A Filipino Translation of The Urantia Book

By Jay Peregrine, Translation Committee, Michigan, United States

A key goal of Urantia Foundation’s strategic plan is to make The Urantia Book available in the major languages of the world by 2035. Achieving this goal will enable 80% of the world's population to study the teachings of The Urantia Book in their native tongue. It is therefore a pleasure to announce that a dedicated team has started a translation of the book into Filipino.

Filipino is an official language of the Philippines and is spoken by more than 45 million people living there. Often referred to as Tagalog within the Philippines, but known as Filipino internationally, it is a standardized version of Tagalog, which is one of the country’s many indigenous languages. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Approximately two million people speak Filipino in the United States and Canada. Outside the Philippines and North America, there are speakers of the language in such places as Australia, Guam, Kuwait, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

The launch of the project this past January followed several years of careful preparation. In keeping with the translation standards established by the Foundation, the team members all read the entire Urantia Book twice. They attend Urantia Book study groups and are all fluent in Filipino and English. They estimate it will take nine years to complete the translation.

The team consists of Nestor Santos Seda, the chief translator, Calvin Penaco, Geo Sunga, Allan Bancairen, and Belen and Eugene Asidao. Nestor, Calvin, Geo, and Allan live in the greater Manilla area. Eugene and Belen, longtime readers, live in the Chicago area where they are active in local study groups.

Please remember the translators in your prayers as they work to bring the fifth epochal revelation to the Filipino-speaking people.

To learn more about Urantia Foundation’s translation process, see https://www.urantia.org/news/2019-06/creating-translations-out-love-urantia-foundations-quality-process.

To donate to the Filipino Translation effort, please visit: https://www.urantia.org/es/donaciones/urantia-foundation.

Henry Tuason (Attorney), Calvin Penaco (Treasurer), Allan Bancairen, Georcynth Sunga, Nestor Seda, Belen Asidao, Eugene Asidao