Love that is Real and Active! - Rural Missionaries of the Philippines
Transcription
Love that is Real and Active! - Rural Missionaries of the Philippines
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.# 12 32 8 22 16 Kidlap MAGAZINE 4 What's Inside. .. 4 Landlessness and modern day exploitation of peasants Gary Ben S. Villocino 8 On CARP expiration Gary Ben S. Villocino 10 Scriptures and land Sr. Mary Francis B. Anover, RSM 12 The land of broken promises 11 26 Sr. Ma. Famita N. Somogod, MSM 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 Sr. Ma. Famita N. Somogod, MSM 26 Gone with the wind Anjo C. Bacarisas 32 RMP page Membership to various organizations Finacial statement | Order our publications 4| Kidlap MAGAZINE ............................................................................................................. 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. |5 6| Kidlap MAGAZINE 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 |7 8| Kidlap 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 |9 10|Kidlap MAGAZINE S criptures and Land by Sr. Mary Francis B. Añover, RSM Kidlap 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.# |11 12|Kidlap MAGAZINE ............................................................................................................. 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 |13 14|Kidlap 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 MAGAZINE ............................................................................................................. 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 Kidlap 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. 24|Kidlap 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. Kidlap 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 26|Kidlap MAGAZINE ............................................................................................................. 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 Kidlap 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 28|Kidlap MAGAZINE 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.# Kidlap MAGAZINE 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? Kidlap 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 32|Kidlap MAGAZINE 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