CONSTANTINE’S NICENE CREED: A DECOLONIAL REFLECTION ON EMPIRE-SHAPED CHRISTIANITY

For many Christians, the Nicene Creed is a sacred summary of faith—timeless, universal, divinely inspired. But when we peel back the layers of imperial history, the Creed looks less like a purely theological achievement and more like a carefully engineered imperial document produced in service of Constantine’s political project. What emerged from Nicaea in 325 CE was not simply a consensus of early Christian spirituality. It was a consensus manufactured inside the machinery of empire. This blogpost critiques the imperialist religiosity behind the Nicene Creed by grounding the discussion in historical data and scholarly research.

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Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2025/12/04/constantines-nicene-creed-a-decolonial-reflection-on-empire-shaped-christianity/

RECLAIMING MORAL-POLITICAL SOLIDARITY: MY TAKE ON TODAY’S ANTI-CORRUPTION RALLIES IN THE COUNTRY

Today, 30 November 2025, thousands of Filipinos rallied across Manila and throughout the country against corruption in flood-control projects, with left-wing activists, faith-based groups, youth, and community organizations raising diverse demands. While each group highlighted legitimate concerns, their separate messages created fragmentation that limited the collective impact of the mobilization. From my perspective as a peacebuilder, corruption affects all sectors, so resistance must be multi-sectoral, integrating diverse voices around shared values of justice, dignity, and transparency. I propose People’s Assemblies, Community Action Hubs, regular Solidarity Convergences, and a diversity-of-tactics approach to unite differing strategies toward sustained civic transformation. Ultimately, this multi-sectoral unity can turn indignation into meaningful action that restores integrity, protects human dignity, and fosters long-term social change in the Philippines.

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Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2025/11/30/reclaiming-moral-political-solidarity-my-take-on-the-anti-corruption-rallies-in-the-country-last-30-november-2025/

REFLECTIVE NOTES ON TYPHOON KALMAEGI (TINO): LESSONS ON STRENGTH, VULNERABILITY, AND INTEGRITY

Typhoon Kalmaegi, locally known as Tino, struck the Philippines in early November 2025, leaving a trail of destruction across the Visayas islands and affecting communities nationwide. Its sustained winds of up to 165 km/h and prolonged rainfall caused flooding, road disruptions, and displacement for hundreds of thousands of residents. While Mindanao experienced only minor flooding, the Cordillera highlands and the National Capital Region faced localized landslides and urban congestion. Our PBCI–CFP network, spanning Mindanao, Visayas, Cordillera, and NCR, monitored impacts on both our partner communities and the general population. In the Visayas, farmer-partners and cooperatives suffered crop damage, flooded homes, and operational disruptions. The typhoon exposed systemic governance weaknesses, including unfinished flood-control projects, highlighting the deadly consequences of corruption. The experience reinforced our commitment to disaster-resilient, climate-conscious, and integrity-driven peacebuilding across the Philippines.

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Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2025/11/08/reflective-report-on-typhoon-kalmaegi-tino-lessons-on-strength-vulnerability-and-integrity/

XI JINPING – DONALD TRUMP MEETING IN BUSAN: HOPEFUL LESSONS FOR THE PHILIPPINES

There are moments in global politics when a small spark of hope shines through the heavy fog of rivalry. The recent meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in Busan, South Korea, felt like one of those moments to me. On October 30, 2025, the two leaders met face-to-face for the first time since 2019—this time amid the strains of economic sanctions, trade wars, and intensifying competition across Asia (ABC News, 2025; Reuters, 2025). Held during the APEC Summit 2025, their nearly two-hour conversation seemed to ease some of the bitterness that has long defined U.S.–China relations. Reports from Reuters and The Guardian confirmed that both sides agreed to reduce damaging trade barriers and reopen cooperation in key sectors like agriculture and critical minerals (The Guardian, 2025; Reuters, 2025).

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Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2025/11/02/xi-jinping-donald-trump-meeting-in-busan-hopeful-lessons-for-the-philippines/

JUSTICE, INTEGRITY, AND THE HEALING OF OUR NATION: LOOKING AT CRISES AS A WHOLE

The moral, social, and ecological wounds of our nation converge into one urgent call for healing. As I reflect on the Philippines through the eyes of a peacebuilder journeying with Indigenous Peoples, I see that corruption, inequality, environmental destruction, and human rights violations are not isolated crises but symptoms of a deeper moral fracture. Justice cannot thrive where integrity is absent, and peace cannot flourish where truth is silenced. From the misuse of public funds to the hunger of our farmers and the cry of the Earth itself, we face the consequences of greed and neglect. Yet amid this pain, I also witness signs of renewal — communities demanding transparency, young people organizing for justice, and faith leaders reclaiming their prophetic voice. The healing of our nation must be integral — moral, economic, ecological, and spiritual — rooted in integrity, compassion, and the collective pursuit of peace through justice.

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Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2025/10/27/justice-integrity-and-the-healing-of-our-nation-looking-at-crises-as-a-whole/

GAZA’S RECONSTRUCTION OR RECOLONIZATION: A FILIPINO PEACEBUILDER’S VIEW OF TRUMP’S PLAN

When I first heard about Donald Trump’s new Gaza ceasefire plan, I felt a mix of disbelief and déjà vu. Once again, the political destiny of Palestinians—whose struggle for self-determination and dignity I deeply empathize with—was being shaped not by their voices, but by external powers and billionaire interests. The plan, presented as a bold path toward peace and prosperity, reads less like a genuine peace framework and more like a real estate prospectus masquerading as diplomacy. As I delved deeper into the contents of this so-called “Trump Peace Plan for Gaza”, it became clear that the proposal was designed to serve the geopolitical and economic interests of powerful actors, not the people of Gaza who have endured unimaginable suffering. Its language of reconstruction and redevelopment hides a familiar pattern of dispossession, reminiscent of colonial “civilizing missions” repackaged for the twenty-first century.

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Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2025/10/14/gazas-reconstruction-or-recolonization-a-filipino-peacebuilders-view-of-trumps-plan/

THE ILLUSION OF A TWO-STATE SOLUTION: ANALYZING DANA TAKRURI’S AJ+ REPORT

Dana Takruri’s AJ+ video, “Why the Two State Solution Never Worked,” presents a powerful and concise thesis: The two-state solution has failed because it was never a sincere goal for the Israeli state, which has instead, through systematic and deliberate actions, created a single, unequal reality of apartheid from the river to the sea. The “peace process” has been a smokescreen, allowing Israel to entrench its occupation and settlement project while paying lip service to a Palestinian state that it was simultaneously making impossible. Here is how the historical and current facts align with and prove her thesis, supported by academic and human rights documentation.

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Permanent link to this article: https://waves.ca/2025/10/06/the-illusion-of-a-two-state-solution-analyzing-dana-takruris-aj-report/

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Honours and distinctions we received for excellence and impact