CSOs as Cheering Squads

Have CSOs in Mindanao reduced themselves to being cheering squads for the GRP-MILF in their talks?

Before answering that question, let me say that I am sharing this reflection as I am also part of Civil Society, defined by Wikipedia as “…the aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest interests and will of citizens.  Civil Society includes the family and the private sphere, referred to as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business[1]…” 

Thus, whatever I say here is not plucked from thin air, but based on personal experience.  I may interchange CSO, NGO, international organizations, to mean one and the same in this article.  There are things we are uncomfortable doing as individuals but are compelled to do collectively within the NGO culture.  It may or may not be applicable to some; but then again, real and true only from my own perspective.  It may strike sensitivities; but I believe that only sincere introspection would straighten this evolving reputation of CSOs, on whether we “ma­­­nifest the interest and will of citizens". 

Whatever is factually incorrect in this article is solely my responsibility. 

Where we are – Conflict Affected Mindanao or CAM (to separate us from the rest of the island that did not experience the types of wars we went through), NGOs have mushroomed to a thick alphabet soup after the signing of the GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement in 1996.  That time it was still considered scandalous to spend money on car rental where the same amount could have already built a small house for one bakwit family.

Donor money required local partners to be able to implement projects.  There was a mad rush to form cooperatives without necessarily cooperating.  Suppliers and service providers were screened supposed to be for best value at lowest cost.  Track records were retrofitted to suit donor requirements.  Insiders saw the opportunity to incorporate some business entity overnight.  Capacity building took the form of being able to package oneself professionally rather than the capacity to build desired, long-lasting outcomes.  The uncomfortable term was “donor-driven advocacy”, where as long as one is adept at using technical terms like proposal, outputs, outcomes, commitment, challenges, strategic planning,  graphically describing how conflict-ridden is a place, putting in figures whose only modicum of truth is that it was provided by local government units – funding is assured.         

But by what standards should CSOs be measured up in their respective advocacies, mandates, vision, mission, goals and objectives?  (The immediate thing that comes to mind is the Culture of Peace Framework of Dr Toh Swee Hin.  Dr Toh introduced Peace Education to the Philippines in the 80s; and since Notre Dame University saw the horrors of the 70s war, it was the only taker then). 

Promotion of the Culture of Peace was also a major component of the SPCPD-NEDA-UN-MDP[2] (which became GRP-UN-MDP[3] and then ACTFORPEACE[4] or A4P).   A handful of peace-building frameworks were also tried by others but as to what was the most effective among these there should be good documentation somewhere. 

It seems like everybody was in a hurry to let both combatants and victims go from arms to farms, bala to pala, bullets to ballots, be good business managers, politicians, effective organizers, entrepreneurs, institution-builders, birth-spacers, peace-builders – within a time frame shorter than what the war itself took. 

In between, there were still wars, smaller ones.  This time it was mostly between the GPH[5] (from GRP it became GoP then GPH) and the MILF and its spin-off, the BIFF.  While many among us have become experts in mouthing peace slogans, there was still a huge disconnect between the peace as envisioned compared with what was happening.  The peace process is often used as an excuse not to implement laws against narco-politics, gun proliferation, bad governance or the lack of it, logging, mining, smuggling, etc.   

As there has been no war the scale of the foiled 2008 MOA-AD, there is an uncomfortable acceptance that, yeah, maybe this is peace.  

But: hasn’t it also been said that peace is not just the absence of war?  While Culture of Peace and Peace-building have become buzzwords for a time within the development circles, it seems it has become a very rare word these days.  Maybe it has become boring.

To compare with Dr Toh’s Peace Framework:

1.       Dismantling the Culture of War;

2.       Living with Compassion and Justice

3.       Promoting Human Rights and Responsibility

4.       Living in Harmony with the Earth

5.       Building Cultural Respect, reconciliation and solidarity

6.       Nurturing inner peace

Dismantling the Culture of War.  Offhand, one aspect that CSOs can be commended for being successful at is promoting the mantra of NO TO WAR.  Everybody hated war so much it had to stop.  Everyone seems to be tired of war: rebel, soldier, victim, survivor, humanitarian worker, bystander.  Even children paraded (or were made to parade?) bringing placards.  Maybe the only ones who are disappointed that the war stopped are those who cashed in on donor money intended to help the victims.

Living with Compassion and Justice.  There seems to be one NGO each for any sector, for any cause.  NGOs for women, for children, for the youth, the elderly.  (Wait: Since the family is the basic unit of society, are there NGOs focusing on families?) They are vulnerable groups and they need special protection and attention.  But through the years Conflict-Affected Mindanao (CAM) has been through this cycle, were studies ever conducted on the levels of self-esteem of war-affected individuals, much less their psychological and mental health?  Psychosocial interventions sound sexy, but what is it really? 

In the early years of rebuilding from war, I got my first thought-provoking comment from a combatant: “You (foreign agencies) just come here with your bottled water.” 

While cries for justice are common, compassion is almost not discussed: Compassion is feeling for the other, being one with the other.  How can one indeed, while helping a war-ravaged community build say, a water system, brandish innocently, bottled water?  How can one discuss food security to a community and splurges on the latest foodie craze upon returning to the city?  Can communities really warm up to NGO workers who visit them in fancy cars and yes, fancy outdoorsy clothing and gadgets?      

Promoting Human Rights and Responsibility.  CAM is beset with violations, human rights and more.  But surprisingly, documentation of violations of the rights of indigenous peoples seems to be on the radar of CSOs only very recently.   Forgive the bias, but I just knew about IP issues in Maguindanao only at the time I got involved with them -- just this couple of years.  Everybody was just too busy making itself visible to the next big donor only a few souls saw the need to bring to the arena this group whose issues were always shoved under the rug because they did not have guns to catch attention.

Living in Harmony with the Earth.  Consumerism is an environmental issue.  Never in the history of CAM had business been brisker hereabouts.  Rarely can you now find trainings conducted by CSOs that do not involve at least two snacks and one meal per day.  These heavy meals have to have soft drinks or flowing coffee and all together cost more if catered than bought straight out of a store.  And yes, those disposable cups and styro boxes, plastic straws, spoons and forks; plastic folders and ID cases; kits that accumulate thru months and years of rehashed seminars & workshops.  Hotels, restaurants and catering services are flourishing it’s a wonder that conflict actually continues to be the motivation for aid, er, investment.  Rarely can you now find workshops or trainings where participants bring their own ballpens and baon, thanks to NGO culture.  Talk about self-reliance.    

(Let me digress a little.  There was light talk among colleagues shortly before the CAB was signed.  The exchange goes something like this, “Of course, other cities will support the CAB.  Don’t you notice that after the GRP-MNLF Peace Agreement was signed, that was also the time Davao, Gensan, Marbel and Cagayan de Oro boomed? Donor money did not circulate much here in Cotabato City.  People from here preferred to have their seminars there so that they can go site-seeing, shopping afterwards; and if they’re male, be educated on how red-light districts operate!”)

While some CSOs advocate for environmental protection, there’s not much they can do with conflicting national and local policies towards granting mining & logging permits to big companies; a government as primary endorser of chemical inputs and seeds that can’t produce its next generation; and the welcoming of bananas and African palm to maximize cheap labor from unschooled constituents.

Building Cultural Respect, reconciliation and solidarity.  A fellow worker from one NGO texted me: “Settlers should just leave it to the Maguindanaons and the Teduray, Lambangian and Dulangan Manobo to settle their conflicts within themselves.”

It came as a surprise as I never thought being a settler is actually an issue against giving assistance towards the marginalized.

So I asked: “Does your suggestion also apply to other CSOs/NGOs whose staff are settlers helping in the conflict-affected areas of Maguindanao?” 

Let me just leave the long exchange at that.

I thought: what should the Maguindanaons get that the Lumads are not entitled to in this whole context of CSOs providing support to the marginalized, the vulnerable and the weak?  What purpose then, would CSOs have if they do not represent the marginalized, the vulnerable and the weak?  Had the Maguindanaons really helped the Lumads in their vulnerable state, would the latter have asked for help from outside?  Going further, had the MNLF or the MILF resolved its conflict with the government, would it have asked help from third country facilitators?  And so on and so forth.

IPDEV made an assessment of the NGOs/CSOs assisting the Lumads or non-Moro IPs in the ARMM (80 bgys in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur).  There are those who claim to be tri-people; but gravitate towards assisting mostly the Muslims and the Christians.  Only one is purposely for the Lumads.  Not to put fault on these NGOs, but maybe that’s just the way things are: the dominant culture always surfaces.  But the discussion is evolving – a realization that there are not only three peoples in Mindanao.

Nurturing inner peace.  What if CSOs teach and practice that if a person is at peace with himself, the world would be one unpeaceful person less?  CSOs are no different from any other social grouping.  They too have their share of office dynamics, organizational cultures and sub-cultures, intra- and inter-organizational friction, personal and relationship struggles, credit and billing concerns that tarpaulins now compete with epals, transparency and accountability issues. 

Why are CSOs putting labels on each other if they don’t agree with each other’s ideas?  Calling each other spoilers, evil whisperers, traitors, etc?  With the internet and virtual warriors on Facebook, labeling and name-calling has multiplied exponentially over time. 

It is said that in peace, the process is as important as the goal. Does unpeaceful language really have a place in a peace process? Did their Culture of Peace or lessons on Peacebuilding fly off the window if we CSOs got any at all? 

This language, this war of words – belie our causes.

October 2012 and March 2014.  The Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) respectively, are signed.  Nobody was quite prepared, aside from the peace panels, on this major development in the peace talks. 

I still maintain that no amount of consultations will promote understanding on what is going on.  Consultations, roadshows, caravans have become a one way traffic of disseminating information it doesn't look any different from an election campaign.  Aren’t these just good excuses to spend money?  Better than spending it on war, so they say. 

On second thought, had combatants been sent back to school or given some catch-up educational program to resume what they have left off when they joined the revolution, would they have been PhDs, Doctors, Engineers, Scientists, Managers etc many times over by now, after 17 years?  Had the money spent on checklists of trainings (menu-type choices) been spent instead on elementary schools (okay, basic education – Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic), shouldn’t it have been less difficult now to explain concepts like power sharing, wealth sharing, transitional mechanism, demobilization, self-determination, self-reliance, dignity of honest labor, industriousness – that whole spectrum of values because they know how to read and write in English, Filipino and their mother tongue?  

Some CSOs are aggressively campaigning for people to say YES to the Bangsamoro Basic Law.  No problem.  But do they really expect results without people really understanding the issue in the first place? Saying yes without understanding just to please both panels? That’s not very democratic – that’s coercion.  This way CSOs lose their independence towards being the arbiter, the neutral ground, ensuring that both sides are true to their word. 

And oh, by the way, people in the CAM are not only composed of the GPH and MILF.  By being cheering squads only to the two panels, we CSOs have failed to “ma­­­nifest the interest and will of citizens" and lost the opportunities to bring the other affected peoples to the peace side of the fence. 

Sayang.   

* * * * *

Cotabato City

2 May 2014

Aveen Acuña-Gulo has worked with the United Nations under different programs since 1998 (IOM, UN-MDP, UN Volunteers, UN-World Food Programme).  She is currently the Project Manager of IPDEV, a three-year EU-assisted project for the recognition and empowerment of indigenous peoples in the ARMM.  IPDEV is implemented by the consortium of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Institute for Autonomy and Governance and Development Consultants.  The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EU, KAS, IAG and DEVCON.

She wrote a column “The Voice” for the Mindanao Cross from 1991-2006. She likes to challenge stereotypes.  
“Don’t worry about my opinions,” she says.  “It won’t make a dent to the conventional."  

---

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_society

[2] Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD); National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA); United Nations (many UN Agencies and Donor Countries); Multi-Donor Program

[3] Government of the Republic of the Philippines; United Nations; Multi-Donor Programe

[4] Action for Conflict Transformation for Peace Programme

[5] Government of the Philippines

Euphoria, Yin & Yang Over Agreements

There's just something about being euphoric that's eerie.  We just can't shake off our penchant for pomp and revelry like what we just witnessed over the signing of the FAB and the CAB.  I compare it to eating till our tummies burst at any rare opportunity because "banat ta kaon ron kay ugma gutom" (binge now because tomorrow we'd be hungry again).  We love to strut our stuff for the opportunity to be identified with the high and mighty, opportunity to have a share in the big pie of other people's money.    When the real work resumes -- well, there's a million opportunities to work.  Who would want a million opportunities when it entails work...?

Moderation has never been our best assets.  Filipino or human nature -- go figure.

(Don't worry.  I know a handful who were there squirming to get things over with).

I do have a question:  How do you really discuss a seemingly complex concept like a peace process to someone who haven't had the opportunity for proper schooling?

Given enough time, I can look up for you all these data showing how low the literacy level of Mindanao is, let alone ARMM (the core area of the Bangsamoro).  Again, nitpicking on these numbers is the best way to kill time.  We all have come across it at different points anyway.  How much more research do we need.  Tell me if you do not get blank stares when you talk about the peace process to someone in the logged-over mountains or silted marshes of Maguindanao.

Going back:  What exactly are my hopes and fears now that the parties have formally signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro?  Is this agreement already THE Peace agreement many have been anticipating for so long?

There's the danger.  I too, shared in the euphoria when the FAB was signed in October 2012.  But it sent mixed messages.  Reports reaching our office say that individuals (who are not IPs) came in droves to tell the IPs (Teduray & Lambangian) communities that they are taking back "their" land because "the peace agreement was already signed".

We have forwarded these reports to respective duty holders (state agencies) for verification and action.

These are the handful of strategies being used.  There could be more:

One: Groups of 20-40 individuals bring seedlings of coconut, african palm and banana to a piece of land they like.  They clear that piece of land and plant these seedlings, alongside with corn.  Their leader, usually armed, tell the IPs not to worry because they're just planting crops anyway.  But historically, once the seeds/seedlings are planted, the non-IPs fight for their stake.  In the words of an IP: "Tinitiro lang kami na parang manok.  Buti pa ang manok may halaga." (We are shot at like chickens.  Good for the chicken because it has monetary value)

Let us not forget that alongside armed invasion, Mindanao was also conquered through population transfer.  Vast tracts of land were awarded by the state to corporations; and also to people of Luzon and the Visayas who were slaves in their own lands; landless people who were willing to clear forests with their bare hands, plant crops and stake their claim.  What the IPs are experiencing now is localized neo-colonialism.  

Two: The IPs (again in the context of this article Teduray, Lambangian  & Dulangan -- lest we go into splitting hairs over definitions) are made to sign some form of consent for the entry of bananas and african palm or what have you so that their lives will be better.  Haven't we heard the same promises about sugar and pineapples decades back?  Oh, yes. For everyone who became a millionaire there are thousands who barely live on a daily wage.

Three: Non-IPs engage in armed clashes in the guise of rido (clan feud).  The IPs, always the non-confrontational lot, sidestep.  The sidestep is often many strides -- towards some safe haven like a river delta, a cove, or deeper into the forest.  They usually don't join evacuation centers as they feel discriminated upon even in those conventional places of refuge.  But alas, once they return to their place of origin, somebody else owns it and usually brandishes some kind of paper to show "proof".

Four: Peace agreements are signed and promoted to say it will bring in a windfall of investments and foreign aid.  Whether the billions of dollars from a previous agreement that was poured on the blood-stained lands of Mindanao ever impacted positively to the people's lives is another story.  And we're not talking about accounting yet.    

Are so called peacemakers and peacebuilders discussing the aforementioned in the open? Maybe yes and I still have to come across it as a formal agenda.  Everything just gets lost in translation and my comprehension is just up to the level of many who are living in those logged over hills or silted marshes.

I'm not stating specific ethnic affiliations as there are only quite a few among us who can take the issue with a straight face.  But, if you take time to thresh out your thoughts, apply where applicable.  You would know what I'm talking about.  (Unless you live in Mars).

The lack of trust the IPs have over peace agreements have basis.  IPRA as a law is a peace agreement that is taking eternity to implement in the ARMM.  Moreover, right after the GRP-MNLF peace agreement, the GRP awarded thousands of hectares of forest land (IP territory) to the MNLF.

I find the IPs' proactive engagement in the current peace process magnanimous.  Despite the lack of trust, they persevered in pushing their agenda.  Unarmed.  Their mantra: "Participate. Or Perish." I pray that by the time they get their end of the (fairest) deal, they won't become the next oppressors.

Generally there's a prevailing feeling of "anything except war" over peace agreements.  I suppose this comes as a result of propaganda-savvy strategies acquired by most players: smother the general public with feel-good slogans and statements and that's all the education they need to get.

And the cycle resumes.

*****


Cotabato City
27 March 2014


Aveen Acuña-Gulo wrote a column “The Voice” for the Mindanao Cross from 1991-2006. She likes to challenge stereotypes.  “Don’t worry about my opinions,” she says.  “It won’t make a dent to the conventional."  

"Satire is interesting.  Being able to look into our flaws straight in the eye is a sign of maturity," she says.

Davao In My Mind

I don't know Duterte from Adam -- at least that one from Davao.  The only time I heard the name was when my grandmother would include Nene Duterte in prayers for the departed during our daily evening rosary .  During their time the name Nene was also given to men, very much like one Pimentel.

Oh, sorry -- where was I.

Carol Arguillas sent me a text message to list down three things I like about Davao and three things I don't like about Davao.

Without blinking an eye I immediately ticked off the following:

Likes:

1 - The Smoking Ban
2 - Honest Taxi Drivers
3 - Efficient Traffic Management
4 - Can I put a fourth? Firecracker ban

Dislikes:

1 - Flashfloods
2 - Usu-usu
3 - (Still thinking of a third one)

And since Carol prefers some explanation, let me attempt to say it in a few words.  The key is attempt.

On the Smoking Ban:
I still vividly remember the day when all of us smokers in a workshop were made to smoke inside a glass cubicle inside a fancy hotel.  This was to be in not just one hotel until those who cant avoid a nicotine fix demanded for their rights.

There we were, being watched like weird creatures in a fishbowl -- inhaling firsthand and secondhand smoke with ambivalent gusto.  As we leave the glass cubicle, we were met with smirks by the non-smokers.  The seeds of being embarrassed with how one smells were planted.  This was at least ten years ago.

On Honest Taxi Drivers:
The last thing a harried passenger would want inside a cab is having to negotiate whether to use a meter or not; add a tip or not; this route to take or that -- like what I always encounter in the gates of hell and yes, in CdeO.  Such bad business practice.  Pirmi lang sila kunwari magpaki-looy, hiway robbery na diay to.  What happened to dignity in honest toil?

But in Davao these get reported to their mayor and, as I learned just this January, six drivers were banned from the airport and their licenses were suspended after being proven for canvassing for passengers and not using their meters.  The taxi driver who told me this (I took note of the name in his ID -- Felix Adlao; forgot the name of the taxi though) said he just returned only recently to the airport to queue after the crooks were flushed out.

On Efficient Traffic Management:
Gee -- I'm just too happy to have my car's registration renewed very recently without a hitch.  I drove through red lights a couple of times in Davao and was told through the grapevine that my violation can be tracked online!  I presume those manning the monitors must already have the capacity to determine whether the driver violated traffic rules deliberately or not.

One time a traffic officer flagged me and I honestly did not know what my violation was.  I rolled down my window and for a half-second I explained to him in 50 words that I just came a minute ago from a car shop to inquire for hubcaps.  He just smiled and told me, "Seatbelt, Ma'am".  (Was the name Coprado? Apologies. This was in 2004 or 2005).  With a melted heart I gained a healthy respect for traffic and safety rules.

On the Firecracker ban:
It's not only second hand smoke, but lesser beings in other cities still have to know what noise pollution is.

* * * * *

On Flashfloods:
I wouldn't want to be in any low-lying area or a riverside in Davao when it rains.  Even for half an hour.

On Usu-usu:
Naa pa ba ni ron?  Anyway, bka naundang na since nagka vehicular accident tong jeep kay wa na magdungog ang pasahero ug ang driver sa kakusog sa sawnz.  I wonder why passengers still have not mustered the strength to squeeze the neck of drivers who wont turn down the volume of their sound system to a level that will promote world peace.

And while we're at it (noise pollution), it's good to note that Davao has started to put a curfew on videokes.  Arrrgggghhhh those gadgets for self-glorification and illusory stardom are just making life miserable for the rest of an unwilling audience around the nearest neighborhood.  The mayor did not give in to the pleas of extortive mendicancy (if there is such a term) saying that the right of a person to turn up the volume ends with the right of the other person to live in peace and quiet and open air.

Going back: Again I don't know the Davao Mayor from Adam.  I just know him through the results of his work.  No need to put up screaming ads inviting people to come or live or invest in Davao.  No need to put up epal tarps to brandish how good and multi-awarded he is.  All he needed to do was do his homework, clean up the city hands on and work within the constraints of the law.  Looks like he did not spend so much energy cooking up new laws or ordinances to see whether it will work or not.  He just let it work.

And haha.  I like the way he speaks the language of the bad guys -- for example "...kining yawang..." (did I hear it right...?)  It's the only language the bad guys and gals understand that he means what he says.  For a handful of times I'm amused at myself for not being eager enough to have a picture taken with him at Yellow Fin, Iron Horse or the mall.

And before he disappears from the local governance scene, I hope the culture of efficiency and service is no longer personality-dependent but ingrained as a way of life of Davaoenos.  And hopefully radiate to the rest of the country.

###

Cotabato City
5 March 2014

Dear Maam Hilario

I loved the way you wore lavender eyeshadow.  Through my eleven-year old pre-teener eyes, I thought it was a fancy way of being noticed above conventional colors of blue and gray in different shades.

You wore lovely dresses too; plus shoes and bags to match.  You brought along with you a curly-haired toddler who also came in pretty dresses, socks and doll shoes -- and wrote squiggles on the blackboard until we figured it read -- or at least sounded -- "Isel".

Thirty-seven years later, that is my enduring image of you, our 6th grade teacher.  That was my Maam Hilario for me.  To be exact, as you wrote on the blackboard, your full name is Corita Paz Hilario.  I don't remember whether I verbally asked how a first name could also be a family name, i.e. Paz; but I know I asked it in my head.

We were the first class you handled upon arriving in Musuan to join Sir Robinson (I always thought he was a bachelor).  You said you hail from San Pablo City (we had to look it up) and it was fascinating for us true-blue Bisdaks who were taga-Bukids to hear you speak in true-blue Tagalog, er, Filipino.

You called us "Gels."  That you couldn't pronounce the R in GIRLS wasn't really a big issue: it was  how you called us and we found it endearing.

You wore your makeup like it was the most natural thing  in the world.  I thought I would be as savvy when I grew up but that sort of just didn't happen.  Even if you would go with us scouting, dancing -- your makeup didn't stain.  Your moves were always paced, consistent.  Was it because you were so calm you didn't perspire...?

There we were, a bundle of raging hormones in a time when teasing in the class revolved around boy-girl matchups; puppy loves that we thought would last forever until we found out that forever was actually only a few months.  You must have teased me as well with a wink or with that one quick raise of an eyebrow and a demure smile.

Oh, you taught us Balagtasan like it was as easy to memorize as Yoyoy Villame's Magellan.  I wonder how you made me get those lines in my head.  I no longer remember who was the Kampupot or the Bubuyog -- or what my role was.  It just left an imprint that writing poetry was a strong form of  expression and that there was not just one form of the Tagalog language.  I left Musuan for high school somewhere else and I only had glimpses of how you were.

Fast forward to 2010.  CMU Elementary School Batch 76 met during the Centennial Celebration where we invited our teachers.  You were still the same smart dresser with the measured movements.  Apart from a couple of lines on your face, you haven't changed much.

I get updates of you through our FB Group, and of course through Eizel.  Our batch was chattering (to use the word 'chatting' would be tame -- we do virtually sound like bats: we don't have squirrels in Bukidnon although we have flying lemurs. I just don't know how they sound) about a 40th Anniversary Reunion.  I got a text message from Candido Mercado Jr aka Didong who now lives in MVC and regularly sends me inspiring text messages.  It took some time for this particular message to sink in -- saying that you already went ahead.  Lillibeth Coruña aka Yvette Cueto and the rest on Facebook provided the answers even before we posted our questions.

My only regret is that I do not have childhood pictures with you anymore -- pictures that I could have shared with classmates and friends in our middle age.  Moving from one residence to another over the years have taken its toll on these mementos.  But images of you are still etched in my head; and the comfortable feeling of being guided by one's mentor still etched in my heart.

These are my fondest memories of you, Maam.  I will miss you.
  
Sunshine,
Aveen

* * * * *

Cotabato City
15 January 2014

Pakloy

My true-blue Cebuano a.k.a. bisdak Nanay had this word for sissies.  I remember her spewing this crisp expletive whenever

1)      we kids did a sloppy job;

2)      we did not move in a snappy way;

3)      we could not decide or we made stupid decisions;

4)      we acted like wimps; or

5)      someone else moved the way we kids did in numbers 1-4.

No, I do not associate it with gay-hood inasmuch as first, I am not a boy; and second, I think sissy-ness applies to both male and female, young or old even if Wikipedia says it somehow applies to males.

Now why did I think of pakloy after not hearing it in like thousands of years? It’s a lazy Christmas morning and I had the luxury of wasting sometime on something insignificant, say, the 15-minute video (no sound) of a certain mayor in a situation with security guards of a posh subdivision in the National Capital Region. 

Uneventful at first, until there’s somebody so concerned enough to pull out an umbrella and made payong someone who happens to be male.  I tried figuring out whether it was drizzling or something: looks like it was not.  Of course videos can be deceiving; I must have missed the drizzle.

“Ka-pakloy ba,” I heard myself muttering. 

What’s the big deal with men who have to be sheltered with umbrellas anyway?  So that they will not catch colds?  Or a fever?  If it was indeed drizzling can they not carry umbrellas by themselves? 

Ohw-kay then.  What’s the more potent turn-off: men who have to be sheltered with umbrellas (pinapayungan) or men who always get colds (sipunin)? 

Multiply the situation, radiating outside the NCR.  It is not rare to see the most masculine of men scampering for shelter with the slightest hint of a drizzle.  If someone treats them like babies then umbrellas are flipped open somewhere offering refuge.

Long shot, but yes, I see this type of use of the umbrella as a reflection of how things are being run in this country.  Those who are expected to make things happen are actually hiding under the shelter of position and power.  Rolling up one’s sleeves and getting one’s hands dirty to get things done have now become relative.  That’s the real turn-off.

I know my closest friends do not feel slighted when I gently turn down any offer for being “payonged”.  For one, I have proven to myself that drizzles do not have a direct correlation to being sick.  Let those who have money to spend on elaborate research disprove that.

While there are a million ways of separating the sissies from the willful, it may take so much effort to convince me that umbrellas are not among them.

*****

Cotabato City

25 December 2013

Aveen Acuña-Gulo posts in her Facebook as the Monumental Operations Manager (MOM) who is a Bukidnon-born Cebuano mother of three (3) Maguindanao-Ilonggo-Cotabateño children.  She will always be a child at heart even if she is a hundred years old.    :-)

 

Honor the IPRA

(This was delivered in Filipino)

STATEMENT OF SUPPORT

To the Lumads in the ARMM:

Teduray, Lambangian, Dulangan Manobo, Higaonon

Greetings of Peace!

The journey for Lumad recognition in the ARMM did not start yesterday, last year or in the last decade.  Like many of its fellow Lumads in Mindanao, it has suffered, in the words of researchers – minoritization – with the entry of settlers and their different versions of development.    

Right after the EDSA Revolution, a bill for Indigenous Peoples Rights was filed, in the same year that a bill creating an autonomous region in Mindanao was filed.  Today as we all celebrate the 18^th Celebration of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, let us recall some markers in recent history. 

August 9 is the date declared by the UN General Assembly in December of 1994 and was celebrated the year after.

1997 was a landmark year for the Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines.  It was the year that a law protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples was passed.  What took about three years to pass a law creating the ARMM took 11 arduous years for IPRA to be passed. 

IPRA as we all know seeks to recognize, promote and protect the rights of the Indigenous Peoples.  These bundle of rights include the Right to Ancestral Domain; the Right to Self-Governance and Empowerment; Social Justice and Human Rights; and Right to Cultural Integrity.

In 2003, the Regional Legislative Assembly adopted Resolution No 269 to ensure the application of IPRA in the ARMM; and mandating the OSCC to formulate the implementing rules and regulations.

In 2005, Resolution No 119 was passed by the Regional Legislative Assembly approving the implementation of Resolution No 269 for the delineation of the ancestral domain claims of the non-Moro IPs in the ARMM.

In 2006, Administrative Order No 1 was issued – these are guidelines in the implementation of the Free and Prior Informed Consent or FPIC.  FPIC is the consensus of all members of the Indigenous Cultural Communities which is determined in accordance with their respective customary laws and practices that is free from any external manipulation, interference and coercion and obtained after fully disclosing the intent and scope of the program/project/activity, in a language and process the community understands.

In 2007, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was passed.

In 2008, Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 241 or what is better known as the Tribal Peoples’ Rights Act, was passed.  The implementing rules and regulations were reviewed and finally passed five years after, in 2012.

Glimmer of Hope

Twenty-seven years after EDSA Revolution, sixteen years after the passing of IPRA, ten years after Resolution 269, five years after MMAA 241 – it was pronounced by the ARMM Government early this year that there is no legal impediment in implementing the IPRA in the ARMM.  Moreover, the newly appointed members of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) have just assumed office in August 1. 

Though long in coming, these two developments provide a glimmer of hope in the journey of the Lumad in the ARMM.  It is hoped that the endless passing around of the Lumads in the ARMM, marginalized as they are, would finally come to a stop. 

As this year’s theme is: “Indigenous Peoples Building Alliances: Honouring Treaties, Agreements and other Constructive Arrangements”, we support the call of the Lumads in the ARMM for the NCIP to look at IPRA again as the government’s peace agreement with the Indigenous Peoples. As pacts and agreements were forged orally in the ways of our forefathers, manifestation of this Word of Honor is the issuance of the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT).

The Lumads in the ARMM – Teduray, Lambangian, Dulangan Manobo and Higaonon – need all the support they can get.  From us who are in privileged positions, let this be a call.  Remember that we, too, at certain points in our history, also suffered oppression from the powerful and the mighty.  Let us not be the oppressors of today by depriving the Lumads of what are rightfully theirs.  As Nelson Mandela quoted Williamson in his inaugural speech: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”  Let the implementation of IPRA be the legacy. 

On behalf of our operating partners – the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG), Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), and Development Consultants (DEVCON); funders European Commission (EC) and German Government – IPDEV as an independent entity reiterates its support to all initiatives that will recognize the Lumads in the ARMM for their empowerment and sustainable development. 

Meuyag!

Aveen Acuña-Gulo

Project Manager

IPDEV

9^th day of August, 2013 in the Celebration of the 18^th World IP Day.

Cotabato City, Philippines

Nothing

There’s nothing really in the 4^th SONA that we have not heard in the last twelve months.  At least for those of us who had access to conventional and social media.    

The choir wore ethnic-inspired costume that to my untrained eye looked Teduray.  Why it didn’t seem to be a portent of things to be mentioned in the SONA I have no idea.

Throughout the applause-interrupted 104-minute speech I waited for issues regarding indigenous peoples to be mentioned.  Nothing.  Oh sorry, there was the choir.  Then a wee bit about “katutubo” getting health insurance.  And then images of indigenous people ready to give baskets to tourists.  Then nothing.   

I must have expected too much.  The SONA should have been titled State of Metro Manila Address.  What would a P200 million profit from water services mean to a Mindanawon, anyway?  Or a fantastic railway system that would run the rat race faster?  Instead of decongesting a sinking metro by dispersing resources, it seemed like an invitation for people from the provinces to congest it further.  That then gives more justification for passing the Reproductive Health Law, maybe.

Surely there’s a connection between floodwaters and logging; between rice and cartels; between full coverage and the spike in hospitalizations; between cash transfers and NGOs; between wealth-sharing and environmental protection.  But in the speech the connections did not cross over.  Di tumawid. 

Let’s leave the Alelluiahs for the accomplishments to each government office with its own press relations budget. 

The non-mention of indigenous peoples’ issues is actually a reflection of the outright neglect of the Aquino administration to fulfill its part as duty holder.  Issues like mining, logging, foreign investors, human rights.  Moreover, it seems to have forgotten, too, that when the government passed Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) in 1997, it signed a Peace Agreement with the indigenous peoples of this country.    

A Peace Agreement? Yes, it is.  And what makes IPRA unique as a Peace Agreement is that it was largely fought in the legal arena, not in the war zone.  It was won without a solid armed front.  That makes two Peace Agreements that the government has become wanting in fulfilling its side of the pact.  Do we know what is usually done to a party that reneges? 

Despite its flaws, the IPRA is also a poverty alleviation program.  Why subject IPs to the indignity of dole-outs and plastic cards when their indigenous knowledge, skills, and practices are still existing?  Why give them investors when they sorely ask for schools?  When they know how to read and write and be competitive, can’t they then decide for themselves what business endeavor to undertake?  When given the chance to manage their resources by themselves, can’t they not also show stewardship and prudence like their forefathers?  Government is only the facilitator, the guide – and not party to the business.  Hindi na dapat makipag-kumpetensya ang gobyerno sa negosyo ng pribadong pamayanan. 

Despite its flaws, the IPRA provides legal bases of many actions the IPs are doing in the protection of their rights i.e. Right to Ancestral Domain, Right to Cultural Integrity, Right to Self-Governance and Empowerment, and Social Justice & Human Rights.  Imagine protecting your ancestral lands with unseen walls?  Imagine decongesting anglo-saxon influenced courts with cases that cannot be decided speedily if filed anyway?  Imagine deciding collectively so that accountability is not shouldered only by one person?  Imagine not having had to bow down and be perpetually subservient to all forms of domination?

Oh, the Pork Barrel.  Though it was not mentioned, it shone like lard in the gowns and cars.  It was also exciting to note too, that behind those glam and false eyelashes – are actually nothing. 

* * * * * *

Aveen Acuña-Gulo

Cotabato City

22 July 2013