kababaihan-at-kapayapaan-issue-3

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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
Page 1: Issue No. 3March 2015
Page 4: In pursuit of peace,truth and justi
Page 7 and 8: popular, or sexy, to speak up at th
Page 9: Deles, Ferrer, Sema and Hataman: St
Page 13 and 14: March 2015KABABAIHANatKAPAYAPAAN11
Page 15 and 16: Women forge on, echoing the calls f
Page 17 and 18: your job, will the left recruit you
Page 19 and 20: whether female genital mutilation(F
Page 21 and 22: [The BBL] is not a cure-all to all
Page 23 and 24: at least 5% of their budgets for ge
Page 25 and 26: Genuine birth certificates are asaf
Page 27 and 28: assumed primary responsibility forc
Page 29 and 30: REFLECTIONThe bigotry of powerBy JE
Page 31 and 32: asking them how they are. I bringfo
Page 33 and 34: Reaping the rewardsBonto sees to it
Page 35: As part of the fulfillment of the p
Page 38 and 39: UPDATESFrom the Peace TablesThe Off
Page 40 and 41: The GPH however, continues to reite
Page 42 and 43: OPAPP, PCW to mainstream women in p

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