by Margaux Salcedo
Ambassador Howard Dee, former Ambassador of the Philippines to the Vatican, joined Our Creator on August 21, 2024.
Ambassador Dee was the Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See and Malta under the administration of former President Corazon Aquino from 1986 to 1990.
He was a businessman who was president of the pharmaceutical corporation Unilab from 1965 to 1975. But he was also known for his private efforts towards nation-building. In 1970, he became a founding trustee of the Philippine Business for Social Progress and in 1984, he became founding chair of the Philippine Development Assistance Program.
He was also an advocate for peace, leading the National Peace Conference from 1990 to 1992 and the government's peace panel in negotiations with the CPP-NPA-NDF during the presidency of Fidel Ramos from 1993 to 1994. He also served in Ramos's Social Reform Council from 1993 to 1995 and was President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's adviser on indigenous people’s affairs with the rank of cabinet secretary in 2002. He also led the Bangsamoro Basic Law Peace Council during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III in 2015.
Most of all, he was a devout Catholic, actively helping the Catholic Church in its programs and projects. In 1975, he founded the Assisi Development Foundation with Fr. Francisco ‘Fritz’ Araneta, SJ, “to pursue peace through development with justice”. He was also Co-Chairperson of the Tabang Mindanaw, the the largest agency focusing on helping the indigenous Lumads of Mindanao; Vice Chairman of Pondo ng Pinoy Community Foundation, Inc. and Vice Chairman of Caritas Manila's Board of Trustees.
He was also President of Bahay Maria and the President and Vice Chair of the Family Rosary Crusade from 1997 to 2015. He was also editor-in-chief of Ave Maria magazine.
In the Year of St. Joseph, proclaimed by Pope Francis to be celebrated from December 8, 2020 to December 8, 2021, Ambassador Dee and his theologian daughter Angelyn Dee became instrumental as the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on the Laity, then headed by Bishop Broderick Pabillo, founded the Men of St. Joseph, “undertaken to create and launch a nationwide organization that will inspire men to grow in the faith and live their lives and leadership according to the example of St Joseph”.
He is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Pontifical Order of St. Sylvester in 1985; the Ozanam Award, given at the Ateneo de Manila in 1986; the Pius X Equestrial Order of the Grand Cross, First Class, in 1988; the St. Benedict Award, given in San Beda College in 1989; and the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2018, among others.
He received his latest award, the Ramon del Rosario National Building and Siklab Award, on August 20, 2024, the day before he passed away. He was 93 years old.
Let us all pray for the eternal repose of the soul of Ambassador Howard Dee, truly a faithful and inspiring servant of the Lord.
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