kababaihan-at-kapayapaan-issue-3

Issue No. 3March 2015

FROM THE PUBLISHER“IT IS GOOD TO KNOW THE TRUTH BUT IT IS BETTER TO SPEAKOF PALM TREES.”The depth and paradox of that Arab saying come to mind as I pen a message forKababaihan at Kapayapaan.Lent came early to Mamasapano in Maguindanao this year, with the deathof 67 commandos, combatants, civilians, driving the peace process betweengovernment and the MILF into a wilderness that would daunt the most stoutheartedof peace advocates. Whereof comes this wilderness? To my mind itsprings from three divides, faultlines, if you will: “them” vs. “us”, north vs.south, and CSOs vs. other groups.“Them” vs. “us” bespeaks a deep-seated dualism cemented by culture andhistory. It relates to the Crusades in Europe that waged war against the Moors(Moros). Spanish colonial Catholicism then painted Muslims as the “other”, theheathen, the infidel. That this dualism is bred into our psyche recently came tolight: “Muslims are traitors, the MILF cannot be trusted.” And the unspoken: ”Letthe BBL pay the price.”The second divide is north vs. south: Divide and conquer. Spanish colonizers pitted local chieftains against one another(e.g. the Battle of Mactan for which we immortalize the fearless Lapu-Lapu with a fish and in a song). The north-southdivide has ramified over time, taking root in the most unlikely places, as in Mindanao and Cebu joining forces, in NGOassemblies, against “imperial” Manila. In the furor ensuing over Mamasapano, war’s alarms ring loudest in the safeconfines of Congress, for instance. But close to Ground Zero, the people flee even as they cry out for peace.Other sectors in Mindanao seek peace as well: the religious – both Christian and Muslim, business – both big and micro,the academe. And rightly so, because Mindanao bears the brunt of the fighting, although the entire country must pay theprice of war.The third faultline overlaps with the second: CSOs-NGOs (especially the peace constituencies) vs. other groups. Threedecades of sustained peace building have grown robust support for the peace processes in country. Yet in press, broadcastand social media, we hear calls that range from “No more BBL”, “No more peace talks with MILF”, to “Freeze the BBLhearings”. The subtext is: Let us not sell the country short, let us not be hoodwinked by the MILF.But the fact is that the current GPH-MILF peace process, now running five years, has been transparent from Day One.Portraying the MILF as villains and the GPH panel and peace adviser as MILF lackeys – does this sum up the truth of fiveyears of hard negotiations? Or has Mamasapano become grist for the political mill, a pawn in realpolitik, with interestedparties coaxing the truth in certain directions to lead to certain narrow conclusions?“It is good to know the truth but it is better to speak of palm trees.”Let not a narrow reading of Mamasapano dictate the narrative of peace in Mindanao, and in the entire country. For peaceand violence have a back story that goes back millennia; it counts the cost in rivers of blood and generations of stuntedchildren. Let not the faultlines forever condemn our country to brother killing brother, sister killing sister. Let not thosewho have not known grief and pain perorate about war and violence.We must speak of the dead and injured, dislocation and despoliation, on both sides. But truth is not only about death.Truth is about life, about palm trees, about our children’s future. This, I daresay, is what peace is all about.Then, and only then, can we find our way out of the wilderness.TERESITA QUINTOS DELESMarch 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN1

In pursuit of peace,truth and justice...SEC. TERESITA QUINTOS DELESPresidential Adviser on the Peace ProcessKeynote Address, Bangsamoro Peace ForumAteneo de Manila UniversityFebruary 26, 2015A MONTH AGO YESTERDAY, all hell broke loose at Mamasapano in Maguindanao and, with it, the hopes wewere nurturing for the timely passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law that would conclusively shift the MILF strugglefrom armed to electoral, from violent to peaceful. Or so it seems.Are we now consigned to picking up the bits and pieces of a Humpty Dumpty of a BBL; or are we tasked to dosomething else? I think you and I are on the same page when you call this afternoon’s activity a forum on theBangsamoro – in pursuit of peace, truth and justice. For the forcible deconstruction triggered by Mamasapanocompels us to a reconstruction, a recovery, a rethinking that must go deep and far and wide if we are to do justiceto truth and the pursuit of peace.Amidst the din and frenzy, the death and despair, the grieving and recriminations, we must go deep into a spacewithin ourselves—as individuals, as communities, and as a people, and face up to certain hard questions. We may nothave all the answers, but, as the poet Rilke says, sometimes the questions are more important than the answers.I propose three questions:First, what happened at Mamasapano and how do we make sense of it? Second, how has the fall-out fromMamasapano impacted on the GPH-MILF peace process and what are our stakes in it? Third, given the saber-rattlingand name calling, what is to be done?As we tackle these questions, may I further propose two guideposts? – Embrace history as our guide. Avoid dualism.First: What happened at Mamasapano and how do we make sense of it?By now we have a clearer picture of what happened during that longest dawn and day and night at Mamasapano. Wehave the cold statistic of 67 deaths, not just 44, of police commandos and Muslim combatants and civilians includingan eight-year-old child. Several bodies are probing the why and the wherefore—why things went terribly wrong, andwho are called to account.2 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

The CAB, and later the BBL, has been subject to consultations and forums particularly in but not limited toMindanao. The private sector and big business, academe, religious leaders and officials both Christian and Muslim,and civil society organizations have weighed in on the peace process and the agreements they have produced. Allsigned documents were immediately posted online, widely covered by media, with infographics reprinted in majorbroadsheets. But the truth is that few of those who are talking loudly today took much interest in all these then.They say that peace is not an easy path; sometimes it’s like walking a tightrope. But there is no alternative to peace.War cannot end war. Religious officials, civil society leaders, business persons, academicians have spoken out wholive and work in Mindanao. They know how destructive war is, and how fragile peace is. That is why, to a person,they have issued calls for peace very early on when thick haze still hung over Mamasapano. They called for aresumption of congressional hearings on the BBL.Some legislators and politicians wish to demonize the MILF. But I can say,from working with the MILF in the past three years, that they have earnedthe trust and respect of GPH peace negotiators with a ceasefire that hasheld firm since the Al Barka incident in October, 2011. The trust of the AFPhas been won with successful joint operations against lawless elements andto rescue kidnap victims, and some occasional PNP officials who wanderedinto hostile territory, in central Mindanao. And most of all, they have wonthe trust and respect of the whole-of-government for choosing time andagain to stay on the table through the stickiest negotiations, shifting fromwinner-take-all talking points to joint and mutual problem-solving to movethe multiple tracks of the peace process forward – not just in pursuing thepolitical settlement in the autonomous Bangsamoro , but also in the deliveryof the Sajahatra Bangsamoro peace dividends, the crafting and adoptionof the Bangsamoro Development Plan, and the groundwork for the phasedand gradual decommissioning of MILF combatants in the context of thecomprehensive Normalization Annex.“I find it oddly strangethat it is legislatorsand politicians whohave not witnessed,or felt, first-hand thescourge and ravages ofwar in Mindanao whocome charging at ourpeace structures witha wrecking ball. ”To say so is not lawyering for them but speaking the truth in love, to borrowa line from scripture.I find it oddly strange that it is legislators and politicians who have not witnessed, or felt, first-hand the scourge andravages of war in Mindanao who come charging at our peace structures with a wrecking ball. What is it like to liveyour life forever on the run? What is it like to lose your home, and your wits, because bombs come raining from thesky? What is it like to force your adolescent daughter to work abroad because there is no decent work for bakwitsor semi-permanent refugees? What is it like to force your underage daughter to marry because there is no securityof home for her? What is it like to know that the little boy that you suckled at your breast will not grow up to learnreading and arithmetic and how to make a living from his talents and acquired skills? What he will learn best is howto point the gun and pull the trigger and, at what is supposed to be the prime of his life, he will wake up on manymornings with the knowledge that this is a day when he may kill or be killed.This is what war has meant in Mindanao – not for one, or two, or three, but for thousands, for tens of thousands, forhundreds of thousands, and during the episodes of all-out war, for half a million people, even a million, of its people:Muslim, Christian, lumad.That is why Mindanao people – children and bishops and ulamas and businessmen and women and teachers and NGOleaders – that is why their reaction to congressional freezing of BBL hearings is visceral, pained. Because they knowwhat the costs are, they know that war is infinitely costlier than peace.If speaking this truth labels me as lawyering for MILF, I do not mind. Better that than to shut up because it is not4 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

popular, or sexy, to speak up at this time in defense of peace. How oddly strange to be so viciously assailed forspeaking up for peace.People in Mindanao are also pained by the resurgence of our old biases and dualistic thinking of us versus them,expressed in the view that the only good Moro is a dead Moro, or that Muslims can never be trusted. We mustunlearn this dualism so we can move beyond our superficial analyses to a more discerning view of the peace processand our stakes in it.Mamapasano has, indeed, set back the peace process but let us use this lull to clearly spell out the stakes, not onlyfor Mindanaoans, but also for people from the north (Luzon) and the central islands (Visayas). We cannot prosperas a nation with a house divided. We cannot live the promise of life abundant while pockets of poverty and violenceand squalor remain in Mindanao.Let us issue primers on peace, let us hold fora such as this, let us write letters to the editor, let us lobby ourcongresspersons, let us reach out over and over again to Filipinos who are different from and unfamiliar to us. Let uskeep the flame of peace burning, to keep BBL at the top of the agenda, and to honor our fallen 67.And, finally - what is to be done?There is a well-loved Protestant hymn that goes: “Once to every man/woman and nation, comes the moment todecide…” In the end, this is a moment of truth for every Filipino: Christian, Bangsamoro, or lumad. The President,PNoy, has put it this way: Am I for peace? Or am I for war?Shall we let our fears, insecurities, and falsehoods, rule us? Can we afford to sit on the fence, let the wind blow whereit will, and may the best or strongest side win?Let us not sell ourselves short. Not for nothing did we fight Spain, again and again, for three and a half centuries – tostrike out at injustice, for the call to freedom. Not for nothing did we fight the Americans – at the cost of becominga howling wilderness – to defend our sovereignty and freedom. Not for nothing did we fight against the darkness oftotalitarian rule, which triumph inspired the world with our people power revolution 29 years ago yesterday – toregain our freedom and once again light our way to a future of justice, democracy, and peace.I beg you, the young people here: as young Filipinos to whom the future rightly and irrevocably belongs, pleasedo not sell yourselves short. Insist on your say to how the future will take shape. Insist that decisions that willdetermine your future not be made on the basis of emotions – or more accurately, emotionalism – not on thebasis of allegations and surely not on the basis of prejudices and petrified perspectives that belong to the past andwill not serve in your quest to manage and overcome the challenges of the future. Please demand that, when theBBL is put to a vote in Congress, it will be the future of the children – Christian, Muslim, and lumad; equally for thechild in Mamasapano as the child in Manila – that will take center stage and not the 2016 electoral prospects ofpoliticians.Today we are called to stand beside, not against, our Muslim brothers and sisters in their quest for justice andselfhood within a house united, not divided. The most vociferous voices call for a stop to the BBL hearings, call for arevamp of the peace infrastructure in midstream. Perhaps the most charitable thing to say is that they do not knowwhereof they speak.Let the blood shed at Mamasapano clear, and not blind, our vision in the quest for truth and justice. Let the sturm unddrang of these days be as a refiner’s fire to purify words of their dross.And may the peacemakers be blessed.March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN5

Women at the Forefront:Championing peaceagainst all oddsBy POLLY CUNANANIT WAS ANOTHER HEATED DEBATE.In the hallowed halls of the Senate, a lawmaker who had immediately withdrawn his sponsorship of a proposedlaw that could resolve the 40-year armed conflict in Mindanao took to the plenary floor.In front of reporters and TV cameras, he asked the Presidential peace adviser, Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles,in his typical bluster:“What side are you representing sa peace panel? Kayo ni Chair Ferrer, and ni Gen. Galvez? Are yourepresenting the Government of the Republic of the Philippines or are you representing the MILF?”In a mixture of frustration and conviction, Secretary Deles, replied:“Of course, your Honor, I am representing the Republic of the Philippines on every occasion... yourHonor.”Another war?More than a month after the tragic incident inMamasapano, Maguindanao, which claimed 67 lives, itseems that another war has ensued. This one, a war ofwords, a decimation of reputations, and the Bangsamoropeace process is the latest casualty.With politicos grandstanding in both chambers of Congress;media spouting sensationalized “news”; and uninformednetizens calling for all-out war from the comforts of theirhomes, noises and cries for blood abound in the publicsphere.In the midst of all these are four women – two Christiansand two Muslims – who, going against popular opinion,have appealed for sobriety and reason. In the process, theyhave been cursed and vilified, but they persist – all in thename of ending an internecine war and finally bringingpeace to Mindanao.Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita“Ging” Deles, Government of the Philippines chiefnegotiator Miriam “Iye” Coronel-Ferrer, and Muslimlawmakers, Maguindanao first district and Cotabato CityRepresentative Bai Sandra Sema, and Anak Mindanao partylist Representative Sitti Djalia Turabin Hataman standtall among the few men and women who have openlysupported the call for the passage of the Bangsamoro BasicLaw that is designed to bring peace and development toMuslim Mindanao, the poorest region in the country.Secretary Deles and Chairperson Ferrer seem to possessnerves of steel while Bai Sandra Sema and Sitti DjaliaHataman have shown hearts of gold as they face great oddsin their fight for peace in Bangsamoro, in Mindanao, andthe entire country.“It’s okay. You don’t need to think of how to defend me,”the soft-spoken Ferrer tells her staff. “It is all part of thejob.”6 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

Deles, Ferrer, Sema and Hataman: Standing up for the peace process“It has always been my job to give hope where there isnone,” Deles says. “When I was in Maguindanao recently,a stranger just came up to me and told me that sheappreciates what I am doing. It is really for them that I dowhat I do.”Women championing peaceOne marvels at the quiet dignity, grace, and stamina Delesand Ferrer have shown in the hearings conducted by bothchambers of Congress, and the media frenzy as they gothrough interview after interview in an effort to get peopleto understand the high stakes in the government’s peaceprocess with the Bangsamoro.One wonders if other people, men for example, were intheir position, would they exhibit the same level of passionand commitment that these women have shown? Orperhaps the better question is, if they were men, wouldthey have received the same kind of bullying these womenhave been unfairly treated to?“Definitely in judging, maligning, demonizing the peaceprocess… We have to admit there is a gender bias there. Ido not think we would have had that kind of viciousnessif it were men in our place,” the peace adviser laments.“Women are always tested harder than men but, I hope, wehave passed so far.”Indeed, if they could successfully end more than 17 years ofpainstaking negotiations with an armed group, definitelythese women peace champions can steer the peace processto rise above its present quagmire.Ferrer, in fact, foretold this in an early statement when shesaid, “We know there will be typhoons or flooding along theway. But if we don’t give up, and we stay together, maaabotdin natin ang inaasam na kapayapaan (we will definitely reachthe peace we have long desired),” she said.The peace imperatives nowThe Mamasapano tragedy is considered a major test for thepeace process. But what does it take to move it forward atthis juncture?Both Deles and Ferrer agree that exacting truth, justice andaccountability for those who have fallen in Mamasapanoare important, and it must be for the sake of all partiesinvolved in the incident. But the quest for elusive peacemust continue.“Let the blood shed at Mamasapano clear, and not blind,our vision in the quest for truth and justice,” SecretaryDeles said at a recent forum. “Let the sturm und drang ofthese days be as a refiner’s fire to purify words of theirdross.”She appealed: “We must make sense of Mamasapano bylearning the lessons of history; and by keeping our earsclose to the ground. War’s alarms ring in the halls ofCongress and in social media but not in the blood-drenchedfields of Maguindanao where people, and children most ofall, pay the price of the conflict.”Chair Ferrer notes that the only way forward is “to showthat this path to peace is viable and that it can accomplishthings that war has not accomplished… That is why wehave not wavered in our determination to see throughthe peace process because the other alternative is simplyunthinkable. That alternative will bring chaos.”She reminded the Filipino people of the aspirations that areat the core of the Bangsamoro peace process: “Stop the warMarch 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN7

in Mindanao, realize meaningful autonomy in the regionand deliver social justice through political and economicreforms.”“If we don’t lose sight of these basics, we will find a goodway to ensure the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law andbring to life new institutions and not be stomped along theway.”Deles also took note of the great opportunity that thecurrent conversations on the peace process afford. “Ourlegislators are now very much engaged in the discussionson the law. I hope and pray that this will strengthen andresult in to an even better Bangsamoro Law.”Sisterhood in peaceBai Sandra Sema is the wife of Moro National LiberationFront leader Muslimin Sema. She has been very vocalabout her experience of being caught in the cross fire ofconflict since her childhood in Mindanao. Since then, shehas actively worked for peace so that her children andgrandchildren will never have to suffer through what sheherself has gone through.“It is easy to call for war,” she said at a hearing on theMamasapano incident of the House of Representatives’Committee on Public Order. “We are here to know thetruth, so that what happened will not be repeated; so thatfinally peace can be attained; so that the lives of military,police, MILF, and others will be spared, but most especially,the lives of our people.”For her part, Sittie Djalia has called for openness andacceptance of Muslims and the Bangsamoro people by thelarger Filipino populace.In a television interview, Sittie Djalia shared a conversationwith her son where the latter said, “Ina (Mother), I don’tthink that most of the Filipinos do not like us. I think it’sjust that they do not know us.”The Muslim lawmaker noted that “education, knowledge,and pagpapakilala (getting to know one another)” are veryimportant for the larger Filipino populace to understandthe context of the Bangsamoro struggle.Sittie Djalia has been a peace advocate for 18 years prior tobeing a party list representative. She related a conversationshe had with a young woman-leader from Al-Barka, Basilan,the site of a bloody encounter in October 2011 betweenthe military and MILF forces, and the last recorded violentclash between the parties. Since then, the ceasefire has heldfor more than three years until the unfortunate incident inMamasapano.“The first time I met her, I asked her, what do you want?Ang sabi lang ho niya, saan ho kami makakakuha ng ID or ngcertificate o kahit na anong sulat na magsasabing mabubutingtao kami (She just said, where do you think we can get an IDor certificate or any kind of document at all that attests tothe fact that we are also good people)?”“I believe in the inherent goodness of every person. That’swhy, we are not giving up,” Sittie Djalia said. “Makiusaptayo, magpaliwanag tayo, baka sakaling marinig, mabuksanang isipan, mabuksan ang puso, magkakaroon ng pagkakataonpara sa kapayapaan (Let us appeal and explain [to theFilipino people], perhaps they will listen, they will haveopen minds, open hearts for us to finally have a chance forpeace).”Nudges and moving forwardTaking stock of current realities, the women peacechampions know how difficult the work is going to be,winning over an angry public, getting them to support thepeace process, and making them see what the other side isall about.For both Secretary Deles and Chair Ferrer, it doesn’tmatter if they continue to be bashed by lawmakersand crucified in the public sphere. No matter what fireand bluster are unleashed in the public sphere andin the venerated halls of Congress, Ferrer holds, “It isvery important that we keep nudging – cautiously andgraciously, ever so sensitive to the cultural milieu of theFilipino social strata.”For Deles, “If speaking this truth labels me as lawyering forMILF, I do not mind. Better that than to shut up because itis not popular, or sexy, to speak up at this time in defense ofpeace. How oddly strange it is to be so viciously assailed forspeaking up for peace.”Undeterred and even more determined, she said, “Thepeace process has been disrupted but not beaten back. Wewill forge ahead. Let us stand for peace and reclaim thebirthright of countless generations of Filipinos yet unborn,of a country united in a just and lasting peace.”8 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

Gender in the Peace ProcessBy SOCORRO L. REYES, PH.D.International Consultant, Social Development and Gender EqualityTHE TWO WOMEN leading the peace process, ProfessorMiriam Coronel-Ferrer, Chair of the government peacepanel and Teresita Quintos Deles, Presidential peaceadviser have demonstrated in the Mamapasano hearingswhy they are the best for the job. With sharpness ofmind, clarity of articulation, calmness of disposition,both provided substantive answers to questions fromlegislators, whether they were speaking to the gallery orgenuinely searching for the truth. They showed masteryof the content and process of the agreements reached, themechanisms established, the rationale and meaning ofevery single BBL provision.Subjected to the harshest of criticisms and baselessaccusations, including lawyering for MILF, both Coronel-Ferrer and Deles exercised maximum restraint and kepttheir composure. At no time were they disrespectful tothose who scolded, castigated or embarrassed them.Yet with all these outstanding qualities of good andeffective negotiators, some legislators and influentialshave called for their resignation. One even called them“peace ladies” who should have convened a group of“retired military advisers” insinuating that as women andnon-military people, they do not know enough of the waysof war and how to negotiate with rebel groups.This perspective reflects a deep gender bias as it assumesthat the peace process only starts when the combatants,mostly men, are brought to the negotiating table in anattempt to end the conflict. In reality, the process startslong before formal negotiations when women and civilsociety initiate steps to end the conflict.A peace and women’s rights activist, Deles has spent mostof her working life with peace organizations such as theCoalition for Peace founded in 1987 and the Gaston Z.Ortigas Peace Institute and has spearheaded numerousprograms to promote peace and solidarity. Coronel-Ferrer, on the other hand, has been involved not onlyin negotiating for an end to the Mindanao conflict but inpeace processes in other countries such as Cambodia, EastTimor and Nepal.Gender stereotyped or socially constructed roles andpower relationships permeate conflict resolution andthe peace process. Women’s presence at peace talks is anecessary but not sufficient condition for the integrationof the women’s agenda in the discussion and negotiation.Fortunately, both Deles and Coronel-Ferrer as well as thewomen in the Bangsamoro Transition Commission havea women’s perspective as shown in the explicit genderequality provisions in the Framework and ComprehensiveAgreements as well as the Basic Law on the Bangsamoro.The support of the men in both panels was extremelyhelpful.A study in 2012 showed that of 31 peace processesbetween 1992 and 2011, women are only 4% ofsignatories, 2.4% of chief mediators, 3.7% of witnesses and9% of negotiators (UNIFEM, 2012). This is in spite of thepassage in 2000 of Security Council Resolution 1325 thaturges increased representation of women at all decisionmakinglevels in national, regional and internationalinstitutions and mechanisms for the prevention,management and resolution of conflict. To assess theprogress in the implementation of SC 1325 by memberstates as well as address obstacles and constraints, ahigh-level review will be done this year, the 15thanniversary of SC 1325. This is one of the provisionsof SC 2122 passed on October 18, 2013, to provide amore systematic approach in the implementation ofcommitments to women, peace and security.The appointment of two competent, experiencedwomen experts in the highest decision-making positionsin the peace process in Mindanao is a majoraccomplishment in the Philippine government’simplementation of SC 1325. What better way tocelebrate Women in History Month than to recognizethe contributions of Ging Deles and Iye Coronel-Ferrerin the crafting of the Framework and ComprehensiveAgreements on the Bangsamoro and the drafting of theBangsamoro Basic Law. Though these are now undersharp scrutiny, the fact remains that these are milestonesin the peace process!!March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN9

Saving the BBLCitizens rally for all-out peaceText by KRIS LANOT LACABAPhotos by JOSER DUMBRIQUE and KRIS LANOT LACABATHE MAMASAPANO INCIDENTwas a national tragedy, the pain andconfusion of which reawakened incertain sectors age-old biases againstcommunities in southern Philippines.The Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL),a proposed measure to establish ajust and lasting peace in war-wearyMuslim Mindanao became an easytarget. Some lawmakers viciouslyattacked the BBL as benefiting abloodthirsty terrorist group that is outto dismember the Philippine republic.And there were those who havedisingenuously declared their desirefor peace while calling for all-out war.Many have seen through the smokeand mirrors and decided it is time tospeak up for genuine peace for thepeople of Mindanao. They are on radioand television, and speak in forumsto explain the BBL and counter thehalf-truths being peddled to the publicby the media and the legislature. Andthey are out in the streets and parks,to march, to rally, to plead, to pray forthe continuation of the peace process,the preservation of the ceasefiremechanisms, and the passage of theBBL.They are civil society members,women’s groups, nuns, priests, police,students, academics, legal experts, andordinary concerned Filipino citizens –Christians and Muslims alike – who seethat the promise of peace in MuslimMindanao, once so close one couldalmost touch it, must urgently befulfilled through the BBL.One of the first demonstrationswas a march to Mendiola by morethan a hundred members of womenand youth groups and civil societyorganizations. And on March 6, whichwas declared by peace advocates asa “National Day Towards Healing forUnity and Peace”, interfaith prayerrallies, marches, musical concerts,peace vigils were held in Baguio, MetroManila, Bacolod, and Dumaguete.Peace advocates also gathered invarious places in Mindanao, includingTawi-Tawi, Davao, and Mamasapano,to rally and pray for peace.The groups called on the public tounderstand that all-out war will onlymean a continuation of the viciouscycle of hatred and violence. Thepassage of the draft law, they said,will help break that and establish avirtuous cycle of peace, security, andsocio-economic development forpeople badly in need of it.As the peace advocates declare, “Warsolves nothing. Let us pursue theMindanao peace process.”10 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

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Women forge on, echoing the calls for peaceA women’s group urges us to look at the Mamasapano incident from a different angle.By ANA NATIVIDADWE Act 1325THE MAMASAPANO INCIDENT, which has dominatedbroadsheets for weeks now, serves as a loomingreminder of how delicate the road to peace really is. Itshows how one incident can create a giant speed bumpto an otherwise steadily moving process that had allintentions of charging ahead. In the midst of the shockand outpouring of emotion, social media has developedinto another battleground where cries for all-out warhave joined the mourning voices, those seeking answersand the truth, and those calling for justice. The streamsof information released have also contributed to thegrowing negative sentiments felt all around. Despite thesechallenges, peace advocates have not wavered. On thecontrary, they are as motivated as ever to push for peace,to provide a less-heard but equally important perspectivethat takes a look at the bigger picture. Among them are thewomen of WE Act 1325.The Women Engaged in Action on 1325 (WE Act 1325)recognize the pressing need to insert positive voices,voices of peace, into this mix. Following January 25,various efforts have been mobilized to remind the generalpublic that turning our backs on the peace process atthis critical juncture would be detrimental to everyoneinvolved. These efforts highlight the need to look beyondthe incident. There is a need to look at the context,the history, and, most importantly, the community—the ordinary citizens affected by what happened inMamasapano. They urge the public to look beyond thedeaths of the 44, acknowledging that 67 Filipinos lost theirlives that day, and many more may suffer the same fate ifwe do not continue with the peace process in Mindanao.The gains achieved by the laborious process that hasspanned decades will be negated, says their statement, ifwe allow the peace process to be taken hostage as a resultof the incident in Mamasapano.The network has been heightening its advocacy byjoining other peace networks, such as the Friends ofthe Bangsamoro, in public actions, such as the one heldon Mendiola bridge, and press conferences calling forpeace and truth in these trying times. The network hasalso launched newspaper ads, asking such questions as,“As stories of Mamasapano are told, can’t we rise aboveour prejudices long enough to mourn them all?” Thishighlights the fact that many people beyond the SpecialAction Force members were affected, and that thisincident should not be the cause for us to renege on ourcommitment to peace and revert to our prejudiced lensesof viewing the Bangsamoro.A notable and very important initiative that the networkhas participated in is the Women’s Solidarity and ListeningMission, wherein civil society representatives visitedthe women of Mamasapano to hear the stories that havebeen missed by the mainstream media. In the shadows ofthe headlines are women’s voices sharing their personaltragedies, and hopes for true and lasting peace fortheir families and communities. WE Act 1325 SteeringCommittee member, Carmen Lauzon-Gatmaytan’s articlein Mindanews, opens a window into other wounds leftin the wake of Mamasapano, and how these mothers,wives and grandmothers continue to forge on, despiteeverything they have lost.The women of WE Act 1325 are determined not to let thisincident turn into a glaring stop sign, but simply a speedbump, on the longer journey to a just and lasting peace forthe Bangsamoro and for the entire nation.March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN13

Zenonida Brosas and Cecilia JimenezDeepening the PeaceZenonida Brosas, Co-chair, Joint Normalization CommitteeMaking a difference in a man’s worldBy JENNIFER SANTOS“I WOULD BE DANCING,” ZenBrosas says gaily, when asked whatshe would be doing if she was notinvolved in the security sectorand the peace process betweenthe Government and the MoroIslamic Liberation Front (MILF).Zen is currently co-chair of theJoint Normalization Committee(JNC) tasked to implement thedifferent phases of the Annex onNormalization. She adds that shemight also be farming or gardening:“I want to raise flowers.”But life had a different path laid outfor Zenonida “Zen” Brosas.Zen has a bachelor’s degree inAgricultural Economics from UP LosBaños and a Masters’ and PhD inUrban and Regional Planning from UPDiliman.After college, not knowing what shewanted to do, she took on differentresearch assistantships in UP doingfeasibility studies for the Bureau ofImmigration, the Development Bankof the Philippines, and other groupsor offices through friends’ referrals.She also did a project proposal for theDepartment of Agriculture on RuralDevelopment and other integratedarea development projects. Whatmotivated her to do all these, as wellas her current jobs, is the desireinculcated in her by her parents,to make a difference. They said,“Your goal in life should be to makea difference in someone’s life, be itanywhere or everywhere.”From freelance work, Zen took on afull-time job at the National SecurityCouncil (NSC). “A friend of Dr. AllanOrtiz asked a friend of mine if heknew someone who could do a job atNSC,” Zen recalls. At the time, she wassupposed to embark on a six-monthUNDP water impounding project inMalaysia. However, her mother hada stroke and Zen had to weigh heroptions carefully.A career in national securityIt was the start of an interesting20-year (and still counting) career innational security, where, by tradition,men have ruled for decades.The National Security Council (NSC)is the principal advisory body for theproper coordination and integrationof plans and policies affecting nationalsecurity. It was created throughExecutive Order 330 of 1950, underthe Quirino Administration.Zen started working at the NSC asdirector of the Socio-Economic Unitof the Policy Study Branch, a post sheheld from 1990 to 1998. “I came in asa director for six months. And thenthey recommended me to becomethe assistant director general.” Shewas also the assistant director forthe Information Management Officetasked to make project proposals onissues affecting national security witha focus on socio-economic factors.At NSC, she saw the connection of leftrecruitment and the socio-economicconditions of a person. “If you lose14 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

your job, will the left recruit you?That’s the bottom line. I couldn’tsee that before. I couldn’t figureout the left’s basis for recruitment.”She learned how displacement,unemployment and poverty arefactors leading to the vulnerability of aperson to be recruited by the left.As part of her job, Zen worked withOPAPP on the GPH–MNLF PeaceAgreement as her first assignment.At that time, although there werewomen in the staff, she was the onlywoman officer of NSC. She studiedthe agenda of the GPH–MNLF PeaceAgreement since they were workingon the Organic Act (Republic Act6734) which called for the creation ofthe Autonomous Region in MuslimMindanao.In 1998, Zen was appointed assistantdirector general for Administrationand Legislative Liaison and PolicyResearch Support. She held the postuntil 2010 when she was promoted toDeputy DG.In 2010, Zen was appointedundersecretary of the NSC andexecutive director of the PresidentialSituation Room (PSR). Createdthrough Administrative Ordernumber 2, the PSR is where thePresident handles situations of criticalimportance to national security. Itprovides the President informationin real time and a space for dealingwith security situations. Zen makes ita point to review the PSR report everyday which she needs to finish by eighto’clock every evening.Zen was not involved in actualnegotiations during the GPH–MILFPeace Process. “My involvementwas giving opinions, comments withrespect to the things that OPAPPwould send us.” But in the end, shewas appointed chair of the GPHTechnical Working Group (TWG) onNormalization.“When I arrived in KL for the firstmeeting, the MILF team was shocked.They never saw me during the timewhen Dean Marvic Leonen was GPHpanel chair.” But she felt she hadthe upper hand when handling themeetings because she already knewsome of the people involved in thenegotiations.“Iqbal has been known to me eversince we negotiated the CeasefireAgreement in 1996. We drafted thatmechanism.” Zen was anxious at firstbecause this was the first time thatshe had come face-to-face with anMILF commander, her counterpart,Muhammad Nassif. To overcomeher anxiety and to learn moreabout the process, she befriendedher counterpart on the other sideof the table. “So, that started theintroductions and during coffee time,I told my partner, usap tayo (let’s talk).”The Comprehensive Agreement onthe Bangsamoro and its Annexes,including that of the Normalization,was signed in March 2014. Zen iscurrently the co-chair of the JointNormalization Committee (JNC) taskedto implement the different phases ofthe Annex on Normalization, makingsure that the police structure basedon the Annex is set up, and theirrole on the decommissioning. “TheJNC, together with the InternationalDecommissioning Body (IDB),determines how to secure thecombatants who will turn over theirfirearms at and come up with a socioeconomicpackage for them.” JNCmakes the policy and the Joint Peaceand Security Committee through theJoint Peace and Security Team whowill implement it.”What excites Zen about herwork in normalization is thedecommissioning. “It will be a big,big accomplishment and it will showthe world that after all, these peopleare reasonable. When someone saysthat the MILF is not to be trusted, myresponse is, just wait, everyone makesmistakes. The most exciting part isthe fulfilment of the objective of thedecommissioning which is to get theMILF to turn over their firearms andgive the rebels a civilian life. THAT ismaking a difference.”The challenge of peaceWith all the challenges the peaceprocess is facing, Zen is optimisticthat peace can be attained and thepeace process will work. “I thinkwith the help and prayers ofeveryone, it will. We’ve gone a longway, decisions of individuals andpolicy makers would have to bepragmatic. We have to be pragmatic;we have to think of long-termsolutions, and not just for thisadministration. We’ve been throughconflict a lot and the solutions ofbefore didn’t really work. So thisis making a difference in decisionmaking,I am hopeful that this willwork, if we all cooperate.”Zen adds, “Peace is something youwork for. Peace cannot be done by anindividual; it is a partnership. But youhave to have inner peace before youcan make peace with everyone.”Zen Brosas might not be dancing, orrunning a farm or planting a garden,but by the work she is doing, she israising more than crops or flowers.She has raised a consciousness ofthe work for peace, and how in thetraditionally male domain of nationalsecurity, a woman can and has, madea big difference.March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN15

Cecilia Jimenez, GPH Representative, Transitional Justice and Reconciliation CommissionThe return of the nativeBy JURGETTE HONCULADADESPITE THE ROCKY PATH,toward the passage of the BangsamoroBasic Law (BBL), the government ofthe Philippine Republic (GPH) andMoro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)are ready, willing and able to pursuematters of justice and reconciliation.Eminently qualified by professionaltraining, work experience, andpersonal inclination is lawyerCecilia “Cej” Jimenez-Damary, whorepresents the Philippine governmentin the Transitional Justice andReconciliation Commission (TJRC).Formed in September 2014, the TJRC ispart of the annex on normalization inthe Comprehensive Agreement on theBangsamoro. The TJRC is chaired byMô Bleeker, Swiss special ambassadoron transitional justice. Thecommission’s MILF representative islawyer Ishak Mastura.Jimenez earned a foreign servicedegree from the University of thePhilippines but was later drawn to lawstudies for several reasons. First wasthe influence of a grandfather judgewho “used law to better the lives ofothers”. As a high school studentat Stella Maris College, ran by theFranciscan Missionaries of Mary, shewas struck by the nuns’ reports ontheir missions to Mindanao “tendingto the needs of marginalized peopleincluding Muslims…bearing witness tothe atrocities committed there.” Thiswas, after all, martial law, and thenuns’ periodic reports sharpened her“sense of justice”.Finally, as undergraduate at theUniversity of the Philippines, shewas exposed to protest action, visitedpicket lines, and spoke with torturevictims in detention. As PhilippineCollegian news editor, she becamefriends with news reporter, now GPH-MILF panel chair, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, with whom she would sharean abiding passion for human rightsadvocacy.Human rights workJimenez completed a law degree atAteneo de Manila in 1988, passedthe bar in 1990 and worked with thePhilippine Alliance of Human RightsAdvocates (PAHRA) as deputy generalsecretary for international affairs andfor legal matters until 1993.People Power propelled Cory Aquinoto the presidency in the mid-80s butwhen government peace talks withthe CPP/NPA/NDF collapsed, themilitary adopted a “total war” policy.One consequence was intensivemilitary operations in targeted orsuspected rebel areas that causedmassive dislocation of populations.Jimenez recalls continuing “arbitraryarrests” and “warrantless arrests”that took her all over the islandsdoing legal work to protect victims ofhuman rights violations.Spanning 450,000 hectares innorthern Luzon, Marag Valleyhad been tagged as a hotbed ofrebellion from the 1970s throughthe 1990s. Marag Valley was subjectto military campaigns that droveentire communities from their homesand rice fields. Many sought refugein the deep forest. One area waslisted as having 200 casualties butthe combined tally for the dead andmissing is believed to be closer to 500.Representing PAHRA, in tandemwith the Ecumenical Movement forJustice and Peace (EMJP), Jimenez ledthree fact-finding missions to MaragValley in the ‘90s, her first exposureto the issue of internally displacedpersons or IDPs (then called internalrefugees). What she learned and theadvocacy work emanating from thisexperience would serve her later inthe international human rights arena.Jimenez was spokesperson for Asia-Pacific NGOs at the 1993 Conferenceon Human Rights in Vienna. Soonafter, she took a year off in Londonto pursue a masters of law degreein public international law, as aChevening scholar. After marriage in1995 to a Swiss agronomist active inPhilippine solidarity work she movedto Bulgaria, but Jimenez continuedher work as member of the AmnestyInternational (AI) Mandate Committeetasked to study “borderline cases”.One question posed to her was16 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

whether female genital mutilation(FGM) fell within the scope of AI’swork. Her study recommendedinclusion of FGM, which she says was“revolutionary” at that time. In abouta year, FGM officially became part ofAI’s mandate.Returning to Geneva, Jimenez washired as NGO lobbyist for a draftoptional protocol, an addendumto the United Nations Conventionagainst Torture. It was hard work thattook all of five years. She broughtto bear on this task everything shehad learned in the Philippines andelsewhere about human rights,torture and preventive mechanisms.When she was certain that theprotocol would pass the UN GeneralAssembly, she knew her work wasdone and was ready to move on.Legal consultancies in the next sixyears engaged her, among others,in the formation of the UN HumanRights Council (in lieu of the UNCommission on Human Rights,which suffered credibility problems)and also in pro bono work such assecuring the right to vote for Filipinooverseas workers. In 2008, Jimenezwas hired as senior legal officerand senior trainer by the InternalDisplacement Monitoring Center(IDMC) of the Norwegian RefugeeCouncil, a worldwide humanitarianNGO.Full circleHer task? To give advice and trainingto governments and human rightsorganizations on the United NationsGuiding Principles on InternalDisplacement (UNGPID). Jimenezis grateful for her five years withIDMC where she honed her skillsand knowledge in the human rightsbasedapproach to humanitarianassistance and disaster management.This also afforded her the chanceto take specialist courses such asInternational Disaster Law and inInternational Humanitarian Law, acourse on the Islamic laws of war.With IDMC she has gone “full circle”,Jimenez says, Marag Valley in theearly ‘90s introducing her to the issueof internal displacement. The fullcircle also makes a fitting preface toher work with the TJRC.The TJRC is mandated to prepareand submit a report on how to tacklematters of transitional justice andreconciliation, specifically policyrecommendations. The report willbe submitted to the GPH and MILFnegotiating panels with focus onimplementation.To attain its mandate, the TJRC haslaunched a process of consultations,mandated studies, and is undertakingassessments on transitional justiceand reconciliation in the Bangsamoro.Over 200 consultations will be heldin the Bangsamoro from Februaryto April 2015. Jimenez calls it a“listening process”. The report,she says, should be “politicallyfeasible and acceptable, based onthe Bangsamoro history, reality andvision for justice”.The report will delve on the issuesof legitimate grievances of theBangsamoro, historical injustice,human rights violations, andmarginalization through landdispossession. Jimenez stresses thatthe report will not be only for theBangsamoro and Mindanao, but alsofor the nation. Our tribal identities(Ilokano, Ilonggo, etc.) remain strong,she says. “Diversity is good, but wemust learn to live together as a nationwhile retaining our identities”.Jimenez holds that it is “necessary tohave multiple narratives…at the endof the day some narratives will be incontention with each other”. It hashelped, she says, that as a Filipina shehad lived for 17 years in Switzerland.The country, with its French-,German- and Italian-speakingpopulations, is a model of differentpeoples living together in diversity.Jimenez says we as a country still needto work toward such acknowledgmentof diversity, sharing the same politicaland economic space.Citizenship, Jimenez underscores,is “a matter of identity, loyalty andcommitment as to one’s constructivecontribution to society”. In nearlytwo decades of working and livingin Europe, she earned her legal,academic and NGO spurs and raiseda family. Through it all, her Filipinocitizenship remained her true north.Upon her return to the Philippines,Commission on Human RightsChairperson Loretta Rosales neededa consultant to manage a project onIDPs supported by the United NationsHigh Commissioner on Refugees(UNCHR). In early 2013, Jimenezanswered the call and resigned fromher international post, relocating toDavao City with her family.Davao is a deliberate choice becauseit allows her to “see issues from thepoint of view of Mindanao”. And theTJRC assignment, she says, providesthe opportunity “to immerse myselfin learning and understanding thecontext of Bangsamoro historically,politically, and culturally”.Having done work in eastern andcentral Europe, Africa and the MiddleEast, this native has returned to treadthe rocky road to peace in Mindanao—and is warming to the challenge.March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN17

“I am for peace, the peace that God grants to people of goodwill. I am for the peace that Godgives through the collaborative work of men and women who work conscientiously for the goodof the whole country. By focusing on the good of a Bangsamoro minority in the “peripheries”who have suffered social injustices for centuries, they are working for the common good of allFilipinos. They are healing historic wounds that have caused great suffering to all Filipinos.ORLANDO CARDINAL QUEVEDO, Archdiocese of CotabatoJustice is served when we give peace.Peace is the ultimate justice we can get.GEN. EMMANUEL BAUTISTARetired AFP Chief of StaffAt a critical juncture in ourhistory, we have a goldenopportunity to preserve ourgains and use them as aplatform to put the country onan irreversible path towardsinclusive development andpolitical maturity. We cannotafford to squander 56 monthsof institutionalizing reforms,weeding out corruption, andsolidifying our economic andsocial foundations.Joint statement ofCAGAYAN DE ORO CHAMBEROF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRYFOUNDATION, INC., EMPLOYERSCONFEDERATION OF THEPHILIPPINES, FINANCIALEXECUTIVES INSTITUTE OFTHE PHILIPPINES, MAKATIBUSINESS CLUB, MANAGEMENTASSOCIATION OF THEPHILIPPINES, MINDANAOBUSINESS COUNCIL,PHILIPPINE BUSINESS FORSOCIAL PROGRESSWe don’t want to repeat history. Going back to war with theMILF is quite absurd. It’s illogical. It’s unlawful, maybe… Hereare people asking for peace and then all of a sudden you tellthem, ‘No, let’s just go to war to finish all these things.’… It’seasy to call for war… If they want war, they should be the firstones to volunteer to be in the front lines. Maybe they’ll knowwhat kind of war they’re talking about.GEN. GREGORIO PIO CATAPANG JR.Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the PhilippinesIt is going to be a very difficult one but wecannot abandon the search for peace. Wecannot drop the Bangsamoro Basic Law. I amscared of the possibility of the collapse of thepeace process… I am scared of war.REP. RODOLFO BIAZONRetired General and former AFP Chief of StaffLet me declare at the outset that I support the creation of a Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.Its establishment is certainly allowed by the 1987 Constitution… Indeed, in many ways, thePhilippines as a whole will benefit from the experience of the Bangsamoro.TONY LA VIÑA, Dean, Ateneo School of Government18 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

[The BBL] is not a cure-all to all the problems in Mindanao but itwill create the conditions, the prospects of peace and prosperity ifwe have a representative and inclusive BBL.SEN. SONNY ANGARAAny responsible government that aspires to somelegitimacy would do everything to exhaust allpossibilities of strengthening that fragile peacethrough mutual agreement before it threatens waragainst its enemies. But, how thoughtlessly we talkabout war! We who were lucky to be born in the postwarera have only an abstract idea of what war means.Unless we have lived in Mindanao, we really do nothave any appreciation of the value of peace, or of whatit means to be able to raise a family and pursue a lifewithout being hounded by continual fear.RANDY DAVIDDecades of war and neglect havemade this part of the country theworst in almost all available indices.And for them to catch up, the BBLwill be providing the Bangsamoroa means for infrastructuredevelopment and socio-economicprograms coupled with soundpolitical mechanisms and securityarrangements.SEC. YASMIN BUSRAN-LAONational Commission for Muslim FilipinosTheir [Deles, Coronel-Ferrer, and Iqbal’s] diligent efforts, with countless othersalong the path of peace, have moved the nation closer to realizing the aspirations ofour Bangsamoro brothers and sisters for meaningful self-determination to live theirreligious convictions and shared culture in peace and prosperity.FR. ROBERTO C. YAP, President of Xavier UniversityWe believe that the true path to nationalunity lies not in retribution and vengeance,rather in the greater understanding thatwe are raising a future generation that willgrow up in an environment of peace andinclusive development. We urge our leadersespecially in government – from across allbranches – to continue to strengthen thepeace process.March 2015PROFESSORS FOR PEACEThink that the peace process was aboutbringing about a situation where evenideological difference might be overcomein peace and prosperity, or at least solvedcivilly. Think that with the peace processbeing wantonly scuttled, the legislators aredelivering us back to this madness. Thelegislators. Because the ball is now in theirhands. If they fumble, the game is lost.FR. JOEL TABORA, S.J.“KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN19

THE ROAD OUT OF MAMASAPANOIn Maguindanao,gender empowermentis key to peaceMap courtesy of RapplerBy JURGETTE HONCULADAMAGUINDANAO HAS SEARED ITSELF into the national consciousnesswith images and accounts of two bloodbaths within barely half a decade of each other:the numbing carnage committed by a political dynasty in Shariff Aguak in 2009; and the more recentwrenching deaths of scores of police commandos and Muslim combatants and civilians in Mamapasano.How to delink Maguindanao from images of death and despair--a bridge too far, too frail, a lonely cornfield? How todisabuse ourselves of the crippling stereotypes that Maguindanao evokes: of unbridled corruption and political dynastybuilding in the extreme; of the rule of the gun rendering the rule of law irrelevant, worse, inutile; of the vast majorityconsigned to penury and squalor by inordinate greed of the few; of a poverty of spirit that will not risk dissent and action;of a culture of violence that mocks childhood and barters away the future?But the narrative is not unique to Maguindanao for it resonates in other parts of the country. Indeed, there is ambiguity,fragility, terror in the narrative – but they cannot cloak a dynamism, a greater complexity, a resilience, a vibrancy thatdares say: war and death are not the last words in this narrative.As a Mindanaoan, I have lived with the pain and grief from decades of the so-called Muslim-Christian conflict. As non-Maguindanaoan, I ask myself what can stop the juggernaut of corruption-greed-poverty-violence that has deprived manyMaguindanaoans of a decent life? And how to make sense of the violence at Mamasapano that defies easy answers andanalyses? How not to respond to calls for justice with a peace process that is not left twisting in the wind, if not dead in thewater?In the days preceding Mamasapano, I visited Maguindanao in pursuit of a story that, in fact, targeted the juggernautquestion (albeit indirectly). After several days of interviews I took off from Cotabato airport mid-morning of January 25,not knowing that life and death hung in the balance for 67 persons (including an eight-year-old girl) not far from where Ihad traveled through days earlier.Let me leave Mamasapano for now and share the story that was my reportorial task: the first local implementation of theNational Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP-WPS) in Maguindanao. In the end that narrative will take us fullcircle, in a fashion, back to Mamasapano.The NAP covers nearly all the bases. It is based on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 which seeks theprotection of women, and promotion of their rights, in armed conflict and post-conflict situations. NAP’s goals arefourfold: protection and prevention, empowerment and participation, promotion and mainstreaming, and monitoring andevaluation (see Kababaihan at Kapayapaan, September 2014).But the story of NAP localization in Maguindanao goes back earlier to the 1990s when national government agencies (andlater, local government units [LGUs]) were mandated in the yearly General Appropriations Act starting in 1995 to set aside20 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

at least 5% of their budgets for genderand development, that is, the GADFund. (In 1992, RA 7192 - Women inNation Building - mandated that partof overseas development funds beallocated for gender and developmentprograms.) For various reasons, theGAD Fund has often remained unused,or as often misused, even abused.GAD fund as the key to NAPNot anymore, at least in some partsof Maguindanao. NAP localizationhas provided the key to unlock thelocal GAD funds in the province.With characteristic prescience, NAPnational steering committee co-chairand peace adviser Teresita QuintosDeles saw a perfect fit in NAP and theGAD Fund, especially in areas thathave experienced armed conflict.In mid-2012 the Regional Councilof Bangsamoro Women, regionalcounterpart to the Philippine Councilof Women (PCW), held an orientationsession on the NAP for LGUs in theAutonomous Region in MuslimMindanao that includes Maguindanaoamong five provinces. Althoughlivelihood, education and humantrafficking (of women and younggirls) were acknowledged as priorityissues for the province, traffickingwas chosen because it was the leastaddressed. In a two-year period (2010-12), 186 cases of trafficking, mostlyof young girls, had been reported inARMM.with content not suited to women,e.g. study tours which were “notissue-based”. NAP has been integratedinto the 15-year provincial strategicplan to ensure continuity even withleadership change.Triple whammyMaguindanao (“land of the floodedplains”) is agriculture-based withnearly a million in population,over half of whom are childrenand youth (median age is 17.6).Over 500 barangays constitute 36municipalities, 22 of which haveexperienced trafficking in persons.Nearly half of the population is female;and nearly half (45%) of the total livesbelow the poverty line. Maguindanaohas consistently ranked second orthird poorest province in the countryin the past decade. (NSCB, 2010).A triple whammy explains the riseof trafficking in Maguindanao (andits neighbors) – nearly a decadeof conflict (2000-08) between themilitary and the MILF displacednearly a quarter of the population(235,000+), fueled in-between warsby rido (feudal conflict), and wasaggravated by flooding (in 2006 and2009) reaching its peak in 2011 whichdisplaced 462,000 individuals in 27municipalities.School participation rates in theprovince dropped by 30% withinternally displaced persons (IDPs)reaching hundreds of thousands. Therepeated cycles of conflict, feudal warsand flooding plunged families intodeeper poverty. Entire communitieslost their homes, land andlivelihood. Early marriages are also aconsequence of armed conflict and ofprolonged stay in refugee camps andresettlement centers.Provincial administrator AbdulwahabTunga poignantly describes the livesof IDPs: “Pag nasa evacuation centerdi na bumalik dahil takot. Lumaki saresettlement area, kubo-kubo, perowalang livelihood. Magsasaka biglangnadala sa resettlement area na walangsakahan, biglang naging vendor, walangpuhunan, walang kaalaman sa pagtitinda.Kaya ‘Tulong ka na anak, mag-exitabroad,’ akala heaven (Fear keeps IDPsfrom returning home. Children growup in huts in the evacuation area,sans livelihood. Farmers are expectedto become vendors without capital,without vending skills. So they pleadwith their daughters to become OCWsand help the family. They think workabroad is heaven).”Hence the lure of work abroad, foryoung girls, with monthly salariesranging from P12,000 to P18,000 (inGender Focal Point Officer PolAmpatuan enthuses, “Since NAPstarted in 2012, GAD programs haveincreased particularly in livelihoodand women’s empowerment. NAPprovided direction, established theGAD focal point system for effectivemechanisms in fund handling andutilization.” He adds that in the past,most of the GAD planning was leftto the planning officer who came upNulfarid (Pol) S. Ampatuan, Gender Focal Point Officer (left) and EngineerAbdulwahab V. Tunga, Provincial Administrator (right)March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN21

Profiles of victims and survivorsMajority are aged 17. The oldest is 32 and the youngest 14. All are female, saveone. Most come from conflict areas or host communities (areas which hostinternally displaced persons). Most have reached elementary school level, afew are unschooled. Most parents are farmers with low level of schooling, ornone at all. Some recruiters are victims’ relatives. Birth certificates are fakedor simulated. Through the “baklas” system (Pilipino for “pull out”), underagegirls assume the papers and identities of other older women. Interceptedvictims often do not, given their true family backgrounds. [From MaguindanaoProvince NAP 2013-2016]Social welfare officer Barbara T. Guialel recounts that prolonged armedconflict and the inadequacy of government and humanitarian aid to addressbasic needs of the poor push young girls to overseas work, with an offer theycan hardly refuse: cash for the family, free travel and accommodations whileprocessing papers, and free processing. With no gainful work or meaningfulactivity, they are an easy prey to recruiters, often their own kin who reportedlyget P5,000 per recruit.When processing of papers grew more stringent in Maguindanao withincreased anti-trafficking advocacy, processing shifted to the cities of GeneralSantos, Cotabato, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao where unscrupulousrecruiters and agents still had some leeway. In 2013, 54 women and childrenwere intercepted in Marbel, South Cotabato – three cases of illegally traffickedMaguindanao women and children have been filed in Butuan City, and twobatches have returned.They may be the lucky ones. Guialel cites one Teduray tribe member fromNorth Upi who has filed a case with the regional trial court. Under an assumedidentity, she worked in Syria for seven years starting at age 11 without pay,the employer had her jailed when she fought back, she lost her wits, andwas repatriated in 2011. Another OFW experienced rape, brutality and foodstarvation. Yet another died soon after her return home at age 22, apparentlyfrom poison injected by her employer as punishment for a head woundsustained by a toddler under her care after a fall.Provincial administrator Tunga speaks of a Catch-22 situation for manyvictims. His own cousin sold all her properties to work abroad, sending homeher savings in the course of 20, maybe 30, years. She returned home to nothing,her kin had spent all her earnings. Others take a loan of P20,000 from therecruitment agency for papers processing, paid for with their first few months’salary. But there are other debts to pay, e.g. airfare. After paying off debts whenvisiting home, she must return abroad to continue sending money home. Onand on the cycle goes, she lives out her days as a domestic in a foreign land.The provincial government’s response to the trafficking problem is threefold:prevention and awareness raising through education campaigns andworkshops on anti-trafficking legislation; protection, recovery, rehabilitationand reintegration through coordinated action across LGUs and livelihood skillstraining; and prosecution and law enforcement (illegal recruiters have beenprosecuted and jailed).Saudi Arabia) notwithstanding thestories of abuse and poor workingconditions. Underage recruits manageto qualify through various means:the wonders of hijab (head covering)and make-up, parents’ false witnesson their daughter’s age, and spuriousbirth certificates for a fee (seeSidebar).Four targets of Maguindanao NAPMaguindanao’s provincial NAP planhas four targets, highlighted in thebooklet Province-National Action Planon Women, Peace and Security 2013-16,namely: institutional development--including GAD focal point system andlocal committees on anti-trafficking(LACAT); prevention and advocacy--capability building and intensifiedinformation campaigns; prosecutionand law enforcement; andre-integration, recovery andprosecution.The years 2013-14 were activity-filledperiods that included meetings ofanti-trafficking bodies and strategicplanning, capacity building for policeand boosting the gender focal pointsystem, women’s livelihood skillstraining, orientation on domesticviolence, and focus on children’s rightsthrough film showing, photo exhibitsand poster making. Communitysessions on children’s rights andchild protection have been held in52 barangays. A total of 135 out-ofschoolyouth have undergone life skillstraining sessions.In mid-2014, public hearings on aproposed GAD Code were capped by itsapproval by the provincial board. Thiswas followed by a gender sensitivitytraining workshop, orientationworkshopon GAD planning andbudgeting, and adoption of localordinances on mandatory registrationof births, deaths and marriages.22 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

Genuine birth certificates are asafeguard against spurious traveldocuments that aid and abettrafficking. There is also need fora comprehensive data base systemsince the Inter-Agency Council onAnti-Trafficking national traffickingdatabase does not translate intoprovincial-level statistics. PolAmpatuan says the Child ProtectionWorking Group, a network of civilsociety organizations (CSOs), can helpwith this. A complete registration ofwomen’s groups is being undertakenwith the Department of Interior andLocal Government so they can betargeted for livelihood projects.Role of women and organizedwomen’s groupsThe New Maguindanao Women’sOrganization (NMWO) is a provincialorganization whose membership ofover a thousand is drawn from womenmayors and barangay captains, thewives or “First Ladies” of mayors, andother female LGU officials. NMWOis led by Bai Jennah M. Lumawan,also president of the Associationof Barangay Captains (ABC) inBuluan municipality and sister ofthe governor. The GAD Fund hasnow veered away from “prioritizingmen’s concerns” and offers womenlivelihood skills training.Bainot Kalanganan, organizer, Anak Kawagib (left) and Lubaida L. Manson,President, Paglat Moro Women’s Lead Organization (PMWLO) (right)Lumawan also notes that wheremen ruled the roost as local chiefexecutives in the past, since 2011-12, women have emerged as mayorsand local legislators: one out of fourmunicipal mayors is female. In thepast it was zero. The mayor of Paglatmunicipality and the Association ofBarangay Captains president are bothwomen: Zulaika P. Langkuno andFaijiah Mangelen, respectively.The GAD Fund works only with abibingka (rice cakes) strategy: heatabove and fire below. Maguindanaowomen in government are followingthe above-mentioned kinship-basedorganizing strategy that is probablynot unique to Maguindanao. But otherwomen in government are takingthe route of issue-based organizingas in upland Upi municipality,straddling the GO-NGO nexus withan initial membership of 3,000 nownearly double, coupling gender withgovernance to amazing results (seeSidebar on page 26).The Paglat Moro Women’s LeadOrganization (PMWLO) in Paglatmunicipality with a membership of240 Bangsamoro women is led byLubaida Litigan Manson with herhumor-filled accounts of members’erstwhile abject poverty (see Sidebaron page 22).While the NAP cum GAD Fund seeksto secure lives one girl child, onewoman, one family at a time, its litmustest lies in scope and scale: women’sorganizing and empowerment incommunities. Maguindanao womenare rising to this challenge.Role of NGOs and CSOsPaglat municipality, with eightbarangays and a total population ofover 11,200 (2010 NSCB statistics)may be among the province’s smallermunisipyos but it leads in the GO-NGO/CSO partnership that is essential forNAP-cum-GAD to succeed.Bai Jennah M. Lumawan, ABC President, Buluan (left) and Barbara T.Guialel, SWO 2, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (right)Anak Kawagib (AK) is a federation ofsix youth organizations organizedMarch 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN23

The Paglat Moro Women’sLead Organization (PMWLO)The Paglat Moro Women’s Lead Organization (PMWLO) has 240 members bothMNLF and MILF including some 35 widows with five to eight children. It is ledby Lubaida Litigan Manson, a sanitary inspector with the government’s ruralhealth unit (RHU).PMWLO participated in the drawing up of a women’s situationer for theNAP focusing on four concerns: health, education, economic, and waterand sanitation. PMWLO members live in barangays located around the220,000-hectare Liguasan Marsh that straddles three provinces includingMaguindanao. Many families farm rice and other crops during the dry seasonand fish during the wet season. But heavy rains trigger devastating floods,disrupting normal daily activities such as children’s schooling.Lubaida recalls a time, not too long ago, when many PMWLO members didn’town cooking pots. They had to borrow clothes to attend a wake.But starting 2012 onwards “May palayok na nakasabit, nakakapag-enrol, alagaanng mabuti, may ‘buntis patrol’, health (services) pupunta sa kanila (There is acooking pot hanging in the kitchen, the kids are able to enroll, they are wellcared for, there is a ‘pregnancy patrol’, health services now come to them)”.Lubaida was speaking of the changes initiated when over a hundred PMWLOmembers joined the government’s Pantawid program providing health andeducation subsidies to poor families.PMWLO’s nexus with NAP has also provided skills training and livelihoodopportunities such as water lily weaving and fiber processing courtesy ofthe provincial government and Villar Foundation. Sixty members of RuralImprovement Clubs around the Liguasan Marsh area participated (PMWLOwomen are also RIC members). The marsh abounds in water lily and waterhyacinth that can be processed and woven into mats, baskets, fans andslippers. The British development agency Oxfam donated P1 M to PMWLO forsanitary toilets and capital. Villar Foundation ordered a million woven matsfor Yolanda typhoon victims in Leyte. PMWLO members produced close to 400mats earning them P56,000.Their newfound earning power and capacity to create products functionaland beautiful come with a strong sense of self, and a desire to keep theirhouseholds, including toilets, clean. Some old problems are being addressedbut others remain, for instance, marketing of the women’s woven crafts.For another, when the rogue rebel group BIFF attacks, Paglat becomes anevacuation zone, rice fields are abandoned, interrupting harvest and disruptinglivelihood. As well, there is a need to straighten up regional Pantawidaccounts and address the problem of delayed, reduced or missing remittances.Nevertheless the PMWLO women led by Lubaida hope in a future that willprovide their children with basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, education andhealth care.by Kadtuntaya Foundation, Inc., andsupported by European developmentagencies. Engaged in peace,children’s rights and environmental(particularly of Liguasan Marsh)advocacies, AK is a major partner inNAP. Paglat municipality has allocatedAK a spanking new modest structurefor its use. According to BainotKalanganan, children’s organizer, AKactivities employ creative methodssuch as film showing, photo exhibits,theater skills training and others inits community education sessions andcampaigns.Similarly, Child Alert Internationalhas helped NAP by training municipalsocial welfare officers through 51community sessions in evacuationcenters and host communities in14 barangays, in conjunction withthe Commission on Human Rightsand the Philippine National Police.Rural Improvement Clubs (RICs) haveserved as the basic rural women’sorganization for long decades now,their vital presence felt once morewhen the NAP tapped RICs for skillstraining last year and other activities.Still, the Maguindanao NAP needs toreach out to more CSOs and NGOs forgreater impact and effectiveness.Men as champions and supportstaffGender and development is premisedon more equitable male-femalerelations. If, as they say, charitybegins at home, advocacy of andsupport for NAP-cum-GAD must startwith men in government. With Tungaand Pol Ampatuan are young malepoliticians who prioritize the needsof their constituents, including andespecially, poor women.The tragic circumstances surroundingGov. Esmael (Toto) Mangudadatu’sgubernatorial bid and victory are24 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

assumed primary responsibility forchild care.Radjah Buayan Mayor Zamzamin L. Ampatuan (left) andMaguindanao Gov. Esmael (Toto) G. Mangudadatu (right)known to most: election-relatedviolence that killed scores of people,including his wife.Gov. Mangudadatu’s eight-pointdevelopment agenda begins withrestoration of peace and order. Hebelieves that development cannottake root and flourish without peace.The absence of peace hits hardest themost vulnerable: women, children,elderly. In his third and final termas Buluan mayor, Gov. Mangudadatuundertook the building of marketstalls, 500 altogether, benefitingmostly women, as well as livelihoodtraining, and micro-lending forwomen.The second point is transparent,accountable and participativegovernance. People who trustgovernment will not rebel, but whenthere is armed conflict, womenare forced into the role of (sole)breadwinner. This, says the governor,is where women’s empowermentbegins, followed by leadership,entrepreneurial training and financialliteracy.to Maguindanao and winning asRadjah Buayan mayor in 2013. RadjahBuayan was first to respond to theprovincial call for NAP localization inmunicipalities. Proof of his hands-onapproach to governance is a weeklyreligious leaders’ forum after Fridayprayers to consult with some 40mosque leaders.Affirmation of gender equality comeseasy to Zamzamin who grew up at theknee of a revered grandmother whoheld no formal position in politics buthad the skill and smarts to influencemale leaders and politicians in sixadjoining municipalities. This whileraising a brood of over ten children inan unconventional household whereher husband was provider and alsoZamzamin says that half of RadjahBuayan’s GAD fund will go tolivelihood programs for poor womenwhom he witnessed, as barangaycouncilor, as “having too manyburdens with less resources, lesscapacities … (thus) with no incomeand no leverage in decision making”.Women’s economic empowermenttherefore is a cornerstone of themunicipality’s NAP-GAD program,which will also encompass spiritualvalues and will be mediated throughwhat he considers to be culturallyappropriate.Lumpingan and the women’sand children’s centerA stately three-storey building, thenewly-inaugurated Women andChildren’s Center in Buluan, homebase of Gov. Mangudadatu, was builtwith an P8 million from the nationalgovernment and double that amountas provincial counterpart. Twomore storeys will soon be added tothe structure with the ground floordesignated for offices, and other floorsfor livelihood training for women,housing for trauma victims, a cateringbusiness for self-sustainability; andmore.Another male gender championis Zamzamin Ampatuan, a formerstudent activist and civil engineeringgraduate, who held various nationalgovernment posts before returningJudith H. Anam, Kagawad, Bgy. Blensong, Upi (left) and Amelita A. Piang,founder, UWFIMarch 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN25

The Upi Women’s Federation, Inc. (UWFI)Upi is a first-class municipality in the southwestern uplands of Maguindanao,with a population of nearly 45,500 (2010: National Statistics Office) in 23barangays. Sixty percent of the population belong to the indigenous Teduraytribe, and the remaining 40% are Moro (Maguindanao and Maranao) with a mixof Christian.Upi has scored remarkably in good governance (e.g., stopping a politicaldynasty in its tracks and preserving harmony in a predominantly IP andMuslim population) garnering numerous awards (e.g., Galing Pook) in theprocess. But it is gender and its impact on good governance that shall behighlighted here.The GAD Fund was harnessed for women’s empowerment in Upi municipalityyears before the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security wasformulated. In 2004 the Upi Women’s Federation, Inc. (UWFI) was formed “toempower women,” according to Amelita Arancillo Piang, retired teacher andUWFI founder. She is also wife to incumbent mayor Cesar Piang who firmlysupports women’s equality and empowerment.Women’s organizing started in earnest in 2006 with GAD presidents (also calledGAD focal point officers) chosen at the barangay level to help ensure that the5% GAD Fund is accessed not only at the municipal but also at the barangaylevel. In 2014 Upi had a GAD Fund of P2.61 million. According to Judith Anam,Bgy. Blensong Councilor, the barangay’s 2015 GAD Fund (with 500 GADmembers) stands at P123,726.UWFI activities have included credit and livelihood training, e-learning, andadvocacy on trafficking and violence against women and children (VAWC) aspart of NAP. Livelihood training includes handicrafts, food processing, rubberplanting, upland rice (organic) farming, and dairy projects. In 2011 200 UWFImembers went on a Lakbay Aral (study tour) to the University of SouthernMindanao for lecture-demonstrations in backyard gardening and duck-andgoatraising.The workshop-seminar on VAWC had both the barangay GAD president andthe barangay chair (usually male) in attendance.Remarkable as these efforts are, even more so is how UWFI women areredefining basic notions of beauty, for one. Women’s Month 2011 was markedwith a “Bigatin na Mom” contest (literally, heavyweight mom) with a minimumweight requirement of 70 kilos for contestants; two years later the searchwas for a “Hot Sexy Mom” with minimum age requirement of 45, effectivelychallenging definitions of beauty according to age and looks and affirming that“big is beautiful” and “senior is sexy”.The clear impact of gender on governance in Upi is reflected in other ways.First, half of the municipal council is female, and a fourth (six out of 23) ofbarangay captains are women. Second, a non-confrontational approach todomestic violence cases has saved a marriage relationship in at least eightcases. The barangay captain and women’s committee chair handle thecounseling and the offending husband is probed as to why he turned violent.Cases rarely reach the police blotter. At the same time there is greaterawareness of the reality of domestic abuse.Nearby is the modest LumpinganCenter which prefigures what theWomen’s Center can be. Lumpinganis Maguindanao for sanctuary,haven, and the center is a One-ShopResource Center with weekly servicesfrom Technical Education SkillsDevelopment Authority, the OverseasWorkers Welfare Authority or OWWAand Philippine Overseas EmploymentAuthority, the Department ofEducation and the Department ofLabor and Employment.The road out of MamasapanoWomen barangay officials in Upiredefining beauty and politics.Bangsamoro women drawing life andlivelihood from the Liguasan Marsh.Radjah Buayan women unlockingtheir dormant potential. “First Ladies”harnessing their power to turnkinship from curse to blessing. Theseare indicators that in Maguindanao,gender is impacting governance in adifferent way with NAP as key.Public service not as plunder, profitor rapacity. An end to politicaldynasties as siphons of governmentresources and purveyors of violenceand criminality. Governance as caring,enabling, providing decent jobs andbuilding democratic institutions.Politics and public spaces as a publictrust, a safe space, a haven: Lumpingan.Gender and good governance isnot a pipe dream, it is taking rootin parts of Maguindanao in themost impoverished places, amonga people bludgeoned by conflict.Upi, Paglat, Buluan, the women ofLiguasan Marsh, Radjah Buayan—areshowing that there is a way out ofMamasapano, a way that must takefull account of women and make theirnumbers count. Other paths havebeen a dead-end. It’s the women’sturn now.26 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

REFLECTIONThe bigotry of powerBy JENNIFER SANTIAGO ORETAPOWER HAS MANY FORMS, itsmost common manifestation being thephysical superiority of one over theother. Manny Pacquiao’s popularity, toa large extent, is due to the collectiveglorification of this type of power.The ability to control and manipulateresources to one’s advantage is analternate type of this power, whereresources are used to supplant one’slimitations in physical strength. Thetarget outcome is the same – for thepowerful ‘A’ to dictate on and coercethe powerless ‘B’ to do things thatare beneficial to ‘A’. Manipulativeresources of power include wealth,firearms, technology, even command ofthe dominant language.The political arena is replete withpeople exercising this type of power –from macho Congressmen, the “Englishonly, please” leader, the opulent rich,and warlords-turned-politicians.The other type of power is more latent,less obvious, but more insidious anddangerous. It is where the powerfulis able to dictate the political agenda,and is able to convince the powerlessto believe that they have the sameagenda, even if in reality such agendais inimical to the interests of thepowerless. The exercise of this powernot only shapes the political discourse,it muffles the agenda of others.Access to media is a criticalcomponent in the exercise of thispower. Influencing the media,obviously, requires the calibrateduse of manipulative resources –language, technology, wealth—that thepowerful has much of. Hence, neutralinformation can be “shaped” accordingto the tone and direction of the agendasetter.It is therefore naive to believethat media only reports; there is no“theory-neutral” interpretation ofevents; information is reported from acertain position and vantage point.This is the crux of why political poweris much sought-after. In a country likethe Philippines, where the democraticmaturity of the people and institutionsremain wanting, whoever holdspower holds the capacity to determinewhat is important and what shouldbe mainstreamed in the nationaldiscourse. The powerful have alwaysset and shaped the political agenda.The peace process attempts to reverse thistraditional landscape of power by using themechanism of the peace table.It attempts to give power to themarginalized by allowing them to shapeand dictate the agenda. Voices thathave been silenced by generations ofneglect and systematic discriminationare surfaced and regarded with equal,if not “privileged”, importance as a wayof leveling the playing field.This has been the process of peacemaking.It recognizes the asymmetricpower relations between the voicelessand the dominant group, puts it out inthe open, and challenges them in thearena of open discourse. It reframesthe focus of power. Rather than lookingat power as a tool of the powerfulto dictate and take advantage of thepowerless, it is seen as a potentialinstrument of the powerless to get afair share of the pie. It opens debateon the inequality and injustice ofthe status quo. By giving voice to thepowerless, the peace process reversesthe power roles — which those whohave long held power are not ready toyield to.This, to a large extent, explains thenegative reaction of the traditionalpower holders to the peace processwith the Bangsamoro. The agenda, asarticulated by the powerless group,threatens their power base and theirlong held position in society. Theviciousness of their attack and theferocity of their antagonism are clearreflections of their fears and anxietyshould the status quo be altered.The powerful bloc will always try toprevent a change in the status quo.They are currently in the process ofwrestling control of the peace processby pushing it into the arena they knowbest, where the manipulative resourcesare at their beck and call, and wherethe powerless can never get an upperhand.It is critical for the peace process toresist this and get back in control. Oneway is to wrestle it out in the publicsphere by providing arguments in thepublic debate that are more convincing,more compelling, and are harder tonegate. The other alternative is forthe powerless to get a more powerfulsupporter that can equal, if not dwarf,the capacity of the traditional powerholders, and generate an outpouring ofpublic support that the power holderscannot ignore.It has been a mighty struggle betweenthe powerless and the powerful. Thepowerless must hold fast and notlose sight of the prize in this massivestruggle for control of the peaceprocess.March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN27

Sr. Insp. Michelle Ng-BontoThe warden is a teacherA jail warden pays it forward by providing an opportunity for her ASG, JI, RSM and NPAwards to get a high school diploma.By MICHELLE ANN RAMIREZWHEN FACED WITH A DIFFICULTSITUATION, giving up becomes anenticingly easy choice. Walking hastilyout of a tough situation could offer thebest option, especially when going theextra mile is too painful to consider.But for the warden of the Bureau of JailManagement and Penology’s SpecialCare Area (SICA)-1 Facility at CampBagong Diwa in Taguig City, there’sno mountain too high to conquer.Difficult though a situation may be,there are ways to get around it.Jail Senior Inspector Michelle Ng-Bonto has 362 high-risk detaineesunder her care. An educator at heart,she is working to give the inmates an“alternative future” by offering theAlternative Learning System (ALS)literacy program at the detentioncenter. A literacy mapping of herwards showed that out of 306 whoresponded to her survey, 160 areprospective ALS students. Nineteen ofthem have had no formal education.Teaching here is not easy toundertake. The SICA-1 facilityhouses inmates who are chargedwith terrorism-related cases suchas bombings. The majority of itsresidents are suspected members ofthe Abu Sayyaf Group, while some arealleged members of the New People’sArmy (NPA), Jemaiah Islamiah, andRajah Solaiman Movement, amongothers. At least 219 of the inmates areMuslims.Winning the hearts and minds of herwards is difficult, but the 39-year oldMichelle is undaunted. “If you get totalk to them, they’ll say that they havetheir reasons. Maybe, at that time,in their frame of mind, that was theonly thing they could do. But it got methinking – maybe, if they’re given aneducation, they will start to considerother alternatives in their decisionmaking.”Overcoming hurdlesHer journey with SICA-1 inmatesbegan when she was still a legislativeliaison officer of the BJMP. Aftersecuring the necessary permissionfrom National Headquarters, Sr. Insp.Bonto began spending weekends, hersupposed time for her family, at SICA-1. “I come here once or twice a month,and sit with the leaders, just talking,28 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

asking them how they are. I bringfood, if I can. I’m locked up with themin the hallway for three to four hoursbecause the guard cannot leave thedoor open just for me to be safe.”It was difficult making the inmatescomfortable with her presence. “It hasalways been challenging to deal withhigh-risk inmates. These are inmateswho, in one way or another, haveexperienced oppression in varyingforms. They distanced themselvesfrom persons in uniform because oftheir experience with oppression.Their encounters with prejudiceare intertwined with their religionand culture and the level of distrust[towards me was] high. It took morethan a year before they opened up.”The hesitation of the inmates wasanother roadblock. “They couldn’tbelieve that an educational programwould be run in this facility. Itwas hard for them to believe thatsomebody would care, especially anon-Muslim like me.”Eventually, the leaders of the inmateswere able to see Michelle’s sincerity.For the chairperson of the Muslimblock of SICA-1 (who refuses to benamed for security reasons), Sr.Insp. Bonto is “different from all theresearchers” they’ve met. “Regulariyong pagdalaw niya, bihira iyong ganoon.Napakalaking sakripisyo na pumupuntasiya dito. Nakita namin iyong dedikasyonniya. Gusto niyang tumulong, pero hindisiya nagte-take advantage.” (She wouldvisit us regularly, which is rare. It wassuch a big sacrifice for her to comehere. We saw her dedication. Shereally wants to help, but she nevertakes advantage.)Making the inmates open up to theprogram is just one step. Encouragingthem to believe in her as a teacheris another hurdle. “The challenge asan educator in sharing knowledgeto the high-risk inmates is for themto see that people do really care fortheir welfare. Another factor that Ifind challenging is that the inmatesnaturally look for a mentor or leaderstronger than they are. They prefer tolearn from someone who knows, thanfrom someone on a par with them.So, I make sure I’m prepared with mylessons.”Walking the talkSr. Insp. Bonto’s regard for theimportance of education is deeplyrooted in her experience as a workingstudent and being a recipient ofvarious scholarship grants.“I came from humble beginnings.I used to sell biko, palitaw, kutsinta,sapin-sapin in the streets of Panghulo,Obando, Bulacan, from grade 4 to firstyear college. My mom did the cooking.Instead of buying me new skirts, mymother dyed my old skirts to makethem look new.. I couldn’t afford tohave a Tetoron blouse so I wore acomplimentary shirt with a pig logothat my aunt used as a giveaway to herpalengke suki (regular customers),” sherecalls.The difficulty did not stop Bonto fromhaving a stellar academic career. Asidefrom graduating class valedictorianin elementary school, Bonto wasaccelerated from third year highschool to first year college. She tookup bachelor of arts major in politicalscience at the Philippine ChristianUniversity in Manila.In 1996, she entered governmentservice as a clerk/stenographer ofthe Legal Service Unit of BJMP-NCR.“I was looking for a job that wouldallow me to have full-time work withan opportunity to study at night. I gotinto BJMP after undergoing the PublicSafety Basic Recruit Course.”It was while working at the BJMPthat she became a recipient of theCivil Service Commission LocalScholarship Program-Bachelor’sDegree Completion (LSP-BDC). Thescholarship grant allowed the studentto go on a one-year paid studyClassroom behind bars.March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN29

Doing board work in class.leave from work. Not only did thescholarship help Michelle graduatecum laude in 2000, it also enabledher to get an additional 18 units ofeducation subjects to qualify for theLicensure Exam for Teachers (LET)which she passed the same year.That same year, Michelle took upbachelor of laws at Manila Law Collegeand graduated class valedictorian.In 2009, she received a scholarshipgrant on Strengthening Leadershipthru Innovative Jurisprudence andResponsive Citizenship under the US-Philippines Exchange Program fundedby the US State Department throughthe Michigan State University, inpartnership with Xavier University inCagayan de Oro.Today, Sr. Insp. Bonto isn’t showingany sign of stopping her pursuit tolearn more as she completes herthesis for her master of arts in specialeducation, major in developmentaldisabilities at St. Paul College-Manila.Giving the blessings backHer commitment to be of serviceinspired her to stay in governmentservice, particularly at BJMP, for 19years. “I probably have high levelsof idealism,” she says. “I love thegovernment so much—I becamewhat I am right now because ofwhat I got from the government.”Heeding the call to become aneducator while being a civil servantwas easy for Michelle. It is somethingthat her mentors have long ingrainedin her through their examples.“Aside from my family, my teachersare my heroes. I competed in quizbees in tattered clothes. My teachersnurtured me and made me see thedifference between a dream and avision. They made me see educationas my ticket out of poverty. Mymentors made me realize mypotentials. They have blessed mewith their gifts, now it’s my turn tobe a blessing to others.”Opening doors for learningTo prepare for the education programin SICA-1, Bonto sought accreditationas an ALS Instruction Manager. InJuly 2013, she launched theAlternative Learning SystemAccreditation and Equivalency(ALS A&E) course under the“Tagapangalaga Ko, Guro Ko” programof the BJMP, in partnership with theDepartment of Education (DepEd)Bureau of Alternative LearningSystem. The launch was graced byFelizardo M. Serapio, Jr. from theoffice if the President, and BJMP-NCRRegional Director JSSupt. Romeo S.Vio.According to DepEd’s website, theALS is a “parallel learning systemin the Philippines that provides apractical option to the existingformal instruction.” It includes“both the non-formal and informalsources of knowledge and skills.”ALS has two major programs: BasicLiteracy Program, and ContinuingEducation Program-Accreditationand Equivalency (A&E). Bothprograms are “modular andflexible.”With the support of the inmates’leaders, the program had an initialenrollment of 36 learners. Elevenof them were enrolled in lowerelementary and 25 in the secondarylevel. Twenty-eight of the enrolleesare suspected members of the AbuSayyaf Group, four are allegedmembers of the NPA, three aremembers of the Sputnik gang, and oneis an alleged member of theMoro Islamic Liberation Front.Classes are held twice a week withMichelle and other assistant teachersdevoting two to four hours persession, depending on the moduleand the difficulty of learning. “Iteach topics that I think they need.Sometimes, they request a lessonon a topic that they had a hard timewith. They can take their moduleswith them. Sometimes, we do seatwork and check them the nextsession.”30 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

Reaping the rewardsBonto sees to it that she shows respectfor the inmates’ culture and beliefs.“In order for me to be understood, Ineed to understand their religion first.Even with the way I dress, especiallywhen I teach. I try to learn the thingsthat I think are important to them.”“Aside from myfamily, my teachersare my heroes.”With ALS, the inmates are introducedto different perspectives they weren’taware of before. One inmate, Najer(not his real name), who has been inSICA-1 for 13 years, shares: “Ngayon,kahit paano, natututo kami unti-untitungkol sa buhay. Dahil sa ALS, mayroonkaming nalalaman na impormasyon,mga kaugalian na di namin alam dati.Nasasabi sa amin iyong mga nangyayarisa gobyerno at sa labas kahit nanditokami.” (Somehow we are learning littleby little about life. Because of ALS,we now have access to information,things we didn’t know about before.We are informed about what’shappening in government and outsideeven if we are here.)The hard work and commitment paidoff when 12 of the first ALS learnerswere able to pass the Elementaryand High School EquivalencyExams in April 2014. To celebratetheir achievement, SICA-1 held agraduation ceremony attended by therelatives of the graduating class.Warden Bonto made sure that theinmates would experience theambiance of a proper graduation.“DepEd lent us togas. The goodUndersecretary Serapio donated shoesfor the inmates. I went to Marikina tobuy the shoes using paper cutouts oftheir feet.”Aside from the small victory, somegood things have happened to keepher motivated. Before he was releasedfrom detention, Amer (not his realname), one of the first ALS graduateswho was acquitted of the chargesagainst him, informed her that acollege was already waiting for him toenroll in the coming school year.Having a supportive family also keepsMichelle grounded. It helps that herhusband, who is also an officer atBJMP, understands that Michelle putsher heart in everything she does.While being a warden may seem likea 24/7 duty, Michelle is able to retreatto a home made cozy by the music ofher children.“I am the mother of two potentiallygifted kids. Imagine the challenge weface as husband and wife on how tokeep our two children focused, withtheir intellect, curiosity, restlessness,and energy. Our home is adorned withtheir oil paintings on canvass and themusic that fills our house is from theirsinging, piano and drum playing.”Michelle Bonto doesn’t know whereshe gets all the energy to jugglebeing a wife and mother, teacherand warden. “I’m able to do all thosethings maybe because I love what I’mdoing,” she smiles.Increasing numbers, growingneedsAs evidence of the success of the firstALS in SICA-1, the number of enrolleesfor the second batch of studentshas increased. Today, SICA-1 has 13learners for elementary, and 31 forhigh school.Ruy (not his real name), whopassed the High School EquivalencyExam, said “Marami kaming natutuhan.Lalo iyong mga bagay na hindi naminnapag-aralan sa labas kagaya ng publicspeaking. Mayroon din kaming alamkaunti tungkol sa batas.” (We havelearned a lot, especially about thingsthat we did not learn when we wereoutside like public speaking. Wenow also know a little bit about thelaw.)While evidently a measure of theprogram’s success, the increase inthe number of learners has raisedthe demand for the modules andincreased expenses. Initially, Bontoshouldered the reproduction of themodules. But as the need has grown,she has sought the help of goodsamaritans. In 2014, she was able toraise funds for the reproduction of 30sets each of the ALS A&E modules forelementary and high school.The initial help was enough tocover the needs of the currentlearners. However, there will befuture enrollees whose educationwill have to be funded. And Michellehas bigger dreams for her wards.While she acknowledges thelimitations, she wants to provideaccess to college education for thedetainees who have passed thesecondary level.Beyond SICA-1, she also dreamsof providing former inmates withan aftercare program, “Beyondwardenship, I would like to be a partof an organization or program thatwill help cater to the needs ofreleased inmates and their familiesduring the transition phase as theyintegrate into mainstream society.”An impossible dream? Sr. Insp.Michelle Bonto relies on her faiththat God will provide.March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN31

Field Notes from the North:Journeying with CPLAwomen integreesBy MA. LOURDES VENERACION-RALLONZAON DECEMBER 4, 2014, I left for a trip to the northto speak to women to uncover a collective narrativethat took off from the story of conflict and unravel theevolving tale of peace. After over a 10-hour night ridefrom Manila, I greeted the sunrise from the gates of the5th Infantry Division (5ID) in Gamu, Isabela.I was excited to meet and immediately jump into theconversation with the women integrees from theCordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA). I saw most ofthem huddled together as I entered the hall. They werewearing their fatigue uniform complete with shiny beltbuckles and hair neatly fixed—not much different from allother women soldiers I have met except, probably, havingphysical features that are distinct to Cordillera women -square facial shape with deep dark eyes, firm but refinedstance, strong and yet not masculinized.I walked towards the front of the stage, tempering myexcitement for I was aware of the fact that I was anoutsider—someone they were only meeting for the firsttime and someone who came all the way from Manila justto talk to them. (I mean, on a regular day, who does that?!)Thus, like any other conscientious researcher, I tried toapply a more non-intrusive method of engagement—something I learned during the course of my past fieldwork from an artist-colleague—that of using art as a formof expression.32 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

As part of the fulfillment of the peace agreementbetween the government and the CPLA, 168 CPLAmembers or their next of kin have been integratedinto the 5ID of the Philippine Army, 20 of whom werewomen.Journey to integration: Hand/arm drawingMost of the women integrees present were from Kalinga(Tanudan and Tabuk) and the Mountain Province. Thefirst integree was integrated in 2002 as a substitute forher CPLA uncle while the others were integrated in 2012(29%) and 2013 (65%). Eighty one percent (81%) of theparticipants belonged to the 21 to 27 age range; fifty three(53%) were college graduates, forty two percent (42%) werecollege undergraduates, and six percent (6%) just finishedhigh school.The indigenous peoples of the Cordilleras, particularly,those from Kalinga, are known for their material culture.One of the more prominent ones is the practice of fatokor hand-tapped tattooing. For Kalingan women, fatokare mostly hand-tapped on their arms portraying anarrative of indigenous notions of beauty inscribed ontheir skin. Borrowing from this idea, the CPLA womenintegrees were asked to trace their own hands/armsand draw the story on why they integrated into the ArmedForces of the Philippines (AFP).Another explained: “Ang mga ninuno namin ay gumagamitng spear at kalasag (Our elders use a spear and shield) toprotect themselves and the community…sound of a gong,always a happy occasion—we live a simple life, our productscorn and bananas…”Gender also figured in symbols through the shieldsignifying warrior men and tapis (skirt) symbolizingwomen. One woman integree shared that her designrepresented both her past and present: “Mga kulay ngCordillera—tapis at shield…sun ay ang hope… (The colors ofthe Cordillera—skirt and shield...sun is for hope...)” (above)Many also drew their environment—the mountains, riceterraces/fields, the Chico River, and waterfalls as life-givingresources that have sustained their tribes. Side by sidewith these images were signifiers of development such asbuildings and schools.Most, if not all, referred to their culture—symbols such asthe gong/gansa that was integral to their celebrations andtribal feasts were common in many depictions. One evensaid that, for her, it is a symbol her integration: “Gong angsimbolo ng pag-integrate ko kasi may peace na (The gong ismy symbol of my integration because there is now peace).”(above)“Ito ang inspiration ko—rice terraces, waterfalls—ito yunglugar namin, dalawang bundok…ito ang dahilan kung bakit akonandito—kabuhayan… (This is my inspiration—rice terraces,March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN33

As regards their benefits as women integrees, the responseswere: equal benefits with regulars (47%), salary (24%),Philheath (18%), and general benefits (12%). Most of thewomen integrees (76.4%) also responded that they aregenerally okay or treated equally when asked about theircondition inside 5ID. The respondents also said that thereis no discrimination between women and men; thoughthere was mention of only single women soldiers beingallowed to undergo Training and Doctrine Command(TRADOC) outside of 5ID. In the case of their barracks, therespondents said their facilities are enough for them (i.e. 23bunk beds, four toilet and bath areas).I sat down with the women integrees after their respectiveperformances and asked about what they shared. Duringour conversation, most, if not all, affirmed that women andmen are treated equally. They go through the same tasksand are given the same opportunities.depicted themselves, as women integrees, side by side eachother, acting as stewards of the environment and peace.The second group performed the tanggi, a traditionalKalinga dance performed by women as the foregroundof their collage. The collage represented the culture ofpeace using the symbol of the tapis and the colors of thePhilippine Army with men and women from the varioustribes in the region working together to achieve it.A very prominent feature of their collage was a drawing ofa male soldier and an indigenous woman—“Ito ang simbolong integration, kasama at kaisa tungo sa kapayapaan (Thissymbolizes integration. We are united in our pursuit ofpeace),” the group said.There were observations that single women were sent totrainings outside of 5ID while the married ones had theirtraining only in Gamu. However, they did not see anythingwrong with this practice. It is simply a part of how thingsare.The women also said that CPLA integrees were notdiscriminated against since they went through the sameprocess as the regular recruits. But, according to theoldest woman integree in the group, discrimination wasfelt during the first batch of integration in 2002 when theintegrees then did not finish school before they becamesoldiers.At the end of the session, I asked them if they had any ‘wishlist’ —they looked at each other and one said that she hopesthat they will also be given the opportunity to becomeofficers someday.Weaving the narrative of women making peaceFor the final activity, the women integrees were askedhow they see themselves—indigenous women in the AFP—as agents of peace in the Cordilleras through a collagedepiction narrated through Cordilleran song or dance.The first group explained their collage through an ulalim,a form of story-telling that depicts narratives of heroismand adventures of the Kalinga people. At the base oftheir collage are the six provinces of CAR and above it aredrawings of their shared environment—the Chico River,water falls, rice terraces, forests, and mountains. They alsoWomen integrees in formationReflectionsAs the day came to an end, the women integrees said thatthey enjoyed the activity: “Masaya, ma’am… (We had fun...)”and “Sana mayroon pa ulit (I wish we could do this again)”were the common answers. I was all well and good—each learning from and with each other. Sisterhood wasapparent, no opposition, just affirmations.Of course, once again, just like any other conscientiousresearcher, I was aware that one day is not enough to gaindeeper understanding about who these women integreesare. I mean, I know where they came from but I do notknow what the conflict history of their community was.I know why they said they integrated but I do not knowthe reason behind their CPLA parents/relatives’ decisionto have them integrated—could there have been anydifference? I know I needed more time to understand but itwas also time to go…Typhoon Ruby already made landfalland we needed to get back in Manila.March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN35

UPDATESFrom the Peace TablesThe Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) continues to buildon the recent gains of the peace process towards its goal of shared peace and prosperityfor everyone in the country.By MARC SIAPNOMoro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)GPH and MILF chief negotiators sign the ImplementingGuidelines for decommissioning of MILF weapons andcombatants, 30 January 2015, Kuala Lumpur witnessedby Hayder Berk, chair Independent DecommissioningBody (left) and Tengku Dato’ AB Ghafar TengkuMohamed, Malaysian facilitator (center)FOLLOWING THE HISTORIC SIGNING of theComprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) onMarch 2014, the government and MILF embarked on theimplementation stage of the peace pact, with the passageof the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in Congress as one ofits primary components.As a gesture of strong support to the legislative measure,the draft BBL—the legal translation of the CAB—waspersonally turned over by President Benigno Aquino III tothe leaders of both houses of Congress on September 2014.The Senate and the House of Representatives conductedover 40 public hearings and consultations—both in theirrespective chambers and in different provinces—aimedat improving the bill and making the process even moreinclusive, reportedly the most number ever held for thepassage of a law.However, as both chambers neared the culmination ofpublic hearings and consultations on the BBL, tragedystruck in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on January 25,2015, claiming nearly 70 lives from all sides, includingcivilians. Congressional deliberations on the BBL werepostponed and the target for passing the BBL has beenmoved from March to June 2015.Commitment to peaceIn a broadcast address in February, President Aquinoassured the nation that justice and accountability willbe exacted for the tragedy, while also reaffirming theadministration’s commitment to peace.“To all those working with us towards peace: We arefully committed to continuing the fight,” PresidentAquino said. “And I say to those opposed to ourobjective, especially those who resort to violence,mark my words: you will feel the sharpened andstrengthened might of a unified Filipino nation.”“Let us all remain focused on our primary goal:a widespread and lasting peace,” the Presidentadded.36 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

Both the government and the MILF have reaffirmed theircommitment to the peace process.Normalization programAlongside the political process of the creation ofBangsamoro, a normalization process will be jointlyimplemented by the government and MILF to pave theMILF’s return to peaceful, productive lives.On September 2014, the GPH and MILF peace panelsformalized the bodies and mechanisms that will rollout the normalization process. These include theJoint Normalization Committee, the IndependentDecommissioning Body, and the Transitional Justice andReconciliation Committee.These efforts affirm the commitment to work on thegradual decommissioning or turnover of MILF forces andweapons, alongside the provisions for socio-economicdevelopment and transitional justice and reconciliation.Bangsamoro Development PlanA larger socio-economic program called the BangsamoroDevelopment Plan (BDP) was also formally launchedon November 2014. Formulated by the MILF leadershipthrough its socio-economic group—the BangsamoroDevelopment Agency—the BDP is a six-year developmentplan aimed at providing a medium- and long-term visionand strategy for the recovery and development of theBangsamoro areas.Envisaged to have two phases, the BDP will cover theperiod from 2014 to 2020 that shall build on the gains ofBDA’s operations, including achievements of the recentSajahatra Bangsamoro program.The Sajahatra Bangsamoro, meant to jumpstart the initialdividends of peace after the signing of the FrameworkAgreement on the Bangsamoro, continues to be rolledout in Bangsamoro communities since it was launched onFebruary 2013. Jointly implemented by both governmentand MILF, the program has been extended to June 2015.Preparation for transitionKey moves have also been made to prepare for thetransition from the Autonomous Region in MuslimMindanao (ARMM) to the Bangsamoro, particularly withthe creation of the Coordination Team for the Transition(CT4T).As of November 2014, the Terms of Reference for CT4Thad already been agreed upon by both the GPH and MILFpanels.Moro National Liberation Front(MNLF)UNDER A SINGLE FRAMEWORK of the CAB, thegovernment continues to engage the MNLF and theOrganization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), through itsPeace Committee for the Southern Philippines (PCSP),despite the postponement of the fifth session of theTripartite Review Process on the 1996 Final PeaceAgreement supposedly set in 2013. Since its assumptionto chairmanship of OIC-PCSP, Egypt has engaged with thegovernment to discuss the developments on the peacetables with both Moro Fronts—the MILF and the MNLF.One of the major strides in the Mindanao peace processis the effort of the OIC, through its Special Envoy,to activate the mechanism called the BangsamoroCoordinating Forum (BCF), which aims to serve as aplatform for discussion and dialogue between the twoMoro Fronts to narrow down their differences andconsolidate their efforts in the achievement of theBangsamoro aspiration.To date, two rounds of BCF meetings have beenconducted in Manila. Both produced significant resultsand reiterated the commitment of both MNLF and MILFto peace.Consistent with the inclusivity approach of governmentto a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to theBangsamoro question on the right to self-governance, theGPH, through its legislature. invited the MNLF to attenda hearing on the BBL in January 2015. True to their word,the factions of MNLF-Sema and MNLF-Alonto appeared inCongress and put forth to the lawmakers their positionson the BBL.Communist Party of the Philippines/NewPeople’s Army/National Democratic Front(CPP/NPA-NDF)Towards the end of 2014, there were indications on thepart of the CPP/NPA/NDF of their readiness to resumethe peace talks with the government. Such signals arewelcome to the government which remains hopefulabout the peace process with the communist rebels.March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN37

The GPH however, continues to reiterate that should thetalks resume, they must be time-and-agenda-bound, witha clear set of “doables” that can be achieved within theremaining term of President Aquino. Most importantly,the peace negotiations should have a clear agenda onceasefire or at least a lessening of the violence on theground.Cordillera Bodong Administration -Cordillera People’s Liberation Army(CBA-CPLA)THE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA)between the government and the CBA-CPLA signed inMalacañang on July 4, 2011, continues to be implementedtowards the completion of commitments on “the finaldisposition of arms and forces of the CBA-CPLA and itstransformation into a potent socio-economic unarmedforce.”The government’s partnership w ith the group hasencouraged the formation of people’s organizations(PO) in the Cordillera that are now pursuing legitimateenterprises. These POs are assisted by their respectiveprovincial governments using the framework of theDepartment of Social Welfare and Development’sSustainable Livelihood Program through Community-Driven Enterprise Development.Former CPLA members and next-of-kin are also providedopportunities for socio-economic reintegration throughintegration into the Armed Forces of the Philippines(AFP) and employment as forest guards/forest protectionofficers under the Department of Environment andNatural Resources (DENR). Communities also reapthe gains of peace through community developmentprojects implemented by the Department of Interior andLocal Government (DILG), Department of Health, theDepartment of Education, and local government units ofthe Cordillera.For the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, andSecurity (NAP WPS), 15 CPLA women integrees inthe 5th Infantry Division of the AFP in Gamu, Isabelawere provided a venue to reflect on their experiences,recognize their needs, and strengthen their participationin peacebuilding processes.Communications and advocacy work also continuedon building capacities of partner agencies to utilizetechniques and technologies to surface the gains of peacein the region, and on strengthening coordination andcollaboration towards regional goals.Rebolusyonaryong Partido ngManggagawa–Pilipinas/RevolutionaryProletarian Army/Alex Boncayao BrigadeTabara Paduano Group (RPM-P/RPA/ABBTPG)STILL ON THE ROAD TO PEACE, the last quarterof 2014 was dedicated to capacitating the ground andsustaining a more conducive environment for bringingabout closure to the armed conflict with RPM-P/RPA/ABB TPG.Profiling of the 100 community peace dividends hasstarted to ensure that the OPAPP-Philhealth programis made available to 10,000 community members; andthe OPAPP-CHED scholarship program can be accessedby around 200 students in the said communities in thecoming school year. The current 138 TPG membersemployed as forest guards/forest protection officersunder DENR are now enrolled under the OPAPP-Philhealth co-sponsored program. The mechanism hasbeen put in place to make the OPAPP-CHED scholarshipprogram more accessible to qualified dependents of TPGmembers.To address the security concerns of the TPG members,an interim coordinating mechanism was jointly set upby the AFP and the Philippine National Police to ensureopen communication lines during emergency situations.Coordination meetings have also been conducted withthe AFP to discuss the security arrangements of the TPGin preparation for the disposition of forces.Together with the provincial government of NegrosOccidental and the TPG, the alternative to thesettlement sites in Bagondon, San Carlos and Villacin,Cadiz City—which were found to be within protectedareas—have been identified in Barangay Palampas, SanCarlos City and Barangay 11 (Gawahon), Victorias City,respectively.38 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

NEWS BRIEFSWomen peace leaders laud Pope Francis’ call for greater women participationMANILA — Two of the top women leaders in the peace process extolled PopeFrancis’ call for greater women participation and representation in societywhen he spoke to the Filipino youth at the University of Santo Tomas onSunday, January 18.Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles andGovernment of the Philippines chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer bothsaid that they “love the pope” especially for championing the rights of women.“In his attention to the peripheries, he did not miss the women,” Deles said.“It’s so important that he notes that men are a factor in the problem.”In his speech during the meeting with Filipino youth, Pope Francis noted thelack of women representation. “Women have much to tell us in today’s society.Sometimes, we are too machistas (chauvinistic) and we don’t allow enoughspace for women,” the pontiff said.“Women can see things from a different angle [from] us, with a different eye.Women are able to pose questions we men are unable to understand,” PopeFrancis added, responding to 12-year old Glyzelle Palomar, a street kid whorelated how her life has been exposed to the ills of drugs and prostitution.Coronel-Ferrer noted Pope Francis’ compassion. “He is with us in our struggle for peace and justice—in Mindanao, in oureveryday life, among the poor and dispossessed in our society.”Clinton lauds PH for gender-inclusive peace processIn a speech at Georgetown University in Washington, former United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clintonlast December lauded the country for its gender-inclusive peace process led by Teresita Quintos Deles and MiriamCoronel-Ferrer. The two women were cited by Clinton for making inclusivity the guiding principle in peace negotiationswith the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has resulted in the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on theBangsamoro (CAB), the final political settlement ending one of the longest internal conflicts in Southeast Asia. Theproposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, the agreement’s legal iteration, is currently under deliberation in both chambers ofCongress.“Consider what has happened recently in the Philippines,” Clinton said. “Hope for peace was all but gone when twostrong women, Teresita Quintos Deles and Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, took over the negotiations. They made inclusivitytheir mantra. And thanks greatly to their efforts, finally a peace was brokered in a historic deal.”Clinton shared the story of the Philippine peace process with women peace leaders from various countries who weregathered at Georgetown’s Institute of Women, Peace, and Security, and emphasized the important role of women inpeace-building around the globe, noting that with women involved in the peace process, “entire societies enjoy betteroutcomes,” and “often-overlooked issues—[such as] human rights, individual justice, national reconciliation, economicrenewal—are often brought to the forefront.”Clinton also said that “women leaders, it has been found, are good at building coalitions across ethnic and sectarian linesand speaking up for other marginalized groups… It’s important to underscore this overriding fact: Women are not justvictims of conflict. They are agents of peace and agents of change.”March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN39

OPAPP, PCW to mainstream women in peace concerns in gov’tMANILA — The Office of the Presidential Adviser onthe Peace Process (OPAPP) and Philippine Commissionon Women (PCW) signed a circular in October 2014 thataims to ensure that concerns on peace and women arebetter integrated in government programs and servicesin conflict-affected areas.Joint Memorandum Circular 2014-0 makes thePhilippines a global pioneer and model in mainstreamingand institutionalizing in the government bureaucracythe empowerment and protection of women in conflictaffectedareas through the National Action Plan onWomen, Peace, and Security (NAP-WPS) and theintensified implementation of the Magna Carta on Women.“Women have borne the brunt of decades of conflict, and change must begin with them. There can be no healing andwholeness of our body politic if women remain broken, insecure, and violated,” said Presidential Adviser on the PeaceProcess Teresita Quintos Deles.“The Joint Memorandum Circular reflects a broader policy of peace building which we hope will be a lasting legacy ofthis administration,” Deles told the guests coming from national government agencies, local government units, civilsociety groups, and international development organizations at a Forum in Quezon City.The Philippines is the first country in Asia to formulate and adopt a NAP-WPS to operationalize its commitment to theUnited Nations Security Council Resolutions on women, peace and security.OPAPP and PCW are co-chairs of the steering committee in the implementation of the National Action Plan.EU Delegation to the Philippines launches the EU Peace Journalism AwardsThe Delegation of the European Union to the Philippinesand its partners launched the first European Union PeaceJournalism Awards on 10 October 2014 in Cotabato City.“The EU Peace Journalism Awards is a contribution tosupporting the peace process and a recognition of therole Philippine journalists can play in peace-building,”Ambassador Ledoux said.Joining Ambassador Ledoux in the EU Peace Journalism Awards Launch are OPAPP Peace Adviser Teresita Quintos Deles,Bangsamoro Transition Commission Chair Mr. Mohagher Iqbal. THE OPAPP, MILF, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue,National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Mindanao State University– Iligan Institute of Technology, Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism Ateneo de Manila University, ThePhotojournalists’ Center of the Philippines and philstar.com are partners of the EU in the award.The EU Peace Journalism Awards campaign will run until May 2015. It is open to all Philippine journalists as well ascampus journalists based in the country under the following categories: written text published in print media, online andbroadcast media, photojournalism, campus journalism and government advocacy peace projects.Deadline for submission of entries is on COB, May 15, 2015. Email entries to DELEGATION-PHILIPPINES-PPI@eeas.europa.eu.40 KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN March 2015

Gender and Peace EventsMarch - August 2015MARCH1-311st Week16812-18164th Week24National Women’s MonthNational Women’s WeekNuclear Free & Independent Pacific DayDay of Healing for Unity and Peace (40th Day since Mamasapano Clash)International Women’s DayTheme: “Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture It!”Bangsamoro Week of Peace and SolidarityAnniversary of the Signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respectfor Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL)Protection and Gender-Fair Treatment of the Girl Child WeekInternational Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human RightsViolations and for the Dignity of VictimsAPRILMAYJUNEJULYAUGUST274298-91017242942026418912142930Anniversary of the Signing of the GPH-MILF Comprehensive Agreement onthe Bangsamoro (CAB)International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine ActionDay of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical WarfareTime of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Livesduring the Second World WarMother’s DayInternational Day Against Homophobia and TransphobiaInternational Women’s Day for Peace and DisarmamentInternational Day of UN PeacekeepersInternational Day of Innocent Children Victims of AggressionWorld Refugee DayUnited Nations International Day in Support of Victims of TortureAnniversary of the Signing of the GPH-CBA-CPLA Memorandum ofAgreement (MOA)Anniversary of the Signing of the GRP-MILF Agreement for General Cessationof HostilitiesInternational Day of the World’s Indigenous PeoplesInternational Humanitarian Law (IHL) DayInternational Youth DayAnniversary of the Signing of the Magna Carta of Women (RA 9710)International Day Against Nuclear TestsInternational Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances