Love that is Real and Active! - Rural Missionaries of the Philippines

Transcription

Kidlap
Maiden Issue | October 2014
MAGAZINE
The official semi-annual publication of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines - Northern Mindanao Sub-Region (RMP-NMR), Inc
Love al
e
R
s
i
t
tha nd
a
!
e
v
i
t
c
A
kidlap
MAGAZINE
Maiden Issue, October 2014
Editorial Board:
Sr. Ma. Famita N. Somogod, MSM
Sr. Mary Jane C. Caspillo, MMS
Agustina C. Juntilla
Melissa A. Comiso
Sr. Susan M. Dejolde, MSM
Staff for this Issue:
Winbell Mordino M. Visitacion
Anjo C. Bacarisas
Gary Ben S. Villocino
Edison Jesse G. Pusing
Jejomar Clien M. Sobrepena
.....................................................
‘Kidlap’
is
a
Cebuano
term
for
‘sparks.’
KIDLAP
Magazine is the official, semi-annual publication of the Rural
Missionaries of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Sub-Region (RMP-NMR), Inc. Contributions, comments and inquiries
are welcome. Please send them to:
Rural Missionaries of the Philippines
Northern Mindanao Sub-Region (RMP-NMR), Inc
Rm. 01, Kalinaw Lanao Center for Interfaith Resources
0016 Bougainvilla Puti, Villaverde
About
Cover
the
9200 Iligan City
Love that is real and active. RMP member
Philippines
Sr. Mary Jane C. Caspillo of the congregation of the
T/F: +63 (63) 223 5179
Medical Mission Sisters joins the farmers of the
E: [email protected]
Buffalo-Tamaraw- Limus (BTL) communities in
Dologon, Maramag, Bukidnon as they harvest
Soft copies of this issue can be downloaded from
yields. The BTL farmers continue to assert their
www.rmp-nmr.org
right over 400 hectares of land being taken over by
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/rmp.nmr
the Central Mindanao University. The said uni-
Follow us at Twitter: @rmpnmr
versity is using the anti-farmer and pro-landlord
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program to justify
This publication has been published with support from the
the take-over.
World Association for Christian Association (WACC) and the
Bread for the World. The views expressed in this issue are
Get-to-know Sister Jane and RMP’s human rights
the sole responsibility of RMP-NMR and do not necessarily
work for the peasants of Northern Mindanao inside
represent the views of the donors.
as you flip the pages.
.............................................................................................................
The Rural Missionaries of the Philippines or RMP is a national organization, inter-diocesan and inter-congregational in
character, of men and women religious, priests and lay people. We live and work with the rural poor. Founded by the
Association of Major Women Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMWRSP) in 1969, RMP members commit themselves
to support the Filipino peasantry’s quest for social justice, freedom, and genuine agrarian reform. As a Church of the
Poor, the RMP aims to strengthen the awareness of the rural poor regarding the truth that all have the right to live fully as
human beings, to self-determination, and to freedom from oppression and all forms of exploitation.
RMP-NMR has been established to promote missionary work in Northern Mindanao sub-region. RMP-NMR is duly
registered in the Security and Exchange Commission with registration number CN-200927387 as a non-stock, non-profit
corporation on 22 June 2009, and with TIN Number 408-441-015-000.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
EDITORIAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lovethatis Real and Active
When the wife of a farmer-leader—in the middle of the night—knocks on the door of your convent,
asking you to help her save the life of her husband, drenched in blood and wrapped in her arms, what
will you do? Or when members of an indigenous community—after days of walking from the mountains of Pantaron, barefoot, hungry and chilled to the bone — arrive at your doorstep, asking for help,
needing your protection from the effects of militarization that wrought havoc in their lives, how will
you act?
The Mindanao Human Rights and Peace Conference held from Sept 18-20, 2014 in Davao City became an
important venue of discussions on the blood-soaked human rights situation in the entire Mindanao region.
According to the 114 human rights defenders who attended the Conference, there had been 83 extrajudicial
killings of Mindanawon activists, indigenous, environmental, and community leaders; 508 individuals filed with
608 trumped up charges all over Mindanao; and displacement of 200,000 individuals all over Mindanao.
No, these atrocities did not take place during the Martial Law era. All of these happened under the watch of
Pres. Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III who continues to promote the counter-insurgency program Internal Peace
and Security Program. This program, dubbed “Oplan Bayanihan”, gives state security forces blanket authority to attack not only legitimate combatants and “insurgents”, but more so the communities of farming and
indigenous peoples unwilling to submit to “development” programs aggressively encroaching the rural areas
of Mindanao.
These terrible scenes of violence perpetrated against the people of God are very much present in Mindanao’s
rural areas and everywhere else where poverty and strife are a way of life. They are happening just outside
our majestic cathedrals and comfortable abbeys.
Our attitude and approach as Christians towards these scenarios should not be a case of perplexity. The third
chapter verses 16-17 of the book of John state with clarity the need to show solicitude to our brothers and
sisters in agony:
“The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our
brothers. If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can
the love of God remain in him?”
But more often than not, too many members of the church turn a blind eye to those acts of state violence
that break the serenity of our religious communities even as these same church members proclaim “love” for
our brethren. Many others are also content to perform risk-free charitable works, and hesitate or even shrink
away from the duty to denounce and struggle against the evil structures that endlessly breed hunger and
violence.
We are being challenged to live out the preferential option for the poor in the current world marred by deepening divisions between the haves and the have-nots. The Church’ social teachings say it clearly: ‘In a society
marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt
25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.’
Needless to say, the need to show compassion to our suffering brethren should not only involve word or
speech, but in deeds and truth, according to the same rules of John.#
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Kidlap
MAGAZINE
4
What's
Inside.
..
4 Landlessness and modern
day exploitation of peasants
8
On CARP expiration
10 Scriptures and land
Sr. Mary Francis B. Anover, RSM
12 The land of broken
promises
11
26
and Omiara Helena Derwash
16 Follow Sister Jane,
be a Rural Missionary
Winbel Mordino M. Visitacion
20 Welcoming the strangers
Jonah Cossma A. Jumagbas
20
12
22 Where there are
no schools
26 Gone with the wind
Anjo C. Bacarisas
32 RMP page
Membership to various organizations
Finacial statement | Order our
publications
4| Kidlap
MAGAZINE
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ON FARMERS' ISSUES
Landlessness
and modern-day exploitation of peasants
By Gary Ben S. Villocino
Skimming through online tourism
commend the Department of Tourism
estry and fishing) stands at 856,000;
pages about Northern Mindanao,
for its efforts to promote what North-
this means that if the lands were dis-
one would definitely be enticed to
ern Mindanao has to offer. Described
tributed equally, each individual would
visit the region and plunge into the
in here is a different version of North-
receive .78 hectares. A sizable piece of
vibrant colors of all its waterfalls,
ern Mindanao. The real Northern Min-
land which would then be enough to
greenery and indigeneity. Tourist
danao where there is extreme poverty
provide for the needs of a rural fam-
destinations such as the white water
caused by landlessness, and where
ily. However, that is not the case. This
rafting resorts along Cagayan de Oro
state violence continues to victimize
means that seven out of 10 farmers do
River would definitely thrill amateur
civilians.
not own the land.
Landlessness in Figures
The depiction of farmers who
and professional rafting enthusiasts
alike. Religious folk would probably
are portrayed as dirt poor, darkened
feel how it is to be in the presence of
an all-powerful being after seeing the
According to the National Economic
by the sun, wearing threadbare clothes
50-foot statue of Christ in El Salvador
Development Authority Region 10,
that fail to hide the hunger their
City.
Northern Mindanao has a total land
wearers suffer cannot be closer to the
area of 1, 946, 455 hectares. Some 46%
truth.
As the eco-tourism industry has taken
of the land has been categorized as
root in the region, the image of the
alienable and disposable. Out of these,
region cemented in the collective
34.4% or roughly 672, 363.9 has been
The reason? Land monopoly by big
consciousness of many is that of a
devoted for agricultural use. These
landlords and corporate farms.
bustling economy where people’s lives
figures reveal that the region is highly
are relatively well-of and everybody
dependent on agriculture for its eco-
Peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid
randomly blurts out “tsada!” on an
nomic development. Meanwhile, the
ng Pilipinas – NMR documents that
hourly basis out of sheer contentment.
number of persons employed in the
only 712 landed families control over
This article, however, is not intended to
agricultural industry (agriculture, for-
103, 379 hectares of land in the region.
Kidlap
MAGAZINE
In the case of Bukidnon, for instance,
total pineapple production. According to
the province’s extensive land areas are
DTI data, Del Monte Philippines was able
and poverty renders them highly vulner-
mostly cultivated by corporations and
to earn P16.68 billion in profits in 2010.
able to the worst forms of exploitation.
rich land-owners. Pineapple plantations
most social services make them poor,
From high land rent, usury and low
alone take up 79,501 hectares of lands,
Apart from the plantations, big tracts of
and banana plantations cover 31,607
land are utilized for other uses. Lease
hectares.
agreements for pasture lands in the
wages face landless peasants.
High land rent
region use an average of 339 hectares
These figures when compared to 1990
each. The biggest is Ramcar Ranch Inc.
In the region, share tenancy is still
plantation hectarage data reveals the
in Tagoloan Misamis Oriental. It con-
rampant. Under these scheme, land-
extent of these corporations’ rapid
trols 1,937.69 hectares for cattle raising.
lords allow peasants to till the land.
expansion. Twenty years ago, there were
Competing for these are also the vast
After harvest, the peasants give a share
only 13,859 hectares for pineapple and
lands allocated for government pro-
of their produce to the landlords who
2,881.00 for bananas. Since the year
grams under DENR’s Community-Based
own the land. In essence, the share of
2000 lands covered by plantations have
Forestry Management Program (CBFM).
the produce given by the peasant is the
continually expanded by an average of
In the province of Bukidnon, there
land rent they pay to the landlord. In
1,557.9 hectares per year.
are 140,437.30 hectares of land, while
the coconut fams of Misamis Oriental,
Misamis Oriental on the other hand has
the share tenancy arrangement is called
As of 2009, nine huge companies alone
57,560.58 hectares. These figures reveal
“tersyo.” Under this arrangement, the net
own a combined 70,129.28 hectares of
a very simple fact: land monopoly in the
income is divided into three equal parts
pineapple and banana plantations. They
region pushes peasants further into the
wherein two parts will go to the landlord,
are among the more than 50 plantations
margins of poverty. This is the devastat-
while one part will go to the peasant. In
that operate in the province. Meanwhile,
ing result of the contradiction between
the rice fields, the most common share
Bukidnon’s more than 55,000 sugar-
landed and landless classes.
tenancy is “pinito”. Simply put, for every
seven sacks of harvest, one sack will go
cane plantations are owned by only 365
landlords in vast haciendas.To date, at
Landlessness and Exploitation
least four major actors in the pineapple
to the peasant. The most brutal arrangement can be seen in the coconut farms
production industry have tightened their
Because of the absence of their own
inside the Phividec industrial estate in
grip in the landlocked province.
lands to till, peasants are pushed to sell
Tagoloan Misamis Oriental. There, peas-
their labor to landlords to earn slave
ants only get 10% of the net income from
wages. Their lack of access to land and
the coconuts they plant and harvest.
Their presence has resulted in the skyrocketing of the total pineapple production of the region to an average volume
of production to 1,173,963 metric tons
for 2010-2012. Currently in operation are
players such as Dole, Davao Agricultural
Ventures Corporation – DAVCO, SUMIFU,
Mount Kitanglad Agricultural Ventures
Inc. – MKAVI and DMPI.
The biggest is Del Monte Phils. Inc,
(DMPI) which, since the 1920s, has been
operating in the province’s northern
parts and now is estimated to occupy
at least 23,000 hectares of land, a big
chunk of which (est. 8,000 hectares) was
leased back to them by DMPI Employees
Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Coop Inc.
- (DEARBC). Del Monte’s head office is
in Camp Phillips, a former military boot
camp cum worker bunkers, in Manolo
Fortich Bukidnon. It is estimated that
the Del monte plantation in Bukidnon
contributes to 40% -50% of the country’s
A Buffalo-Tamaraw-Limus (BTL) farmer shows a copy of his CLOA which was later revoked.
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Usury
high interest loan, usurers are some-
maintenance task. Some landlords give
times consolidators in the town centers
free lunch to their workers, while some
By definition, usury refers to the act of
for particular farm products. Because
do not. This, however, depends of the
exceedingly high interest rates. Com-
the peasants borrowed money from
crops, and whether the workers are
monly, interest rates peasants are
the usurers, they are obliged to only
male or female. For example the real
forced to bear amount to roughly 20-
sell their produce exclusively to that
wage rate of male sugarcane workers
30% of the total money they borrowed.
particular usurer at a lower farm gate
in the region is at P100 per day, while
price.
their female counterparts get P91 only.
In coconut farms, male workers get a
Primarily, usurers flourish in circumstances where peasants need to
Low wages of farm workers
real wage rate of P114, female workers
get P105. Males who take care of corn
finance their farm inputs. For example,
many of the corn fields in the region
Have you heard of minimum wage? The
crops receive P101, while their female
are planted not with the traditional
farm workers on the region have heard
counterparts P98.
varieties such as “tinigib”, but with com-
of that as well. And it is something
mercially available seeds from multi-
they yearn for.
That this reveals is the blatant exploitation of the landlord class. Emboldened
national corporations such as Pioneer,
Monsanto, Decalb and others. Farmers
Wages for farm workers region are as
that the social institution expected to
turn to usurers to help them finance
low as they can get. On the average,
regulate their conduct – the state – is
the pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers
farm workers receive an average of
under their influence, they pass laws to
and all other farm inputs they invest
P150.00 for a day’s work. This is for the
favor their class interests, criminalize
in their crops. What makes this worse
basic “hornal” which is weeding and
peasant struggles and employ the reli-
is that apart from having to paying the
trimming the fields, much more of a
able guns of the military.
Kidlap
MAGAZINE
"More and more
farming communities
are doing whatever
they can, through
their mass organizations, to defend
themselves from
tyranny and
oppression. "
oppression. In 2013 alone, the Kilusang
of land in the region and completely
Magbubukid ng Pilipinas documented
destroy all vestiges of feudal power,
at least 35 peasant campaigns of vari-
and give Filipino farmers the justice
ous levels.
they deserve.
From villages to inter-municipal
A famous peasant advocate once
campaigns, peasants in the NRM are
said, “For the present upsurge of the
determined to assert their rights to
peasant movement is a colossal event.
land, rights and seek social justice. Fo-
In a very short time, several hundred
cused on the increase of buying price
million peasants will rise like a mighty
for their produce, reduction of interest
storm, like a hurricane, a force so swift
rates for loans, fees for milling and oth-
and violent that no power, however
Under these deplorable conditions, it is
ers, these campaigns have led to small
great, will be able to hold it back. They
impossible to keep the protest banner
but meaningful changes in the lives of
will smash all the trammels that bind
sidelined for too long. As a matter of
more than 48, 010 peasants who have
them and rush forward along the road
fact, there has been a vibrant resur-
benefitted from these local campaigns.
to liberation. They will sweep all the
What do we do then?
imperialists, warlords, corrupt officials,
gence of the militant peasant mass
movement in the region in the recent
However, there are still many more
local tyrants and evil gentry into their
years. More and more farming com-
issues and challenges that require the
graves.”
munities are doing whatever they can,
unity of the peasantry to confront and
through their mass organizations, to
overcome. Much has to be done to im-
And this can only come to pass through
defend themselves from tyranny and
mediately redistribute the huge chunks
our collective strength and struggle. #
Members of farmer group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilinas - NMR rally on Peasant Day, October 21, 2014
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MAGAZINE
On
CARP
Expiration:
Why weep for something we wish was dead?
At 5 o’clock in the morning, Danilo
Menente sips his cup of coffee as he
By Gary Ben S. Villocino
rights to land the way the BTL struggled
very same CARP law.
for theirs through the years.
But BTL farmers insisted to stay, as-
prepares to fetch his carabao in time
for a hard day’s work. He then ties his
serting their right over the lands versus
BTL farmers: victims of CARP
bolo around his waist, puts on a straw
corporate plantations. CMU was then
planning to lease the lands to DAVCO—
hat and then dons a long sleeved shirt,
Fresh still in the memories of many is the
a joint venture of ANFLOCOR Group of
a sequence typical to that of super
struggle of the BTL farmers who, back
Companies and Del Monte Philippines,
heroes wearing their costumes in films
in June of 2011, were shot at by Central
Inc (DMPI)—for their pineapple plantation
as they prepare to fight crime. In this
Mindanao University’s (CMU) guards dur-
expansion.
case, “Tatay Danny,” as he is fondly
ing their camp-out protest in front of the
called by his peers, is his own hero.
university. The 800-member organization
ANFLOCOR was established by the late
was at that time asserting their legitimate
agri-business mogul Antonio Floirendo,
Danilo Menente is the current chairper-
rights to the 400-hectare land which was
Sr and is currently headed by his son,
son of KASAMA-Bukidnon and is one of
originally awarded to them through the
Antonio Floirendo Jr.
the pillars of the Buffalo-Tamaraw-Limus
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Pro-
Despite their legal disadvantage, BTL
(BTL) Farmers’ Association.
gram (CARP).
dared the odds. Through militant
His graying hair, sun-bronzed skin and
The land was wrestled away by CMU
control the land even when CARP and
classic Ilongo antics conceal the brand
courtesy of the program’s many flaws
the Supreme Court tell them otherwise.
of militancy he displays during peasant
which excluded lands belonging to state
They remained in the land and defied all
protests. His shrill voice transforms into
universities regardless of actual use. The
the attempts of the CMU administration
something enigmatic, it turns into the
highest court ruled out that the lands are
to eject them. The BTL case is proof that
voice of truth, emancipation and hope.
exempted from distribution through the
carrying out of a farmers’ vital role in ag-
With a megaphone in hand, Danny dares
agrarian reform law since it is allotted for
ricultural production does not necessarily
his fellow farmers to struggle for their
‘scientific purposes’ as mandated by the
require CLOAs.
struggle, the farmers now physically
Kidlap
MAGAZINE
Asked about his opinion on CARP’s im-
CARP failed to break land monopoly
pending expiration, Menente smirked
and in fact strengthened it, is an un-
and sharply retorted, “Why weep for
derstatement.
something we wish was dead?” Had
he made that comment on a much
Hacienda Carmen
larger platform, thousands of peasants
would have nodded in agreement.
The collusion between DAR, Land Bank
and the landlords made this possible.
‘Land to the tiller or the landlord?’
As of the 2012, the average valuation
of agricultural land was equivalent to
"CARP was an almost cut
and paste program from the
World Bank’s 1975 Land Reform Policy Paper on “market
oriented land reform.” From
its inception it was never
meant to distribute lands to
the poor and landless peasants, let alone shatter feudal
rule in the countryside."
The program was filled with so much
P319, 740 per hectare. Banana farms
rhetoric such as “land- to-the-tiller”
on the other hand are the most expen-
mechanisms (i.e., seed and fertilizer
and “social justice tool.” But, looking
sive with an average value of P811, 000
subsidies, marketing support etc.)
at where it the law has led us now, it is
per hectare. They have set the valua-
subsequent crop failures made most
both laughable and agitating.
tion of land so high that farmer benefi-
of the farmers debt-trapped. Eventu-
ciaries are forced to pay amortization
ally, some of the beneficiaries pawned
Because CARP was an almost cut and
rates they cannot afford ultimately
while some sold their lands evading
paste program from the World Bank’s
leading them to sell their lands to land-
CARPs restrictions through dubious
1975 Land Reform Policy Paper on
lords resulting in the re-concentration
waivers. It was estimated that 99%
“market oriented land reform.” From
of lands into fewer hands.
of the beneficiaries cannot pay the
its inception it was never meant to
amortization. Landlords and some
distribute lands to the poor and land-
A case in point is the experience of
propertied individuals procured the
less peasants, let alone shatter feudal
the beneficiaries of Hacienda Carmen.
lands from the beneficiaries who then
rule in the countryside. It was mainly
The beneficiaries, all 130 of them,
allowed the entry of agri-business
designed so that landlords can imple-
were awarded a 288-hectare collec-
firms.
ment agrarian reform or totally evade
tive CLOA. When distributed, each one
it, collect huge sums of money through
would hold 2.19 hectares. Because
To make things worse, the landlords in
“just compensation” while retaining full
the land was planted with sugarcane,
fact have a say as to who the poten-
control over their lands.
it was assessed to have a high mar-
tial beneficiaries of their land can be.
ket value. Each one of them would
CARP even included a section for the
As of 2012, based on the records
pay Land Bank and amortization of
criminalization of agrarian dissent, dis-
from IBON Foundation, in the period
P27, 813 which was payable within 30
couraging farmers who might protest
of 1988-2012 a total of P82.85 billion
years. Because CARP was not built with
against government and landowners’
pesos in taxpayers’ money have been
sufficient support
decisions. . . (Continued on page 30)
given by the government to landlords
in the form of Landowner’s compensation (LOC). This amount is equivalent
to 42% of the Department of Agrarian
Reform’s Land Acquisition and Distribution (LAD) expenses of P197 Billion
for the period. And if we add the figures since Marcos’ PD 27, almost P93
billion had been given to landlords.
These included members from the
nation’s top 40 richest families given
compensation. If indeed CARP was a
positive force in Philippine Agiculture,
it would have increased the lands “fully
owned” by farmers. Back in 1971, an
estimated 58% of total farms in the
country were owned by farmers but
after the advent of CARP, the figure
dipped to 47.5% in 2002. To say that
Members of the Buffalo-Tamaraw-Limus Farmers' Association
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S
criptures
and Land
by Sr. Mary Francis B. Añover, RSM
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MAGAZINE
Our forefather in the Faith – Abraham was called by Yahweh to
a land of “flowing with milk and honey” with the promise that they
will become a “nation” and will be a blessing as well (Genesis 12).
From what we learned in Scriptures and the history of our forefathers, land for them is food security, abundance of resources
to support life. The promise that they will become a nation for
them means political sovereignty – that they decide as a people
for their own country. For Filipino farmers, land and is life, and this was
also for our forefathers in the faith. Being an agricultural country, food
security to support life is found on our land. But what happened to our
land? It is monopolized by big agri-corporations with vast plantations of
crops not meant for local consumption but for export. Our mountains
are being destroyed by big mining companies who extract minerals not
for the country’s benefit but for foreigners, causing environmental degradation and displacing thousands of indigenous people.
Looking back, it was at creation that Yahweh the creator committed the
world and its resources to humanity. Along with creation, this dominion
was reinforced in the Decalogue’s eighth commandment, “You shall not
SR. MARY FRANCIS AÑOVER, RSM, is a member of the
steal” (Ex. 20:15), which provided for property rights as well. With this
Religious Sisters of Mercy and was chosen by the Asian Ru-
command, not only was the principle of ownership recognized, but it also
ral Women’s Coalition as one of the “100 Women from all
regarded as criminal all attempts to take that property from a person in a
countries across Asia who continuously fight for survival,
fraudulent way and then regard it as one’s own.
justice and freedom” in 2010.
In Israel, all property belonged to the Lord. It was made clear by Leviticus
Sister Francis was RMP-NMR’s Coordinator in 2007-2009
25:23: “the land is mine.” And because Yahweh is the one and only Lord
and was elected twice as the National Coordinator of the
over Israel, he was also Lord of the land and its produce. Accordingly, the
RMP (2010 and 2013) after pioneering campaigns of the
Holy Land was God’s domain (Joshua 22:19) and that land was the land
rural poor countryside at the expense of her personal secu-
of Yahweh (Hosea. 9:3). This was the very land that had been promised
rity. She is working through RMP by cooperating and living
to the patriarchs i.e. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 15:18;
with the rural poor to assert their rights to land and other
26:4; Ex. 32:13; Deut. 1:35–36). Here we see the biblical picture is one in
human rights, and joining them in their struggle for genu-
which absolute sovereignty is attributed to God alone, while stewardship
ine agrarian reform.
responsibilities are attributed to human beings who are accountable to
God for the fulfillment of these responsibilities
Her advocacies and causes involved cases of rape, sexual
violence, land rights, human rights, women political pris-
In Philippine context, there is massive land conversion and land grabbing
oners, women farmers, and children. She feels connected
from indigenous communities by big capitalists and multinational cor-
to these issues being an activist who survived the Marcos
porations for the purpose of agri-business of mono-crops like pineapple,
Dictatorship. She also felt the plight of agricultural workers
bananas and palm oil to name a few. The land grabbers violate the 8th
when she immersed herself with them which compromised
commandment “You shall not steal” by bribing Lumad leaders with all
her health due to the massive pesticide spraying in the
sorts of fraudulent means to get the land, using the divide and rule tactic.
plantation. Today, she leads the campaign against extra-
Land grabbing denies the rights of the indigenous people the use of their
judicial killings as these are happening in rural provinces.
ancestral land, and therefore is a violation of human rights. It destroys
She directed various initiatives for the promotion of the civil
their source of livelihood, their sacred place of worship and the absence
and political rights of the rural poor communities ranging
of space for agricultural production for food security in support of their
from documentation of human rights violations, facilitat-
families and for future generations.
ing sanctuary services for the peasant leaders at risk, campaigns and lobbying efforts. She devoted her life to selfless
The government response to Lumad people’s resistance to defend their
service to the downtrodden, mindless of the personal risks
land is to militarize their communities. Many have lost their lives oppos-
attached to her involvement, firmly grasping to her rule:
ing the continued plunder of their land and resources. For the Lumads,
"the poor needs help today, not next week."
land is life, and so is the case with other Filipino farmers just following
our forefathers in the Faith – the Patriarchs from Scriptures.#
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.............................................................................................................
ON THE MINDANAO LUMADS
The Land
of Broken Promises
By Omiara Helena Derwash and Sr. Ma. Famita N.Somogod, MSM
Sime Darby, and Singapore’s Wilmar. As
brought to justice. This is mainly due to
because of its rich natural resources,
a result, indigenous communities have
the deficiency of human rights capaci-
Mindanao is home to more than a half
come head-to-head with big companies
ties of indigenous organizations and
of the estimated mineral wealth of the
for access to the country’s resources.
communities to seek reparation from
Philippines. This amounts to an approxi-
President Aquino III’s drive for mining
courts. Additionally, there is also a lack
mate value of 12.6 Billion US Dollars.
liberalization, egged on by the Chamber
of national media attention, recognized
The ninth largest island in the world
of Mines, has been accompanied by the
for their capacity to set political and
has the largest reserves of copper, gold,
establishment of Investment Defense
social agenda, to highlight attention on
aluminum and iron, inviting the world’s
Forces—a composite of soldiers and
cases of violations.
biggest extractive industry players—
police whose aim is to ‘protect’ mining
BHP Billiton, Xstrata, Anglo-American,
investments by militarizing communities
Even though the government constitut-
Sumitomo, Rio Tinto, Unocal, Exxon-
within borders of a mining claim. Philip-
ed Units of Human Rights in the ranks
Mobile and many others. In addition
pine laws require the free, prior and
of soldiers and police, a focal point for
to rubber, Mindanao is the site of the
informed consent (FPIC) of the local tribal
Human Rights Defenders in the Com-
largest pineapple plantations in the
communities for various investments to
mission on Human Rights (CHR), the
country. Among the world’s largest, Del
proceed.
challenge of widespread and systematic
Touted as the ‘Land of Promise’
impunity remains. A glut of laws and
Monte Philippines and Dole Philippines’
pineapple plantations are spread out
This often has divided indigenous com-
institutional mechanisms do not inspire
in the ancestral lands of the Lumads of
munities, some of them backing inves-
confidence, more so for the Lumads
Bukidnon and South Cotabato.
tors with the support of the military
bounded by traditional practices and
to acquire the necessary permits, and
discriminated historically.
The island also boasts of one million
create paramilitary groups to force the
hectares of grasslands that are gradually
reluctant majority of residents to submit,
Already robbed of the rights to their land
being turned into palm oil states. Aside
thus, leaving a trail of human rights abus-
through the skewed application of Philip-
from a number of local and multi-nation-
es. The summary execution, torture and
pine laws and extra-judicial threats, the
al corporations running vast tracks of oil
other human rights violations continue
lumads are further dispossessed of what
palm plantations, Mindanao has become
in Mindanao’s indigenous communities
meager resources they have left when
the destination of big companies such
because of impunity. Impunity emerged
natural calamities strike.
as Malaysia’s Felda Global Ventures and
because no perpetrators have been
Kidlap
MAGAZINE
A small Higaonon community in Impa-
against extractive and destructive
violations are notably soaring. In the
sug-ong, Bukidnon had their houses
activities—foremost are large-scale
North-eastern Mindanao Region—
built on steep slopes at the periphery
mining enterprises, agribusiness plan-
tagged as the ‘Mining Capital of the
of a large pineapple plantation with the
tations, and other so-called ‘develop-
Philippines,’ 37 Lumad leaders were
crops given land priority by the local
ment’ projects like mega hydro dams in
slapped with fabricated charges in
government. When the floods came,
Mindanao.
August 2011.
trees for support) were washed out.
Even after the UN special rapporteurs
Traversing the island, about a hundred
The silt from the plantations covered
on human rights defenders and on
other Lumad Human Rights Defend-
the vegetables they had planted nearby,
extra-judicial killings issued a joint
ers (LHRDs) are facing fabricated and
which was the only means of income for
statement on 9 July 2012 criticizing the
malicious charges, hindering them from
many.
Aquino III administration for the attacks
carrying out their human rights work
their houses (which were only tied to
on human rights and environmental
because of pending warrant of arrests,
The Manobo-Pulangion community
defenders, especially in Mindanao,
subpoenas, and other forms of judicial
in Maramag, Bukidnon has seen the
saying these abuses “have increased
harassment and intimidation.
devastation a hydropower dam has
significantly over the past few months,”
brought them. Their lands were flooded
the killing of indigenous leaders still
Around 1,070 families encompassing
by the reservoir and the compensation
continues unabated, and has even
5,925 individuals—according to human
promised them until now has been diffi-
escalated.
rights group Karapatan—were displaced in the course of intense military
cult to secure. They do not even benefit
from the energy generated from the
Seven indigenous leaders and their
operations carried out by the Philippine
power plant with many of the displaced
children from Mindanao fell victim to
Army in the mining areas of Northern,
families living around the lake still
another spate of EJKs in barely three
North-eastern and Southern Mindanao
depending on candles and kerosene
months after the aforementioned joint
in 2012. In indigenous communities
lamps at night.
statement.
where military detachments are set up
Lumads are victimized in a multiple
This continued climate of impunity is
are strictly monitored, while leaders
number of ways. Without the sacred
apparent in the case of the indigenous
and community members are ‘invited’
forests their communities have tradi-
communities of Dao, San Fernando in
to the military camps for questioning.
tionally conserved, their lands upturned
Bukidnon. Refusing to sign the Certifi-
and unfertile from mining, their once
cate of Ancestral Domain Title which
The Lumads of Mindanao:
self-sufficient communities have now
will eventually facilitate the entry of
Strangers in Their Own Land
become dependent on what society
large scale mining and agribusiness
throws their way.
projects in their 52,000-ha Matigsalog
The 18 Indigenous groups in Mind-
territory, village chieftain and Kasilo
anao – Ata, Bagobo, Banwaon, B’laan,
Human rights violations and impunity
vice-chairperson Jimmy Liguyon was
Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon,
in the Lumad areas of Mindanao
killed in front of his family on 5 March
Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manguwangan,
2012 by Alde Salusad and his pro-min-
Manobo, Mansaka, Subanon, Tagaka-
Twenty-eight killed in 35 months. This
ing paramilitary group New Indigenous
olo, Tasaday, T’boli, Teduray, and Ubo
is Mindanao’s generous fraction of the
Peoples’ Army for Reform (NIPAR).
are the Lumads of which the T’boli
in the heart of the villages, gatherings
(pronounced “Tiboli”) and the B’laan
34 Indigenous Peoples extra-judicially
killed throughout the country since
Despite the interventions of interna-
groups being the two main indig-
Pres. Benigno Aquino III assumed pow-
tional human rights organizations such
enous stewards of Mindanao.
er in June 2010. They were murdered in
as the Human Rights Watch and the
broad daylight, with eye-witnesses who
World Organization Against Torture-
The common characteristic of these
have consequently given testimonies.
OMCT and of various foreign consulates
groups is that they continue to live in
But nobody has been persecuted, much
in the Philippines, including the Euro-
a traditional way much as their ances-
less convicted, so far.
pean Union, the killings, torture and
tors lived centuries ago.
displacement of communities courtesy
The victims were traditional Lumad
of NIPAR continue up to now, with cases
They are distinguished by their cul-
chieftains, leaders of indigenous com-
getting even more serious each time.
ture, language and heritage which is
very much visible in their clothing,
munity organizations and their immediate families, most of them resisting
Across Mindanao where extractive
ornaments, housing, cultural habits
encroachment of their ancestral lands
industries are influential, human rights
and religious beliefs
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MAGAZINE
Agriculture is their only source of
sion confront them narrowing
income and food and they also
their life choices.
environment from intrusion.
Their basic right to life, liberty and
practice farming and fishing and
are highly dependent on the land
T he recent escalating at t ack s
security of person as enshrined in
to provide rice, yams and cas-
are t argeted agains t Datus
documents such as the UN Dec-
sava. When the Spaniards could
(chief s) and Baes (communit y
laration of Human Rights and the
not convert them to Christianity
elder s), leader s and member s
International Covenant on Civil and
and the Muslims to Islam, they fled
of communit y- based organiza -
Political Rights have been ignored.
the battles and left their lowland
tions in the indigenous com -
Needless to say, the assaults
farming areas and proceeded to the
munities of Mindanao. Ac ting as
against LHRDs create a climate of
highlands where they continued to
Lumad communities ’ f ir s t line of
terror, such that a culture of impu-
prac tice animis tic religions.
defense in protec ting ances tral
nity has enveloped the indigenous
lands , local natural resources
communities of Mindanao today.
O ver the pas t decade they have
and the env ironment , these
Without the LHRDs and commu-
suf fered a great deal. T hey are
Datus , Baes , and leader s and
nity organizations fighting for their
economicall y poor and s trug gle
member s of communit y- based
rights over lands, access to natural
agains t present day farmer s (of-
organizations are aptl y def ined
resources and the environment,
ten landless) and corporations
as “ Human Right s Defender s ”
and to their basic freedom such as
seeking their fer tile lands , and
(HRDs) with their work fall -
their entitlement to say yes or no to
natural resources.
ing under the def inition in the
projects through FPIC, the Lumads
Convention on Human Right s
of Mindanao will be subjected to
T hey have experienced centu-
Defender s and recognized in the
a repeated cycle of oppression
ries of brut al and painful his-
EU Guidelines on Human Right s.
and exploitation. They will remain
as they are—easily intimidated,
tor y in defending their lands.
T hey have been subjec ted to a
But while the level of recognition
frightened, and coerced. The use of
s y s tematic polic y of exclusion
for HRDs at the international level
force to slaughter, maim and harass
out of Mindanao wherein they
has increased, the space for them
in order to subdue an indigenous
are now the minorit y. In the
to work safely on the ground has
civilian populace has no place in a
beginning of the centur y they
shrunk significantly. In Mindanao,
nation that proclaims to be demo-
controlled 17 of Mindanao ’s 24
the lumad HRDs have been the
cratic.#
prov inces but now they have
victims of arbitrary arrests, torture
been sadl y marginalized, with
and extra judicial killings. Indige-
[This article was originally published in
their right to self- determination
nous organizations have been sub-
The Kashmir Walla, 24 February 2014
denied and indigenous culture
jected to vilification, surveillance,
Edition]
subdued. Beyond their territo -
harassment, and direct physical
ries , discrimination and exclu-
attacks as they defend land and
Lumads in protest against militarization of thier communities.
Photo credits: Southern Tagalog Exposure
Kidlap
MAGAZINE
Spotlight
Interfaith
Initiative Against
Discrimination
of
Mindanao Lumads
Starting January 2015, RMP-
Nations Declaration on the Rights
NMR Inc will initiate a three-year
of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
project specifically aimed to
Entitled “Healing the Hurt: Un-
rights duty-bearers.
RMP-NMR Inc partners with
protect and enhance the ca-
leashing Interfaith Initiatives to
Kalumbay Regional Lumad Or-
pacities of Lumad structures of
Combat Discrimination, Human
ganization, Ibon Foundation,
community development -- tra-
Rights Violations and Impunity
Community-Based Health Services
ditional indigenous structures
against the Lumads of Mind-
(CBHS), and the Union of Peoples’
and community-based organiza-
anao, Philippines”, the project
Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) for
tions -- to enable them to resist
includes knowledge-generation
this undertaking. Project associ-
discrimination, violence and
on the structural discrimination
ates include Kodao Productions,
criminalization caused by ag-
being perpetrated against the
Moro-Christian Peoples’ Alliance
gressive “development” projects
indigenous peoples of Mindanao,
(MCPA) and the Samahan ng mga
in Mindanao.
evidence-based advocacies and
Lingkod na Artista sa Mindano
public awareness-raising activi-
(Salamin Cultural Group).
The over-all objective of the
ties, establishment of community-
project is to contribute to the
based and multi-sectoral support
The project received a 623,767.2
advancement of the rights and
system for the target groups,
EUR (around PhP36M) grant from
continued development of indig-
human rights capacity-building for
the European Union through the
enous peoples consistent with
indigenous leaders, and dialogues
European Instrument for Democ-
the spirit and letter of the United
with authorities and other human
racy and Human Rights (EIDHR).#
|15
16|Kidlap
MAGAZINE
Follow
Sister J
be a Rural
M
Kidlap
MAGAZINE
|17
..................................................
A member of the Medical Mission Sisters
(MMS) community stationed since 2006 in
Bukidnon -- a province in the heart of Mindanao
that is a hotbed of agrarian unrests -- Sister
Jane was disturbed by the realities confronting
the rural poor and sought to determine how
a member of the church could concretize the
gospel values in this context. Being a healing
presence at the heart of a wounded community
life is the charism of her congregation.
Awakening
Sister Jane said that she was first introduced to
RMP by a lay co-worker and started her formation as a part of the organization in 2008. As a
candidate Rural Missionary (RM), she attended
awareness-raising activities and exposure programs, mobilizations and conferences tackling
the realities of the rural poor on the ground.
From all of these, Sister Jane said she “gradually
became aware of the human rights violations, the
cases of ecological destruction, the root causes
of these, the concrete responses, as well as the
Jane,
Missionary!
By Winbel Mordino M. Visitacion
victories of the rural poor in their struggles for
land and life.”
“My connection with the RMs helped me discern
my response as an MMS member and witness the
gospel values in and with the rural poor particularly the farmers and the indigenous peoples,”
she said. Sister Jane is also the MMS Philippines’
Coordinator for Making the Cause Known and
the Representative to Sector East Asia Assembly.
Since then, she continuously became critically
aware of issues affecting the rural poor. Together with other members, she has found a venue
to respond to these realities, taking into consideration her conferred congregational mandate.
18|Kidlap
MAGAZINE
Deepening of the Rural Missionary
those made poor in our society.
curity and Exchange Commission with
registration number CN200927387 as a
Commitment
Who are the Rural Missionaries?
non-stock, non-profit corporation on 22
June 2009
Sister Jane shared that her most significant experience with RMP was her short
Founded by the Association of Major
exposure trip to an indigenous com-
Women Religious Superiors of the
Critical years, responding to call of
munity in Sitio Dumasilag in the village
Philippines (AMWRSP) in 1969, the Rural
times
of Sta. Felomina in Quezon, Bukidnon.
Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP)
There, an RMP community school is
commits itself to support peasants’
From the very first group of RMs,
helping to address the literacy and nu-
quest for justice, freedom, access to
composed of 19 volunteer sisters from
meracy needs of Lumad children.
commons and genuine agrarian reform.
eight congregations who missioned in
the barrios of Central Luzon, a principle
“I was deeply moved by the commit-
As a Church of the Poor, the RMP
of closely immersing and integrating
ment and courage of the two RMP
strengthens the awareness of the rural
with the peasants was established. That
teachers assigned there,” she said. She
poor and helps them embrace the truth
is, working for and with the peasants,
witnessed the immense challenges such
that they all have the right to live fully
and in addition, living among them and
as the security risks faced by the teach-
as human beings; that they have the
serving them.
ers, hunger at times, homesickness,
right to self-determination, and to free-
cultural differences with the Lumad,
dom from oppression and all forms of
This principle has guided the develop-
and the difficulty of communication fa-
exploitation. More specifically, the RMP
ment of the RMP Program, ensuring
cilities. Yet, Sister Jane sensed their joy
encourages is members to live and
that the program evolves with the rural
and the meaningfulness of what they
work with the peasants in their struggle
situation. It has since grown to provide
were doing as RMP volunteer teachers.
for genuine agrarian reform. It does this
22 different services, this from a time
“I saw Jesus Christ in them!” Sister Jane
by organizing or assisting in organiz-
when the rural areas were hardly ever
enthused. That experience led her to
ing farmers, fisherfolks and indigenous
reached by any kind of service from
look at her being and ways of doing as a
peoples’ communities as the effective
the government or NGOs, to later years
follower of Jesus through the MMS way
forces to work for these rights since
when many organizations established
of life.
they are the principal stakeholders of
their own work in the countryside. The
genuine agrarian reform.
RMP helped open up the farthest, most
remote rural communities which for
In this journey, RMP assisted Sister Jane
in learning to let go of her comfort and
RMP-Northern Mindanao Sub-Region
the longest time never had any contact
security, and go beyond personal pref-
or RMP-NMR has been established to
with similar organizations. Succeeding
erences to be able to witness the love
hasten RMP’s missionary works in the
years saw this expansion continue to
and compassion of Jesus for and with
Region. It is duly registered in the Se-
the most distant corners of the Visayas
Participants to the RMP-NMR Task-Fath Reflection, September 2014 at Malaybalay City
Kidlap
MAGAZINE
|19
and Mindanao. Among the hallmarks of
this period was the Community-Based
Health Program (CBHP) which was the
RMP’s response to the virtual absence of
any health care in rural communities.
This program grew so successful that
it later established itself as a separate
organization. There was also the Lay Assistance Training Program (LATP) which
conducted trainings and education activities for local peasants, and which later
evolved into the first comprehensive RMP
program for peasant organizing.
But the most significant contribution of
the RMP to efforts to improve the lives
of the Filipino peasantry is its work to lay
down the foundations for a principled
unity among the peasants in the RMP
areas. The high point came in 1985 as the
Sisters Famita and Jane at the BTL community in Maramag, Bukidnon.
of creation.
MMS nun. “As time goes by and as situations become more critical, religious
RMP stood as one of the conveners in the
founding of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng
Members of RMP commit themselves to
congregations are called to continue being
Pilipinas (KMP or Philippine Peasant Move-
support the peasants’ quest for genuine
mystic-prophets according to the signs
ment).
agrarian reform, access to commons,
of the time. At times, there is a need to
justice and freedom, and work for a na-
learn from experiences of organizations
tionalist development, and encourage and
or groups like RMP, and share life with
motivate people of goodwill, especially
them to be able to live this being mystic-
Seeking to witness to the paschal reality
church people, to work for and commit
prophetic,” she added.
among the rural poor, in the light of the
their resources in the services of uplift-
gospels, church documents and of the
ing the condition of the peasants, and to
sufferings and struggles of our people, the
contribute towards becoming the Church
RMs follow the example of Jesus the incar-
of the Poor.
Following the example of Jesus
How to Become an RMP member
After attending two consecutive Task-Faith
Reflections of the RMP-NMR, Sister Jane
nate of God by (a) Integrating with the rural poor. By understanding and experienc-
Our programs include rural poor advocacy
finally became a member of RMP in June
ing their situation, RMs are led to share
work (i.e., church people organizing, alli-
2012. Religious women and men, priests
and take as their own the aspirations and
ance building, campaign, rural integration
and lay become members on a volun-
interest of the poor, and in the process
and solidarity work, and research, docu-
tary basis. While being members of RMP,
are themselves transformed (b) Awaken-
mentation and information), and rural
religious members remain as members of
ing an awareness that all have the right
poor organizing support program (i.e.,
their respective congregation, and priests
to live as human beings, with the right to
direct organizing and organizing support
of their dioceses.
self-determination, free from oppression
services).
Members must accept the RMP Vision,
and all forms of exploitation; (c) Accompanying the peasants, as Church of the Poor,
Mystic-Prophetic
Mission and Goals. Religious men and
women, and priests must sign a contract
toward the realization of God’s reign.
Sister Jane said she learned from her class
in order to become members, while lay
The organization envisions a free, just,
on Religious Institution and the Society
co-members will sign a contract for the
peaceful and egalitarian society, a sover-
that congregations with their particular
duration of a particular project where they
eign and dignified nation equal among
charism were born out of social realities
are assigned.
the family nations, and a united people of
such as poverty, injustice among others.
Just like Sister Jane and the other RMs,
different cultures and beliefs, participating
in decisions affecting their lives, owning
“Each founder or foundress dared to start
show your love for our poor brethren in a
the lands they till, enjoying the fruits of
the congregation as a mystic-prophetic
manner real, and active: be a Rural
their labor while preserving the integrity
response to these situations,” said the
Missionary! #
20|Kidlap
MAGAZINE
RMP-NMR INITIATIVE:
ASSISTING HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
....................................................
W
elcoming
the
Strangers
The quest for land rights has always
been at the heart of the struggle of
small farmers and indigenous peoples
for social justice and democracy in the
history of the Philippines. In the 20th
century, there have been increasingly
articulated and organized demands for
land and services forcing the state to
enact laws and programs that would
address these.
These demands resulted to institution
of laws as products of committed and
consistent work of organizers, trainers
Union Needs Assessment Mission of
Human Rights and the International Cove-
June 2007
nant on Civil and Political Rights have been
"Many of these nameless,
faceless, land rights
activists have knocked our
doors to seek sanctuary
from our network of
religious organizations
and individuals, and help
them stem the tide of
persecution committed
against them by the
powers-that-be."
and peasant leaders and organizations
ignored with impunity. Many of these
nameless, faceless, land rights activists
have knocked our doors to seek sanctuary
from our network of religious organizations and individuals, and help them stem
the tide of persecution committed against
them by the powers-that-be.
Thus, in 2008, RMP-NMR instituted its
emergency support program to abet
HRDs working on land rights, providing
them services apt for the particular situation they were then confronted with.
who see that poverty cannot be eradi-
Yet, in Northern Mindanao, these human
These support included provision of legal
cated and justice served until the agrar-
rights defenders (HRDs) working on land
services, medical and psychosocial as-
ian sector is developed and the country
rights have been the victims of arbitrary
sistance, and relocation where there is a
becomes self-sufficient especially in
arrests, torture and extra judicial killings.
need for such. For example, in November
rice production which is the staple food
Farmers and indigenous organizations
2011, we rescued two HRDs hiding in the
of the majority of the people. These
have been subjected to vilification, surveil-
forest of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur and
organizers, trainers and peasant lead-
lance, harassment and direct physical
relocated them together with the eight
ers and organizations are aptly defined
attacks as they defend lands and some
other families to another province to
as “Human Rights Defenders” with their
gains the agrarian reform movement al-
evade threats and harassment coming
work falling under the definition in the
ready won. Their basic right to life, liberty
from a paramilitary group supportive of
Convention on Human Rights Defend-
and security of person as enshrined in
an extractive company to which the com-
ers and recognized in the European
documents such as the UN Declaration of
munity is resisting. Their tribal chieftain,
Kidlap
MAGAZINE
"The relocated HRDs were able to
start a new life in their resettlement area with temporary
shelters and livelihood installed
for them by the program. "
Datu Arpee Belayong, was assassinated earlier by the
Quick
Facts!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
|21
.............
Support Program for HRDs working
on land rights since 2008
said paramilitary group. The relocated HRDs were
able to start a new life in their resettlement area
with temporary shelters and livelihood installed for
them by the program. Later, these HRDs continued
with their advocacy against extractive industries, and
militarization and paramilitarism. Media and international advocacies were also became a part of our
intervention to increase visibility on the situation of a
particular HRD under attack, and avert possible risks
endangering his/her life and that of their respective
families.
To date, the program has spent P5,504,140 that supported 222 HRDs from 22 communities. Of these, 145
are women HRDs, and 209 come from indigenous
community-based organizations. Aside from contributions from individual donor churches locally,
the program started to partner with the US-based
Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights and
the Dublin-based Frontline International Foundation
for Human Rights Defenders in 2008 in addressing
the risks faced by HRDs. Later, we received invaluable assistance from international donors such as the
Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights Defenders Fund
managed by the Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact, the
Lifeline Program for Embattled CSOs, and the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights.
The program also received funding from Samdhana
Institute and the Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de
l'Homme.
This program for land rights activists in danger would
not be possible without the support of our partner
farmers and indigenous peoples’ organizations from
the ground. They assisted the HRDs gain access to
our interventions, and in many times supported us to
verify merits of the cases and requests we receive.
But above all, we pay our highest tribute to
these land rights activists who take on substantial risks to their personal safety while
doing their work. We hope that the program
will continue to protect them from danger
and support their courage and resolve to
their fight for land rights, including access to
resources and the environment.#
Among our program donors are Frontline Defenders, Urgent Action
Fund for Women’s Human Rights, Asia Indigenous Peoples’ Pact, Samdhana Institute, Lifeline Program for Embattled CSOs, Agir Ensemble pour
les Droits de l'Homme and the European Instrument for Democracy and
Human Rights.
22|Kidlap
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RMP-NMR INITIATIVE:
LITERACY-NUMERACY SCHOOLS
Where
there are
No Schools
By Melissa A. Comiso
Even as the Philippine government
of protect¬ing the communities from
government troops and rebel groups.”
has time and again declared that it
rebel groups, the communities become
considers the provision of quality
the targets of military operations.
The Report cited the January 2001 mili-
education to be among its priorities,
Militarization and war have resulted to
tary operations in Calut and Sta. Felo-
in many communities in Mindanao,
human rights violations, exacer¬bating
mina in Quezon, Bukidnon by “the AFP
education is but a vague concept. The
the already deplorable living conditions
and Citizens’ Armed Forces Geographi-
communities where many Lumad
of the impoverished in¬digenous com-
cal Units (CAFGU) that forced residents
children live are very far accredited
munities; the children are always the
of two villages to abandon their homes
schools; in the meantime, even if
most vulnerable.
and farms, disrupted schooling and
harassed those trying to provide educa-
these schools were more physically ac-
tion to indigenous communities...”
cessible, the families of these children
Up to now, no qualitative change has
are hard-put to pay even the smallest
occurred since Mr. Rodolfo Stavenha-
fees. For these reasons, many Lumad
gen, United Nations Special Rapporteur
The report also mentioned that in
children spend their formative years
on the situ¬ation of human rights and
San Luis, Agusan del Sur in 2003, the
in com¬munity alternative learning
fundamental freedoms of indigenous
military and the CAFGU undermined the
schools usually established with the
peoples, visited the country in Decem-
integrity of the Catholic nuns and staff
aid of non-government organizations.
ber 2002. The Stavenhagen Report that
of the Religious of the Good Shepherd
was published in March 2003 explained
–Tribal Filipino Ministry, which had been
However, even in the rare situations
that “militarization of indigenous com-
working with indigenous communities
where communities are ben¬efited by
munities and territories in the course
via education programs and other ser-
the presence of literacy and numeracy
of counter-insurgency op¬erations has
vices for the last 24 years, and forced
schools, the efforts of these schools
created an ongoing crisis causing nu-
them out of local communities.
are not sustained because of counter-
merous human rights violations affect-
insurgency operations of the Armed
ing indigenous peoples who are often
Since 2009, closure of schools and
Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Instead
times caught up in this fight between
disruption of classes in the rural areas
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MAGAZINE
of Mindanao have been constant due to
In 2009, in Barangay Kinamaybay,
plaguing IP communities, RMP-NMR
militarization. Among these had been
Esperanza, in the prov¬ince of Agu-
reo¬pened 16 schools in July 2011.
the Alternative Learn¬ing Center for Ag-
san del Sur alone, approximately 151
Unfortunately, this initiative was met
riculture and Livelihood Development
children were affected when families
with threats. In June that year, Deo S.
(Alcadev) and the six schools of the
were forced to evacuate after their
Manpa¬tilan, the husband of Esper-
Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del
community was occupied by a platoon
anza, Agusan del Sur’s mayor, accused
Sur (TRIFPSS). Members of the military
of the 30th Infantry Battalion of the
the schools of teaching children ideas
were documented harassing civilians
Philippine Army (IBPA). On July 15, 2009,
and songs of the NPA. He further said
whom they accuse of supporting the
Arnel Mansinugdan, a 10-year old boy
that should the community want de-
communist New People’s Army (NPA).
was thoroughly investigated by the
velopment, they should accept mining
They also charged that the schools
military who insisted that he knew the
companies which will provide them
were training grounds for ‘fu¬ture NPA
whereabouts of the NPA. The primary
with schools. In another case, the RMP-
soldiers.’ In Dlumay, Malapatan town
school in the neighboring community,
NMR’s efforts to reopen the school in
of Sarangani, the B’laan Literacy School
Barangay Agsabo, was forced to shut
St. Peters, Malaybalay, Bukid¬non was
and Learning Center (BLSLC), has
down on July 19 after families – includ-
not allowed by the military under the
remained closed since March 2011. In-
ing approximately 185 children – also
8th IBPA de¬spite the approval of the
cidents of students being harassed and
had to evacuate when elements of the
city mayor for the project. Elements of
accused of being NPA members have
26th IBPA camped in their barangay
the 8th IBPA accused the parateach-
been recorded. On March 15 that same
cent¬er. The use of public buildings
ers of being NPA organizers, using the
year, Jimboy, a 10-year-old B’laan pupil,
such as schools and barangay halls as
school for such purposes.
was forced to don a bandolier loaded
bases by military personnel has been a
with bullets on his shoulders and carry
regu¬lar occurrence during military op-
Inaccessible Fundamental Right: Com-
an M-16 rifle, while a soldier took his
erations. Additionally, youths, as young
plicating Access to all other Human
picture. After that, Jimboy was reported
as 13 years old, were also recruited to
Rights
as an “NPA child warrior going to school
become CAFGU members.
|23
The right to education is one of the
in Dlumay.”
In St. Peters, Malaybalay, Bukidnon,
fundamental rights proclaimed by the
Education and Militarization:
three parateachers led by Glenda
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Our Experience
Ampledon were relocated to avoid
(UDHR, Article 26). This has since been
in Northern Mindanao IP Communities
threats to their lives after exposing
affirmed in numerous global human
to the church-led fact-finding mission
rights treaties. It is considered by the
Specifically in Northern Mindanao,
the harassment of the CAFGUs of their
UDHR not only as a right in itself but
schools for IP that the Rural Missionar-
alternative schools in the community of
also as a means of promoting peace and
ies of the Philippines-Northern Mindan-
Balaodo in December 2009. Earlier, on
respect for human rights and freedoms
ao Sub-Region (RMP-NMR) are currently
March 29, 2008, 55 families of this indig-
generally. Furthermore, Article 28 of the
managing have been forced to shut
enous community also had to evacuate.
Convention of the Rights of the Child
(CRC) recognizes the right of children to
down in 2009 because of continuous
militarization and human rights viola-
Compelled by the necessity to ad-
education and sets forth the obligation
tions against the host communities.
dress the continuing threat of illiteracy
of State parties to the Convention.
A drawing made by one of RMP-NMR's literacy-numeracy students depicting their communities' experience during forcible evacuations.
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MAGAZINE
Volunteer teachers and para-teachers of RMP-NMR Literacy and Numeracy schools
However, while the CRC is almost univer-
invincibility and have consequently ter-
When they are not informed regarding
sally ratified, it is by no means univer-
rorized other, unarmed IP communities.
their rights through education efforts,
indigenous peoples will continue to be
sally applied particularly in situations of
armed conflict which has long-reaching
Needless to say, illiteracy has been a
fall victim to a cycle of oppression and
effects on children. To mitigate the
cause and effect of the perpetuation
exploitation.
impact of armed conflict on children,
of poverty in Mindanao’s indigenous
the UN Security Council Resolution
communities.
1998 (2011) was approved. According to
this resolution, attacks on schools and
hospi¬tals are considered a violation
that may result in an armed force or
group to be “blacklisted.”
In a conflict situation, children are
robbed of both their right to learn and
"Needless to say,
illiteracy has been a
cause and effect of the
perpetuation of
poverty in Mindanao’s
indigenous
communities."
their right to live as children. They are
Our Missionary Response
Where a huge number of out-ofschool youth and where learners are
displaced due to armed conflict, our
efforts to push for the reopening of
literacy and numeracy schools have
become even more relevant. But reopening these schools without keeping
in mind the problems that hampered
forced to confront violent realities too
Worsening this chronic poverty, indig-
their operation in the past will make
early, forced to experience terror too
enous peoples’ resource-rich ancestral
the initiative short-lived. This time,
often. They also have to contend with
domains have become tar¬gets of
RMP-NMR and its indigenous partners
post-conflict trauma. Without access
programs of development aggression
involved have to develop the “hu-
to education, there will be no room for
that cause the displacement of entire
man rights-orientedness” of the host
indigenous communities to promote
communities. The ancestral domains
communities as stakeholders and as
personal development, strengthen
of indigenous communities are being
rightful owners to defend this initiative.
respect for human rights and freedoms,
encroached by agri-business ventures,
We should also put in place protection
and enable individuals to participate
mining and logging concessions, with
mechanisms so that the schools, and
freely in society. There is no debate over
many of the community members not
even the community, will be secure
the fact that education is necessary for
knowing the laws that exist to precise-
from the perennial problem of milita-
the fulfillment of any other civil, political,
ly protect them from abuse; enable
rization and human rights violations
eco-nomic or social right. Without the
them to assert their rights over their
and will be safe from forced closure.
access to knowledge, without access to
lands, their culture and traditions;
Recently, we developed a partnership
their rights, indigenous communities will
and help them protect their basic
with the UNICEF in Manila to help us,
remain as they are easily intimidated,
freedoms such as their entitlement to
the parateachers and the communities
frightened, coerced. It is not surprising
agree to or refuse projects through
to monitor and document rights viola-
that when they are armed as exempli-
Free Prior and Informed Consent.
tions against children in armed conflict
fied by IP groups that have been trained
Children need to under¬stand that to
situations as a first step towards em-
and backed by the Philippine Army to act
assert one’s rights is not a criminal
powerment of the stakeholders of the
as their auxiliaries they have a sense of
act, but rather a legitimate action.
schools.
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MAGAZINE
"The ancestral
domains of
indigenous
communities are
being encroached
by agri-business
ventures,
mining and
logging
concessions"
communities that have caused the
|25
in Asia-Pacific in Sabah, Malaysia on
closures.By mobilizing communities to
23 April – 02 May 2012. The training
defend the schools, by avail¬ing of all
program was organized by Diplomacy
of the available mechanisms to pursue
Training Program (DTP), Asia Indigenous
justice against the perpetrators, and by
Peoples Pact (AIPP), Jaringan Orang Asal
mustering the public’s vigilance locally,
Malaysia (JOAS), and the Center for Ma-
nationally and internationally to all of
laysian Indigenous Studies-University of
these efforts, we can be sure that our
Malaya (CMIS).]
schools for indigenous children will
continue to operate as a response to
End notes
the need indigenous communities. #
i ‘Lumad’ is the collective term for the
RMP-NMR is also stepping up its
[Published in Kidlap April 2012 edition
indigenous peoples of Mindanao, Philip-
and in the Kidlap Selection, this paper
pines
campaign to secure the literacy and
is a condensed version of the presen-
numeracy schools that we have by
tation of Sr. Ma. Famita N. Somogod,
ii Higaonon for ‘good day.’ The Higa-
populariz¬ing these schools, while
MSM to the ‘Indigenous Peoples,
onons is one of the tribes of the Mind-
campaigning against human rights vio-
Human Rights and Advocacy’ Training
anao Lumads
lations and militarization of indigenous
Program for the Indigenous Advocates
Quick
Facts!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.......
6 PARTNER INDIGENOUS
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS:
LINUNDIGAN, TAGDUMAHAN,
PIGDIWATAHAN, KASILO,
PIGYAYUNGAAN, AND KATRIBU
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RMP-NMR INITIATIVE:
HUMANITARIAN WORKS
Gone
with
the
Wind
By Anjo C. Bacarisas
It has been almost a year, and
is one of the most physically demanding
the poor communities of Leyte.
farmworkers who survived the wrath
jobs because of the backward agricultur-
of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)
al situation of the Philippines. A back-
Michael said before Yolanda struck, he
remain at a loss as to how they will be
ward agriculture is characterized by the
was able to earn at least P2,000 every
able to sustain their hand-to-mouth
lack of mechanized agricultural farms
week during harvest season; these were
existence while government aid
and a weather-dependent harvest cycle.
abundant months. He also sold coconut
through the Department of Social and
Welfare and Development (DSWD) is
wine for extra income to meet the needs
Gone with the Wind
very slow in arriving.
of his growing family. There is no underestimating how heavily Michael’s family
During the onslaught of Yolanda, thou-
relies on coconut trees to survive. During
“I often feel desperate because it is so
sands of coconut trees that were among
lean months, Michael’s earnings goes
hard to find means to provide for the
the primary sources of income for the
down to P2,000 a month.
basic needs of my family,” said Michael
farm workers of Leyte were uprooted.
Andrade, a farmworker from Barangay
Hundreds of hectares of planted with
Like Michael’s family, most farmworkers
Canbañez in La Paz, Leyte.
rice and fruit trees were also devastated.
in Leyte are now finding it very, very diffi-
Michael is a hard-working father of two
The houses of many residents were
cult to get back on their feet – there is no
children, and his partner Analyn Suyom
destroyed. The typhoon rendered the
alternative means of livelihood that will
is, as of this writing, six months preg-
coconut trees unable to bear fruit. Some
help them recover from Yolanda, and to
nant. While Michael works in rice farms
owners of coconut farms decided to cut
ensure the survival of their families.
as a paid laborer, Analyn looks after their
the trees down for timber while the rest
children while doing household chores.
that remained standing look like melting
The coconut trees they inherited from
candles that serve as reminders of the
their great grandparents for survival are
devastation the killer storm brought to
now gone with the wind—Yolanda’s killer
Working in coconut and rice plantations
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MAGAZINE
winds uprooted hundreds of trees or
everyone after Yolanda,” Michael said.
Aggravated Poverty
Michael said his current income is not
by a non-government organization to
determine livelihood beneficiaries, the
completely snapped them like twigs.
Another survivor, Emerita Lopez, 54,
data showed that approximately 80 to
said that she sells vegetables to the
90 percent of the residents in hinter-
municipal center almost every day to
land areas are poor farmworkers.
earn money for her family.
Coconut farmworkers earn their bread
enough, and is far from being enough to
cover the most basic needs of his family.
“I know I’m already old, but I can still
and butter through tilling the land and
He said that he has been forced to bor-
plant vegetables and sell them to the
harvesting coconut meat from trees
row money from relatives and friends
market . This earns me some money
that are not theirs. They also take care
(who are also struggling to make ends
which I use to buy food for my fam-
of the trees and the rest of the planta-
meet), and from lending institutions
ily,” Emerita said. She said that before
tion environs to ensure good harvests.
who charge interest.
Yolanda, she maintained a backyard
During harvest season, the landown-
garden. Like other poor farmers in the
ers pay them with copra or rice. In
province, Emerita earns around P150
some cases, the landowners give the
per day; this amount is used to buy
farmworkers 50 percent of the crop
rice. She said that to make the rice
proceeds, and this the farmworkers
last, they mix with cassava and other
divide among themselves.
" The backward
agricultural
relationship of
production has been
prevalent in Leyte even
before the killer typhoon
struck."
root crops. The taste take some getting to used to, but they all adjust be-
On the other hand, harvest season is
cause they have to. Rice is expensive,
also the time they have to pay their
and there is never enough money.
debts. For instance, copra buyers
allow them to borrow money under
The loss of their primary source has
worsened poverty in Leyte’s far flung vil-
“My husband works as a farm labor
the condition that the farmworkers
lages. There are some alternative means
although he is ill with elephantiasis,”
will sell the coconut meat to the them
of livelihood, but they cannot generate
she said.
even if the prices are lower compared
to those offered by other buyers.
enough income for residents to enable
them to to maintain a decent standard
Chronic Poverty
What is left to the farmworkers after all
of living.
The backward agricultural relationship
the crops have been sold? Receipts and
“Some have returned to rice farming in
of production has been prevalent in
an never-ending list of debts.
some of the villages, but on the whole
Leyte even before the killer typhoon
there are not enough available jobs for
struck. In a baseline survey conducted
|27
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RMP-NMR staff Jhona Ignalan-Stokes delivering much-needed relief goods to TS Haiyan survivors in Leyte, November 2013
Land Reform
Other than the government’s inefficient
amid vast coconut and rice plantations
to the impact of natural calamities like
tell us that agricultural lands are con-
typhoons.
centrated in the hands of a few.
In the end, the lack of genuine land
process of aid distribution, the chronic
reform in the Philippines is what has
poverty the people of Leyte experience
Also, the lack of genuine agrarian
placed the farm laborers of Leyte in a
is directly caused by the government’s
reform puts the residents of Leyte in
vulnerable situation. The more vulner-
failure to implement genuine agrarian
a vulnerable situation. Due to their
able the community is, the greater the
reform. The mere fact that most of the
economic condition caused by their
residents are tenants are farm workers
landlessness, they are more vulnerable
risk that it will suffer a disaster.#
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About BALSA Mindanao
|29
...........................................................................
BALSA Mindanao (Bulig alang sa Mindanao/Help for
Mindanao) is a broad Mindanao-wide network formed
in December 2011 in response to the humanitarian
crisis after Typhoon Sendong (Washi).
BALSA takes off from the efforts of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Sub-Region
and the Panday Bulig Relief and Rehabilitation Center which pioneered the humanitarian campaign for
Northern Mindanao post-Sendong (Washi). It takes
inspiration from, and is therefore a continuation of,
the national citizen-led disaster response called BALSA
(Bayanihan alay sa Sambayanan) in the aftermath of
Typhoon Ondoy in Luzon in 2009.
It is a people’s organization that mobilizes for disaster
response and climate justice campaigns and efforts. It
relies on a stream of volunteers from all over Mindanao
who bring with them their expertise and commitment
to efforts to help empower and rebuild affected communities.
In Northern Mindanao, RMP-NMR continues to be the
coordinating center of BALSA Mindanao. It is currently
actively addressing the humanitarian crisis created by
Typhoons Pablo (Bopha) and Yolanda (Haiyan).
Quick
Facts!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
..........
We conducted simultaneous
relief, medical, psychosocial
intervention and clean up
activities, as well as provided
temporary shelter, free legal
clinics, and Mindanao-Visayas
relative matching
(a grassroots person finder method)
The Caravans were supported by various groups such as Se De
BALSA Northern Mindanao formation key responders:
Panday Bulig Relief and Rehabilitation Center, Tulong
Kabataan-Northern Mindanao, AMIHAN-Northern
Mindanao, Kadamay-Northern Mindanao, Mindanao
Farmers’ Resource Center and Misamis Oriental Farmers’
Association
lungan Filipino Consortium and the Diocese of Leicester in UK,
Ferine and the Task Force for TS Haiyan Victims in Spain, KanAmerican Jewish World Service and the Asia Indigenous Peoples’
Pact in Thailand, among others. Friends from Fiji, Australia, Canada, Ireland and other parts of the world also mounted various
fund drives, ranging from market-hopping to solidarity dinners
to raise resources
.............................................................................................................
30|Kidlap
Oplan 'Adopt
MAGAZINE
Albuera'
Our contribution
to the over-all
rehabilitation effort
By Jhona Ignilan-Stokes
TS Haiyan created very immense
emergency needs. And after almost
all of the journalists and members of
the media had left, our brothers and
sisters in the Eastern Visayas were
forced to confront the more challenging phase of rehabilitation.
(On CARP . . . from p. 9)
bigger areas for cultivation. According
agricultural businesses, the farmers
Exempted for coverage
to available data, 51,433.2 hectares of
are left with very little means to protect
agricultural land have been allocated to
their rights to land and life. We can only
Perhaps the purest argument for the
banana. Lands for sugarcane spans at
wonder how many of them rejoiced after
failure of CARP is the sight of landless
55,000. While lands for pineapples are at
the New People’s Army dared to attack
peasants residing outside the guarded
21, 592.5 hectares.
DMPI’s main office at Manolo Fortich in
fences of large plantations.
Bukidnon on February of 2013.
The presence of agri-business planta-
In the Province of Bukidnon where
tions constrict the possible areas for land
CARPable areas are dwarfed by areas
distribution which by virtue of CARP has
planted with export crops only a meager
remained so little, no thanks to the long
On June 30, 2014, after almost twenty-
37, 580 hectares was targeted by the
lists of lands exempted for coverage.
seven years of implementation, the pro-
Department of Agrarian Reform for LAD.
In the context of Bukidnon where the
gram was supposed to reach its terminal
On the other hand agri-businesses get
program allowed the entry of these giant
point.However the house committee
Post CARPER: what now?
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MAGAZINE
To assist in the eventual rehabilitation of devastated communities, we
opted to concentrate our efforts
to the town of Albuera in Leyte in
the six to 12 months that followed,
helping survivors getting back on
their feet.
The Rural Missionaries of the
Philippines-Northern Mindanao
Sub-Region (RMP-NMR) Inc, Panday Bulig Relief and Rehabilitation
Center, and the Northern Mindanao
formations of Tulong Kabataan and
AMIHAN National Federation of
Peasant Women formed a consortium for this response.
This is our modest contribution to
the over-all humanitarian efforts being coordinated by Bayanihan Alay
sa Sambayanan (BALSA) and BALSA
Mindanao.
Members of the consortium continue to synergize efforts, resources, competencies and manpower
to help in the rehabilitation of the
target villages.
Our core principle is people's mobilization for disaster response, a
methodology that stands in contrast
with the bureaucracy-centered resource mobilization.
Immense Destruction
The province of Leyte can produce
705,802 metric tons of coconut and
53,556 metric tons, as well as 36,021
metric tons of rice. Because of the
damage TS Haiyan wrought to the
island’s agriculture and infrastructure,
farmers and their families are now
starving and find it almost impossible
to recover their farms and make them
productive again. Farming is the principal source of income of residents in
the target areas, especially in Albuera
and San Isidro. Their main crops are
coconut, banana and rice.
Based on the initial assessment conducted in the area, 100% of coconut,
banana and vegetable farms were
damaged. Sixty per cent of the rice
fields were destroyed. Haiyan also
destroyed houses. Albuera alone, the
total number of damaged houses is
5,365, while the partially damaged
houses numbered 3,263 a total of
8,628 houses damaged, or 96% of
Albuera’s total houses. Albuera is a
third class municipality in the province
of Leyte, Philippines. According to the
2010 census, it has a population of
40,553 people.
OPLAN: Adopt Albuera
To date, the consortium continues to
implement programs for the eventual
rehabilitation of four of Albuera’s villages: Talisayan, Tabgas, Salvacion and
Antipolo. Components of this intervention include recovery of agriculture
-- animal, farm tools and seedling dis-
persals, establishment of consumers’
cooperatives, health-related activities,
and shelter repairs. Capacity-building
activities such as cooperative trainings
and disaster risk-reduction trainings
are also integrated in the early recovery process.
Donors to this initiative include the
Kanlungan Filipino Consortium and
UNISON-Filipino Activist Network, and
solidarity friends from various parts of
the globe. The Global Fund for Women
through AMIHAN also contributed a
substantial financial support for this
initiative.
Call for Support
We encourage the public to continuously support our ‘Adopt Albuera’ campaign as we seek to expand coverage
to other villages of this town, and to
San Isidro and Ormoc City when resources allow. For financial donations,
please send this to:
Account name:
Rmp-Nmr, Inc
Account number:
9359-1348-08
Bank name and location:
Bank of the Philippine Islands
Quezon Avenue Branch
Iligan City
SWIFT code: BOPIPHMM
on Agriculture, without much delibera-
Meaning to say, the current mode of the
ers are in no way willing to ask crumbs
tion, passed a bill which will continue
administration is entering the phase of a
from the administration in the form of
CARP’s land acquisition and distribution
Post-CARP Scenario.
an extension.
facto extension of the dubious agrarian
We can expect hollow declarations from
Genuine land reform cannot be achieved
reform program up to June 30, 2016.
BS Aquino in the coming months, boast-
within the bounds of an administration
component automatically providing a de
ing success about an agrarian reform
headed by a landlord himself. It will be in
For the next two years, the Department
program that actually resulted to seven
the hands of the Filipino peasantry and
of Agrarian Reform will focus its energies
out of ten farmers not owning the lands
the people’s collective determination to
not on land distribution but on conduct-
they till.
abolish the bounds of feudalism through
ing surveys on all public lands in the
militant struggles.
country and the issuance of notices of
A program’s actual worth can be
coverage for the remaining 200,000 hect-
summed-up by rearranging the letters of
Danilo Menente and the farmers of BTL
ares balance of CARP.
its acronym – CRAP, the organized farm-
cannot agree less. #
|31
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Our membership
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
..
to various international networks
To intensify our advocacy efforts and synergize these
with similar-minded organizations working for the
rights of the rural poor, RMP-NMR affiliated itself to
various international networks. And we are proud to
be a member of the following alliances:
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA)
as large and small national organizations such as Madras Christian Council of Social Services (India), Finnish
Evangelical Lutheran Mission, Tearfund
(United Kingdom), Presbyterian World
Service and Development (Canada).
CEF, UNESCO, and UNHCR. GCPEA is a
project of the Tides Center, a nonprofit
501(c)(3) organization.
World Association for Christian Communication (WACC)
Global Coalition to Protect Education
from Attack (GCPEA)
The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is
an international network of churches
and church-related organizations committed to campaigning together on
common concerns. Current campaigns
focus on HIV and AIDS and Food. EAA’s
advocacy includes raising awareness
and building a movement for justice
within the churches as well as mobilizing people of faith to lobby local and
national governments, businesses,
and multi-lateral organizations. EAA
partners with many organizations who
share common goals on these critical issues, believing that the more we
work together, the stronger our voice
is for justice.
Alliance members represent tens of
millions of Christians around the world
who share the conviction that advocacy
against unjust structures, practices and
attitudes should not be a task we engage in when it is convenient, but must
be a fundamental requirement of living
out our faith. The EAA includes large
international organizations such as the
Caritas Internationalis, World YWCA
and Lutheran World Federation, as well
The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA) was established in 2010 by organizations from
the fields of education in emergencies
and conflict-affected fragile states,
higher education, protection, international human rights, and international
humanitarian law who were concerned
about on-going attacks on educational
institutions, their students, and staff
in countries affected by conflict and
insecurity. GCPEA is governed by a steering committee made up of the following international organizations: CARA (Council
for At-Risk Academics), Human Rights
Watch (HRW), Institute of International
Education/ IIE Scholar Rescue Fund,
Protect Education in Insecurity and
Conflict (PEIC), Save the Children, UNI-
The World Association for Christian
Communication (WACC) is an international NGO registered as a charity in both Canada and the United
Kingdom. It is a worldwide network
of ecumenical Christian communicators whose global office is based in
Toronto. It is a membership organization bringing together some 1,500
institutions and individuals in more
than 100 countries.
WACC’s vision is a world in which
communication is recognized by all
as a human right and as the basis for
peace and social justice.
Organizations and individuals become members of the global Association, organized for practical purposes
into eight Regional Associations
(Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Latin
America, Middle East, North America
and Pacific).
Kidlap
MAGAZINE
Order our
Publications
1. Bitter Pineapple
A documentary detailing cases of
land grabs perpetrated by a giant
pineapple company in Bukidnon,
Mindanao, Philippines. Produced
by Kodao Productions and RMPNMR, it was supported by the
World Association of Christian
Communication. [US$4.65]
.............................................
the ever-growing statistics of statesponsored violence and human
rights violations in the country.
These are more than stories of
despair and anguish -- they seethe
with anger and defiance; spur
indignation and action; and offer
hope in support of the continuing
struggle to defend people’s rights.
These stories are about those who
struggle to rise above the margins.
[US$5.10]
Bukidnon and their organization,
the Tribal Indigenous Oppressed
Group Association (TINDOGA) and
its claim to its ancestral domain.
The book also documented the
organization and its members’
experiences in the course of their
struggle to assert their claim.
[US$6.80]
5. Salt of the Earth
3. Kidlap Selection
2. Red is the Color of the River
Pulangi and Other Stories from
the Margins
A family’s gruesome fate in
the hands of their supposed
“protectors.” A mother wracked
by guilt for the death of her
son. A fisherman finding out
the hard way what the laws are
not. A government worker and
a community leader paying the
ultimate price for going against
“developmental programs”.
These and three other stories
of community folk whose
humble lives were caught in the
vortex of state oppression and
repression in Northern Mindanao,
Philippines. Woven from various
reports, affidavits and anecdotal
interviews, the Rural Missionaries
of the Philippines-NMR has
attempted to give these stories a
human face and actual feel. These
stories, brief as they are, refuse to
be simply lumped together with
A wise man once said that “A single
spark can start a prairie fire.” Like
the title of this volume, KIDLAP
which means spark, the stories
here are humble yet illuminating
beacons of hope and social
activism amid the darkness that is
brought about by state-sponsored
development aggression. Through
these brave tales of missionary
work by the RMP-NMR, our hearts
are lit anew with the sparks of a
courageous and militant hope.
[US$7]
4. Tracing Roots, Asserting
Claims
The book traces the history of the
Manobo-Pulangion in Quezon
Human rights violations in
rural Philippines have become
part and parcel of the lives
of members of marginalized
groups, poorest of the poor,
masa. These people comprise
the majority of the victims of
the violations. They are the
invisible sectors of society
whose lives are considered
expendable in the name
of development. Except as
part of the statistics given in
speeches about the country’s
development status, they
are hardly invited to attend
conferences meant to gather
the decision-makers and prime
movers of the country. As the
title goes, Salt of the Earth, we
want to give honor to these
people. These people, even as
they do not have the means
and the power that goes with
material wealth, are for us the
most important in society. They
till the land and produce the
food we eat. They are the Salt of
the Earth. [US$7]
|33
"Our love is not to be just
mere words or mere talk,
but something real and active!"
- 1 John 3:18
www.rmp-nmr.org

Love that is Real and Active! - Rural Missionaries of the Philippines

Transcription

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