Mindanao Peace Council Month Activities 2019

By : Hope Militante Fernandez

Regional Directors

Division Heads

Chiefs of Office

Local Government Officials

Military and Police Officers

**** and unto all whom this message shall come ****

Dear Sirs and Madams:

Warm greetings of peace!

A group of Davao-based non-government organizations, government agencies, civic and volunteer organizations have come together to spearhead the celebration of International Day of Peace this year. With the theme "Climate Action For Peace , a month-long program of activities highlighted by the Mindanao Peace Council (Davao Peace Fair 2019) is envisioned to bring together multi-sectoral groups such as civil society, religious groups, youth organizations, security sector, and others in a common activity where the international celebration will promote awareness on peace issues and showcase peace initiatives. The Davao Peace Fair 2019 will be held on the actual date of the annual International Day of Peace as declared by the United Nations on September 21, 2019.

In lieu of this, we would like to invite your good office to join us and participate in the different activities organized by our Peace Partners in the Davao Region.

1. What are we celebrating on Sept. 21, 2019?

In 2001, the United Nation General Assembly by unanimous vote adopted resolution 55/282 , which established September 21 of every year as International Day of Peace.

2. What is the theme of the celebration this year?

The theme for 2019 is “Climate Action For Peace”

3. What are the objectives?

§ To reflect on the meaning of peace in the world today, and in the midst of what is happening now in our country

§ To educate the people to be aware of our responsibilities in peace-building

§ To celebrate the gift of peace

4. What is the initiative of Davao in response to the International Day of Peace?

In Davao Region, a month long celebration of Peace Fair will be held from September 14 – 29, 2019. The different groups and organizations will gather to celebrate and promote peace initiatives.

Program of Activities

September 14, 2019

3:00 p.m.

The Tionko Football Field,(Ecoland Bridge )

MPC Peace Month Kick – Off

“ BioKite Flying For Peace “

Maharlika Sports Foundation

JCI-Duwaling

September 19, 2019

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

Xavier Hall Training Room, 8th Floor, CCFC Bldg, Ateneo de Davao University

Revisiting IPRA:

An IPRA Law Forum with NCIP

Contact Person :

Dadong Gumatao/Sir Macoy Samante:

UCEAC AdDU Office:

0932-3681546

ateneo.uceac@gmail.com

September 20-22,2019

Venue: Merkadu Strip,4F Skygarden,NCCC Mall, Buhangin, Davao City

KALINAW Bazaar @ Merkadu

Contact Person : Heidi-0908-8209038

Jaki – 0912-9830677

merkadu.davao@gmail.com

Everyone is invited to display and/or give services in the advocacy & public service booth for your respective office/agencies that will be available at the venue.

September 21,2019 MAIN EVENT

( Whole Day ) 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Venue: Municipal Gymnasium, Brgy. Kingking, Pantukan Gym, Compostela Valley

Solidarity Walk

Launching of the Solidarity Garden

“Trees For Peace “

Everyone is invited to display and/or give services in the advocacy & public service booth for your respective office/agencies that will be available at the venue.

Contact Person : Zenith Maceda

0950-3662565/09355651702

September 23, 2019

1:00-3:30 p.m.

Ateneo Training Room, 8th Floor

CCFC Bldg. AdDU

“Being with One “ Brahma Khumaris

An Inter-Faith Gathering

RSVP: 0999-995-3862

Culmination of Peacemonth 2019 :

Last weekof September Schedule (TBA)

Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental in Partnership w/ 73IB,10ID,PA

For all those interested to join please coordinate with the contact persons listed here.

We are hoping for your positive response to this invitation.

HOPE MILITANTE FERNANDEZ-MENDOZA

President/ Founder

H.O.P.E. (Humanitarian Organization for Peace Engagements)

Lead Convener

MINDANAO PEACE COUNCIL

Mobile No: +63 (9) 08-3053408

+63 (9) 550746999

Landline # : ( 082 ) 221-7909

E-mail Ad: hopefernandez@yahoo.com

"And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." (James 3:18)

Mindanao Conflict Uproots Tens of Thousands

More than 120,000 people have fled their homes in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao, as fighting between government troops and Muslim rebels intensifies. Food and shelter are urgently needed.

Government sources indicate that more that 123,000 people, or 24,700 families, have been forced to flee their homes due to the fighting as of March 17, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said in a statement.

The clashes have affected people from 13 municipalities and as a result, a state of calamity has been declared in Maguindanao, a province located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) - the country's second biggest and southernmost major island - which has been the scene of a Muslim separatist conflict over the past 40 years.

Where to go?

Families are now living in evacuation centers, schools, madrasahs (Islamic educational centers), covered courts, tents and with host relatives and friends, says the IOM, adding that more than 2,200 pregnant women in evacuation centers are in need of medical support, while classes in 42 public elementary and high schools have been affected.

The fighting in the area follows a bloody anti-terror operation on January 25

The intergovernmental organization also indicate that the displaced families are constantly exposed to a number of hazards and risks, as many of them have installed tents under trees, along the roads and nearby military sites with artillery installations.

Moreover, there seem to be other organizational challenges. For instance, Besim Ajeti, IOM Head of the Cotabato Office, explains that it has become increasingly difficult for those in charge to track some of families as they transfer from one evacuation site to another.

Mindanao is home to the biggest and most relevant Muslim minority in the archipelago, the indigenous Moro people. Created in 1989, the ARMM is composed of five predominantly Muslim provinces and is the only region that has its own government.

Supplies may soon run out

The ARMM government has begun distributing food packs and a few plastic sheets (tarpaulins) to those affected. But as Ajeti pointed out, "Food supplies from government agencies may run out in less than 20 days, considering the limited funds available."

Aquino facing 'biggest crisis' as Philippine president

Dozens of police officers were killed in an anti-terror raid that has dented the popularity of Philippine President Benigno Aquino, rendering major reforms unlikely during the rest of his term, says analyst Alecia Quah. (19.02.2015)

Is the Philippines peace process in jeopardy?

Philippine government and Muslim rebels complete peace deal talks

Philippines attacks: A rebel group's last stand

Currently, the ARMM is spending approximately PHP 13 million (USD 290,000) per week to support the displaced families, mainly on food assistance, according to IOM. But an IOM assessment reveals the need is much larger: Food, non-food items, emergency shelter support, latrines, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, kitchen utensils, mosquito nets, jerry cans, clothing and safe water (drinking, cooking and general use), are urgently needed.

In addition, evacuation center support, displacement tracking, medical personnel and supplies, psychosocial support as well as mechanisms for addressing protection were recognized as key priorities to continue assisting the affected populations in Maguindanao.

The fighting continues

In the meantime, more than 50 militants have reportedly been killed in attacks launched by the Philippine military last month against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a Muslim rebel group seeking independence.

The fighting in the area follows a bloody anti-terror operation on January 25 aimed at capturing or killing a top Islamist militant. But the raid took a turn for the worse, ending in the killing of 44 police commandos. The police were killed by members of the country's biggest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and its breakaway group, the BIFF, when they entered rebel-controlled territory.

It was the government's biggest single-day combat loss in recent memory, prompting calls for retribution which could potentially threaten a peace deal, which entails the establishment of a more powerful autonomous region for minority Muslims in the south of the Catholic-majority nation.

But the botched raid, which took place in Mamasapano, Maguindanao Province, has also triggered a wave of outrage in the Southeast Asian nation. Public opposition to the granting of further concessions to the MILF has stiffened and the administration of President Benigno Aquino has been shaken, with opposition lawmakers calling for the president's impeachment.

(C) 2015 Deutsche Welle

Peace in Mindanao? CONTRAST

Re-published Editorial from Mindanao Daily Mirror from February 12, 2013 with friendly permission of the the publisher Marietta Siongco.

The contrast could not have been starker. President Benigno Aquino's visit to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) stronghold of Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat was marked by festivities, sports events, a fluvial parade, and plenty of optimism for a future that, while still tentative, no longer looks impossible bleak.

Some 13 years ago, then-President Joseph Estrada went to the same place - then called Camp Abubakar - in a scene of destruction and waste as the military overran it in pursuance of his "all-out-war" on the MILF. The only festivities that were done by soldiers who feasted on lechon and beer -both forbidden under Islam- brought in by Estrada himself. The desecration was never forgottten and set back the peace initiatives to almost unsalvaeable levels.

The contrast between the two leaders' handling of the MILF can be jarring, and both have their share of supporters and critics. Even now, as President Aquino makes inroads to peace by visiting Camp Darapanan, some sectors are saying he is making the wrong move, and that sooner or later conflict will once again erupt in Mindanao. But it is to his credit that the President has apparently taken things personally in the island: he is thus far the only president to have visited an MILF stronghold in peace. The message he is trying to convince has obviously reached his audience: peace is not just a matter of taking to the negotiating table but also in actually meeting each other, shaking hands, even feasting and playing together. 

Time will tell if all this work, but at least for now, there is a reason to be optimistic. For the first time, peace in Mindanao is not an abstract concept discussed in Metro Manila or Malaysia but an actual event, in one which Mindanaoans themselves are participants.

Compact For Peace Formed

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) have forged an agreement to mutually cooperate in addressing local peace and security issues in Southern Philippines.

Lawyer Anwar Malang, ARMM chief of staff and currently Interior and Local Governments Secretary, met with Lawyer Randolp Parcasio, legal adviser of Nur Misuari, chair of a faction of the MNLF, in a Makati hotel last Friday.

The MNLF move came as a total turn around from Misuari's earlier provocative statements undermining the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro signed by the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

ARMM is composed of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi areas covered by the September 2, 1996 GOH-MNLF peace agreement.

Parcasio and Malang signed the ARMM-MNLF Peace and Development Compact.

Under the Compact, the group of Misuari is encouraged to cooperate with the ARMM leadership in addressing peace and order problems that have been causing poverty and underdevelopment in Muslim region. 

Misuari had been publicly rejecting the Framework Agreement calling it a product of conspiracy between the Malaysian government, Aquino government and the MILF.

Under the Compact, both the MNLF and ARMM leadership will cooperate "to protect life, liberty and poverty of all the people of ARMM. Both the ARMM and the MNLF also vowed to jointly resolve family feud and clan wars in the autonomous region. (PNA)

Peace Be With Us!

Repost of my column in MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR (IN MY OPINION) from Friday, October 19, 2012 with friendly permission of publisher Marietta F. Siongco.

Peace means "calm". Peace means "freedom from war, disturbance or hostilities". Peace means "being free from tumults".

All of us, individuals, groups or nations, as well as societies, have to survive in a life full of uncertain, dangerous and unsure elements. Nobody and on politics on earth, where ever we are living can guarantee a total safety on this existential level. Nevertheless, it's a fundamental task and duty to state politics to flag danger and unsureness in humans living together. The modern state is therefore responsible for inner safety thru a functional legislation and police, for social safety thru organization and formulations of law. External safety by means of military and bilateral diplomacy is imperative. External safety means the threat of national territory and peace-and-order coming from other states.

International relations developed within the last centuries. Safety politics become more and more part of national politics.

...

Globalization has enormously changed national and international safety politics. During the Cold War, the number of conscientious objectors increased dramatically. After the Cold War, state symbols and ceremonies lost their military character. The Europeans are still living now in a so-called "post-heroism" in which the doctrine "to kill other people because of defense through military actions" fades more and more.

...

Talking about peace: One historical example is this: Chief peace negotiators of the Philippine government and the MILF on Monday (October 15, 2012) signed the framework agreement which lays down the groundwork or the final and enduring peace in Mindanao. "In full view of the Filipino people ... we commit to peace. A peace that will be sustained to democratic ideals," President Aquino said.

When I stepped on Mindanao soil for the first time in 1976, I experienced a lot of fearing adventures. I came back in 1982. Then 1983.

I hope and pray, that Mindanao is now free from disturbances and tumults. I stay here for good. I love to live in Mindanao, especially in Davao City. Peace be with us all!

Why Is The Search For Peace So Difficult?

How can peace be elusive as its is seemingly now when all you hear these days are clarion calls for stable peace down to dawn in Mindanao? Towards the end of Ramadan there pervades an aura of reconciliatory vibes and forgiveness. The yearning for peace is felt from east to west and from north to south. Despite all these we ask in desperation, "Why is the search of peace such a difficult task?"

If a cease fire agreement can be sustained, then why cannot a permanent truce be attained? What does it take for protagonists to yield to the deafening call of the overwhelming majority for the forces to lay down heir arms and silenced these forever? There is so much land to share, so much resources to develop, the seas are so rich with a cornucopia of marine wealth. But the opportunity to make these resources productive is lost in the futile struggle for an independent state that stirs apprehension among those who abhors it. That is why the partnerships and joint ventures among Filipinino Muslims, Lumads and Christians is so extremely difficult to attain because that struggle comes in the way to reconciliation, trust, unity and peace.

... .

When can we talk and talk and laugh and share our sorrows and joys without (?) having to ask what our religious faiths are, our ranks and station in life like children who harbor no hatred but only genuine friendship and love?

With friendly permission from my publisher of Mindanao Daily Mirror, Marietta Siongco, posted again on this website.

Comments are on my FACEBOOK site. Just follow me...!

Maguindanao Clashes Displace Villagers

Peace in Mindanao - unfortunately a never ending story and for many foreigners and outsiders almost not easy to understand analayze... .

Here is more:

Maguindanao clashes displace villagers

Former Legislator Sues Priest in Mindanao

Amazing. And the only thing I can say is: No comments. But don't hesitate to read this post: 

Former legislator sues priest in Mindanao

600 Bikers For Peace in Mindanao

I love biking since my childhood. Several health circumstances held me back to such events, I am writing about here and now.

More than 600 bikers pushed their way uphill as the first "Bike for Peace" sponsored by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process outside of Metro Manila.

Participants from local government sectors along with other peace advocats, biking enthusiasts and media guests trekked the mountainous terrain staring from the People Park in Cotabato City (city hall), where I have been staying in 1989 during an interview with during that time acting mayor Mr. Badoy, to North Upi in Maguindanao.

Beyond the physical activity, this event also mirror (hopefully!) the Philippine goverment's goal in reaching a final peace agreement with the MILF, which has been going in for years niow.

"Bike for Peace" is usually held in Manila. Peace for Mindanao! Is it really such a never ending story???

Peace Education in Mindanao

Peace education in Mindanao - very important. Check out my post here;

http://www.germaninthephilippines.tropicalpenpals.com

MILF Flags Possible Peace Deal

 (MILF panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal)

The Philippine government peace panel's target to strike a comprehensive agreement with Muslim rebels within one year "is very possible"... .

Check out more here:


MILF flags possible peace deal