

Paring Bert’s immersion in popular spirituality and social issues during the 1970s Martial Law in the Philippines led him to get attracted to the Jesuit mission of ‘Faith and Justice’. His formation was enriched by his interest in poetry, politics, and indigenous philosophy while working with the organized poor, especially when he headed the Archdiocese of Manila Labor Center before his ordination in 1991. After earning PhD in Social Anthropology in London, he engaged in teaching and research, while remaining active in indigenous peoples’ rights advocacy, peace negotiation with armed Communist and Moro groups, fighting corruption and extrajudicial killings related to the ‘war on drugs’. He cofounded the Institute of Indigenous Peoples Education, Mindanawon Initiatives for Cultural Dialogue, Sacred Springs: Dialogue Institute on Spirituality and Sustainability, and Amuma Cancer Support Group Foundation. Among his books are Ehemplo: Spirituality of Shared Integrity in Philippine Church and Society, Generating Energies in Mount Apo: Cultural Politics in a Contested Environment, Táo Pô! Tulóy! Isáng Landás ng Pag-unawà sa Loób ng Táo (National Book Award 1990), and three poetry anthologies for which he received the National Award for Poetry and Translation or Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas, given by the Writers Union in the Philippines in 2021. Among his edited works are the 4-volume Annotated Bibliographjy of Mindanao Studies, From Zamboanga to Subic, In Search for Partnership:  Conflict and Cooperation between Ancestral Domain and Economic Zone, and Listening to Our Teachers: A Study of the Views, Attitudes and Practices of Teachers and Parents of Catholic High Schools Regarding Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Sexuality Education. His music videos, like Bayang May Dangal and Meme na Mindanaw, are in YouTube. Paring Bert serves as board member of No Peace Without Justice, while teaching at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Roby Alampay is a distinguished Filipino journalist, media executive, and advocate for press freedom, with a career spanning over three decades. He is the founder and chairman of Puma Public Productions, the pioneering force behind PumaPodcast, Southeast Asia’s first non-music audio production company. Under his leadership, PumaPodcast has garnered international recognition, including inclusion in the US Library of Congress Podcast Preservation Project and accolades from the Society of Publishers in Asia and the Human Rights Press Awards.​ Alampay’s journalism journey began in print media, where he played a pivotal role in establishing TV5’s online news portal and served as editor-in-chief of BusinessWorld, the Philippines’ oldest business daily. His tenure was marked by a successful digital transformation and financial turnaround of the publication. He also anchored the nightly newscast “The Big Story” and co-anchored “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV.​ Beyond broadcasting, Alampay has been a prominent figure in media development and advocacy. He was the first executive director of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and currently serves as the Asia Regional Adviser for International Media Support (IMS), focusing on strengthening independent media across the region.​ In 2025, Alampay took on a new leadership role as Vice President for Communications at PLDT Inc., reflecting his continued influence in shaping media and communication strategies in the Philippines.​ An alumnus of the University of the Philippines and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Alampay’s career reflects a deep commitment to journalistic excellence and media innovation.