Recommendations from the fields of Mindanao

Since 9-11, the U.S. has been poviding $30 million in military assistance annually as part of a counter-terror operation in the Philippines. This assistance is being subsumed in the larger civil war between Bangsamoror freedom fighters and the Philippine government. Unfortunately, this puts the U.S. on the side of one of the most corrupt governments in Asia, where impunity is widespread.

Human rights groups such as Amnesty international, Human Rights watch and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions have all conducted and issued extensive reports on this in the past several years. The Committee to Protect Journalists ranks the Philippines 6th in it's world impunity index, worse than Mexico, Russia and Afghanistan. Filipino humanitarian workers in Mindanao recently found over 200 houses burned by the Philippine army, which is directly supported by American tax dollars. Peacebuilders field workers have witnessed the deployment in central Mindanao of “ghost units” of the Philippine military, operating without insignia or identification.

To top it off, Melissa Roxas, an American woman from California volunteering as a community health outreach worker, was recently abducted, tortured and accused of being a communist. Evidence suggests that this was carried out by agents of the Philippine military. This has been widely reported in Philippine news, but not in the U.S.

These are just several examples of the many human rights problems in the Philippines. The government and military here have virtually no accountability. Rarely is there prosecution and conviction of perpetrators, if even an effective investigation.

Currently, only $2 million of the 30 million U.S. military aid is contingent on human rights conditions. We are at an important juncture as the government and Muslim sides in Mindanao have declared a truce in the fighting and the country heads into it's "election season" for the 2010 presidential elections. The U.S. government needs to make it clear that fighting terror does not mean condoning rampant impunity and disregard for basic human rights.

Therefore, we at Peacebuilders Community are remmending the following policy initiatives:

1) Immediate suspension of U.S. military aid to the Philippines pending an inquiry into counter-insurgency military operations, human rights and impunity, especially the case of American citizen Melissa Roxas.

2) Creation of a multi-sectoral task force to visit the Philippines to investigate the human rights situation and make recommendations for further policy changes.

3) Re-positioning of U.S. policy and program initiatives related to the civil war in Mindanao as a more neutral arbiter.

4) Conven an international advisory group of peace "elders," especially from the Muslim nations, to help shepherd the peace process forward for both the Muslim and Communist insurgency and to submit recommendations for a long term transitional/restorative justice process (aka, truth & reconciliation commission).

5) The creation of a UN peacekeeping force to intervene in Mindanao.

6) Creation of an environmental report card/sign posts for appropriate development so that the root causes of conflict are addressed in an ecological way.

Praying for killers, praying for ourselves

591 words. That's all it took the archbishop of Davao, Fernando Capalla, to open a new front in the ongoing controversy over the Davao Death Squad. Since February of this year, the church season of Lent, we Catholics in Davao City have been praying for our death squad, the - "hooded killers on motorbikes" - as it says in the prescribed prayer, called an Oratio Imperata. But not just for them, but for our part in it all, we pray,


"Most of all, Heavenly Father, our souls are wounded by our stark ignorance that we too are responsible for the existence and perpetuation of the systems that promote, condone and abet these social wounds in the soul and spirit of our people. For all these, Lord, we are deeply sorry and beg your mercy and forgiveness."

I go back and forth wondering as to whether this is more than just a cost-less church gimmick or a real effort at changing a terrible situation. Where is the action? Where are base communities organizin? Why are not my fellow Catholics and other Christians outraged?

But maybe prayer is the first step in bringing it into the conscience of the larger community of faithful. The church tends to work on a longer time frame, often much to the chagrin of impatient activists. But whether it works slow or fast, this prayer seems to be a necessary step. It is necessary in order to muster the spriritual energy and focus to confront systemic and pervasive injustice. Whatever actions or practical next steps occur, they will be stymied and discouraged unless we first take these steps in our soul to confront this reality. As the prayer states, "Make us overcome the evil in the system by the power of goodness in us all who are within the system, the goodness that is rooted in you alone." The reality of massive injustice must be matched by overwhelming goodness. Now I ask myself, what will I do about it?

Good News - Jailbreak!!

April 4, 2009 and 27 inmates from the Davao City jail stood silently on stage at the CAP auditorium, waiting nervously. Were they waiting to be arrested or presented to the media as "criminals" or "menaces to society?" No, rather - curtains, lights and the show began!

I was sitting in the balcony with my wife and friends, and several co-workers were scattered through the audience. We had bought tickets to attend an original musical-drama tracing the real-life stories of jail inmates, performed entirely by inmates, their families and guards from the Davao City Jail. And once the show began, we were drawn in, even though much of the dialogue and lyrics were in Filipino. Here were real "criminals", now actors in their own stories, participating in an act of liberation. Gone were the concerns about how far the front row would be from the actors, or if they would be handcuffed etc.. Now we were all equalized in the realizations that: they had a story to tell us; that we needed to hear it; and the theatrical process of doing so would break the stereotypes of prisoners as social outcasts and rejects. The jail inmates were now participants in what some consider the soul of a society's civilization - theater - and they were good! (see this positive review in our local paper).

It is likely that was a historical event, 27 prisoners temporarily released to perform in a public venue. Historical because the criminal justice system, often cast by reform activists as the oppressor of prisoners, played (literally) a supporting role in an exercise of liberation. A co-worker told me later how she was brought to tears during the performance as the scales fell from her eyes with the realization that if the inmates could perform at that level of expertise, they could do anything. Another friend told me how her son hung back, waiting and wanting to talk with the stars of the show. Wow. Could this be true?

Will an event such as this help us re-think our approach to crime, consequences and restoration in our society? Perhaps. Prisons and jails are overcrowded around the world. Research has shown that while their costs are high, their benefits are low. Perhaps all that is needed to make the change is liberation from the prison of our own mind. Will you jailbreak?