A Day In The Life Of RJ

“There is nothing easier than lopping off heads and nothing harder than developing ideas.” — Fyodor Dostoevsky

“I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of their way and let them have it.”

“Wars are seldom caused by spontaneous hatreds between people, for peoples in general are too ignorant of one another to have grievances and too indifferent to what goes on beyond their borders to plan conquests. They must be urged to the slaughter by politicians who know how to alarm them.” Henry Mencken

“There is no such thing as a good war and there is no such thing as a bad peace.” Benjamin Franklin

“Short-circuiting the long-established principles of patient negotiation leads to war, not peace.” Jimmy Carter

I miss the good old days — when things weren’t as complicated as they are now. It seemed rather peaceful then (or so I thought). Fact is, the world in general has not been truly peaceful at any time. Wars are as constant as change. And this world has seen one too many wars. There will always be small wars fought in certain parts of the world for all sorts of reason. I think humankind has a penchant for wars — probably part of what makes us human — to be hostile at times when certain boundaries are crossed. (more…)

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With all that’s been written about the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity MOA on Ancestral Domain (BJE MOA on AD), it is as if the issue gets more and more tiring to discuss and write about everyday. It’s September 2. Two days more and the SC TRO celebrates(?) its one month anniversary. To this day, although the BJE MOA on AD seems to be good as dead — or “comatose” as others have called it — the issue just wouldn’t die a natural death. And why not? Freedom(?) or self-determination and the struggle for it is something far more important than the struggle for survival. If you don’t believe it, ask yourself why we have heroes now. Ask yourself why Jose Rizal, the Ilustrado that he is or Andres Bonifacio, the poor guy that he is — the two of them doing their own style of revolt had no second thoughts about putting their lives at risk for something they believed was above them or of their preoccupations — the vision of a free Philippines. They know first-hand how a lot more difficult it is to survive and yet be enslaved or put more objectively, be under the rule of a colonizer. It is every man’s instinct to fight for freedom — for self-rule. (more…)

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I find it inexplicable why the BJE MOA on AD is being considered at odds with our constitution, hence this TRO and oral arguments, when a member of the MILF peace panel, MOHD. MUSIB M. BUAT in his article “A new formula in resolving the Mindanao conflict—Mohd. Musib M. Buat” at the abs-cbnNEWS.com website, said:

“But subsequently in February 2008, information was received by the MILF Peace Panel through the Malaysian facilitator that the GRP had decided to have the draft MOA-AD first reviewed by a panel of legal experts to ascertain whether or not the draft agreement would meet a constitutional test if challenged before the High Court. It took the government more that 100 days to conduct the “due diligence review” of the draft MOA-AD.”  (more…)

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Today’s article at abs-cbnNEWS.com “From Brink of Peace to Brink of War” by Atty. Soliman M. Santos, Jr. brings to mind my long-held stand on the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (BJE MOA on AD). (more…)

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MLQ3’s recent post “Berserkers and a breather” in Inquirer.net’s “CURRENT” is an enlightening article. Unlike most widely-read posts spawned by bloggers mainly from Manila and other parts of Luzon — which tend to rely heavily on news reports — therefore, unintentionally appearing or turning-out one-sided and half-baked, this one gives us a more comprehensive coverage — a bird’s eye view of the recent events in Mindanao — coming from the people who experience the news first-hand. The research and insight that come with articles of this sort is a compelling read, and I consider myself privileged to have read this.

As Real As It Gets

Stories blogged from Iligan and other parts of Mindanao are as real as can be. Sentiments expressed from all those blogs paint a picture so vivid that anyone who reads it can hardly ignore. In essence, it tells us how devastatingly and horrifyingly real this war is — which, many of us who blog from a distance can only sympathize with but never actually “feel”. Collectively, everyone wants this war to end so they can go on with their lives — plain and simple. They approach the issue from different perspectives but eventually arrive at the same sentiment and wish — if you may, which is peace.

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Two blogs quoted in the above article struck me:  (more…)

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As the situation in Mindanao remains fluid, the people’s future remain uncertain.  The road to peace is now littered with grenade. Who would now dare tread that path? To say that it is difficult to talk peace at a time like this is an understatement. I need not reiterate the violence that has erupted which has claimed the lives of many people — mostly civilians.

It is this pressing concern that gave rise to a need — a need to be ready and and willing to fight when necessary. The citizenry of Iligan City (claiming their right to protect themselves and their property) have decided to take up arms. And this is supported by no less than their Mayor Lawrence Cruz. He says in an ABSCBNNews.com article, “We don’t want to be helpless like those civilians who were butchered, strafed, torched, and whose properties were looted and ransacked. We don’t want that to happen to us.”

I was never a fan of vigilantism or anything loosely similar to it. Taking up arms by the citizenry is something I only envision as last resort. And I say that not because I’m kill-joy or sissy or absurdly peace-loving but because I think the current situation, in my point of view — however others may see it — still does not warrant such an activity. More than anything, I fear for these people’s safety. While I understand that being the ones directly affected by the menace that is MILF — they are full of conviction to fight for a just cause, I also believe that “letting guns do the talking” doesn’t sound like a good plan at all. Besides, it is the state’s responsibility to secure its people. If the citizenry takes up arms, they overstep someone else’s mandate. And no, I’m not trying to be be objective, I’m trying to be practical. (more…)

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The events of late speak for itself. We have gone to war. Continuous attacks from the MILF, aggravated by an ambush at Lanao del Sur, followed by killing civilians and burning houses are but indications of clear and present danger. Chief of Staff, General Alexander Yano calls it a “virtual declaration of war” and indeed it is. Actually, it’s not even “virtual” to me. It is a definite and crystal clear declaration of war — a blatant disregard for the peace process and disrespect to the laws of the land. For what else can you call something as atrocious as these? As of this writing, the rebels have left the scene yet took adult male hostages — probably to use as human shield as they walk through the area.

While it is so tempting to blame people now, the events have been too tragic that my brain can hardly come up with a good argument for finger-pointing. Reports say that there were dead people on the roadside. The bus driver in yesterday’s ambush swore to have seen and heard these rebels shout “patayin ninyo lahat yan” (”kill them all“). Just thinking about it is horrifying enough. I can’t imagine the terror in the faces of the people inside the bus. And I can’t imagine that such evil people exist. And sometimes, I ask myself how grave our inequities to these people may have been for us to go through the burden of talking peace with people who prefer expressing themselves through their guns? What have we done to deserve this problem (if we even deserved it at all)? (more…)

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This is something I never saw coming — Malacanang giving up so soon on the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity MOA on AD — at least unofficially. Reports coming in, however, are indicative that a change of pace and style in the approach on the peace process is imminent. Esperon’s comment about being open to the possibility of re-negotiating the MOA coupled with PGMA’s statement that she wants non-government organizations to spearhead peace negotiations with the MILF are tell-tale signs of a new strategical approach in the works. I expected the Palace to be firmer and more resolved on this BJE MOA as it has been on the issue of EVAT on oil (wherein amidst protests and lower approval ratings, PGMA has been hell-bent on keeping the EVAT as it is). Although Ermita claims that rumors of such “plans” clearly did not come from Malacanang because they are still waiting for the Supreme Court’s final ruling — without which, they cannot move forward and decide what next step to undertake, it seems that this change of plan is not a remote possibility. Maybe the issue has gone way out of their control, thus prompting them to have a sudden change of heart if only to survive the avalanche of criticisms (as if there is not a mountain of criticisms already) brought about by the BJE MOA. (more…)

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Whoa. What a week! So much has happened since Monday, August 11. And even more if we’d go back a week before that — before that fateful day that the “barely” existent Bangsamoro Juridical Entity MOA on Ancestral Domain (BJE MOA on AD) was TRO‘d by the Supreme Court. Discussions here and there, protests in streets, the Beijing Olympics, fighting in Mindanao, the ARMM elections and now Charter Change (ChaCha) has been our usual dose of news lately. We see, read and talk about it all too often that we can somehow say that we’ve probably heard enough. But you and I both know we haven’t. I hear the music playing. Will anyone dance to it?

Well, what do you expect? The BJE is non-executory by itself. We know that. And we are also fully aware of the need for an amendment in the Constitution if we are to satisfy the promises made in the MOA. And as we continue to question the constitutionality, feasibility, effectivity and practicality of the MOA, we are now faced with a dilemma yet again — to dance the ChaCha in the name of peace or to reject the idea altogether for fear of a PGMA “second life”. Unlike before, PGMA now tweets ChaCha in all things related to the BJE MOA and the peace process in Mindanao. She has expressed her intentions of pushing for ChaCha while brushing-off insinuations that this is all a ploy to “open” the Constitution and toy with it as she pleases.

Many will hate me for this but I think there is some truth to the Palace’s statement that those who oppose Federalism are those who have 2010 ambitions. But can you really blame these guys? These guys are panicky as ever especially since, I bet  as early as now, they are already writing their “return gratitude” list for the sponsors lining up to support their bets and in return get immunity and relative power. This is the nature of Philippine politics. I have yet to find a public official who puts his constituents above his political ambition — and I also doubt ever finding one in the near future. That’s how it is then, that’s how it will be in the future. I am a pretty optimistic person, but when it comes to Philippine politics, my optimism just isn’t enough. So, I’m sorry if I can’t join you in that bandwagon of a “united” Philippines — at least in these sense that many promote. I am more of a practical peace advocate. Unity to me transcends the physical, territorial boundaries.  A people united in aspirations and convictions is more appealing to me. A people although “territorially” apart yet peaceful and living together in an ultimately “central government” — as the BJE MOA puts it, is not so bad an idea. Would you rather see incessant fighting than “negotiate”? (more…)

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