Senator Heherson Alvarez - Filipino People Extended Their Hands in Caring for the Aulacese Refugees

That evening, a Shining World Leadership Award presentation ceremony was held at the Hall of Sacred Love, honoring the former President of the Philippines, Fidel Ramos; President of the Gusi Foundation, Mr. Manuel Morato; and Senator Heherson Alvarez, for their philanthropic deeds in helping the Aulacese asylum seekers many years ago. The local dignitaries that attended this grand ceremony were Mr. Gu Min, UNESCO committee member; Mr. Su Wen-hui, Chief of Miaoli Civil Administration Bureau, and his wife; Mr. Huang Lung-fu, Chief of the Religion and Traditional Customs Department; Mayor of Hsihu Township, Mr. He Mu-yan and his wife; Ms. Yang Xiu-xia, former Hsihu Township Mayor; Mr. Wu Jun-yi, Village Chief of Sanhu Village; Mr. Gu Mu-xian, Director of Hsihu Township Farming Society; Mr. Zhu Zeng-cheng from the Police Department; Town Citizens' Representatives Mr. Zhu Qiu-rong and his wife; Ms. Huang Mei-ying, former Director of the Taipei County Volunteer Worker Society; and many others.

Master presented the Shining World Leadership Award to Mr. Morato and to Senator Alvarez.

The guests first watched "The Golden Heart of the Philippines," a documentary describing how the Philippine government and its people rendered humanitarian aid to Aulacese asylum seekers. In 1979, Imelda R. Marcos, then First Lady of the Philippines, was the first-ever vanguard in garnering support and providing temporary shelter for thousands of Aulacese boat people adrift in Manila Bay. In 1995, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) halted funding for refugee camps throughout Asia, so some countries found it necessary to initiate a repatriation process, much to the inexpressible anguish of the refugees.

Feeling their deep sorrow, Supreme Master Ching Hai devoted much of Her time, energy and resources to alleviate the suffering of those desperate in their countryless plight. She offered them words of consolation, material comfort and spiritual support. At that time, Mr. Manuel L. Morato was deeply moved by the Aulacese refugee situation. Having just met Supreme Master Ching Hai and sympathizing with the desperation of the refugees, he took the initiative to appeal to the Ambassador of Foreign Affairs on their behalf. He then personally accompanied Supreme Master Ching Hai to meet both government and private officials, providing pivotal help in the quest to alleviate the refugees' suffering.

Aulacese initiates offer flowers to their Filipino benefactors.

In 1995, President Fidel Ramos issued an order granting permanent residence to 5,000 Aulacese refugees, at the same time that other nations were turning them back to sea. Mr. Heherson Alvarez worked to pass a law that gave rights of refugees to people like those coming out of Au Lac, so that they could stay in the Philippines. Dr. Rene Santos and family took Master to different television and radio stations so that She could have the chance, through their nationwide broadcasting network, to plead for the Aulacese refugees' plight. Countless other anonymous but compassionate hearts, including members of the Catholic Church and other Filipino citizens, all lovingly embraced and welcomed the Aulacese refugees as their own.

After watching this documentary, fellow initiates from Au Lac offered flowers to their kind benefactors. The former president of the Philippines, Fidel Ramos, was invited to be the lead honoree. Even though he was unable to attend because of a previous engagement co-chairing an annual world conference in China, a larger-than-life photo of him dominated the center of the stage, and Master went up on stage specially to offer flowers to his photo in gratitude for the humanitarian help he rendered to the Aulacese asylum seekers. At that point, our loving and humble Master became quite emotional and shed tears.

Following that, Master presented the Shining World Leadership Award to Mr. Morato and to Senator Alvarez Mr. Alvarez recalled how they had helped the Aulacese refugees to settle. He also praised Master for Her help and for having so much love for the refugees. Mr. Morato, during the ceremony and in a correspondence sent after he had returned to his country, expressed his gratitude to Master and Her Association. He also praised Her as a very loving person and said that when She came to him for help, he felt it was his pleasure to do so. He also said the he felt electrified, very refreshed and enlightened in his time with our group, and added: "How I wish all the people of the world would behave the way Your fellow members do. Then the world would truly be a peaceful place to live in."

Master also spoke from the stage to express Her thanks to the Filipino people for helping the refugees in their time of need. She said the awards were being presented on behalf of all the refugees in the world to show our gratitude to all the nations. She thanked them again for helping the refugees to heal their wounds and get their human dignity back. She hoped that in the future, war would not exist and the word itself would be forgotten in the vocabulary of humankind, and that one day there would not be even a single frontier left between nations as we all would become brothers and sisters in the big global family.