RP Muslims condemn attacks on churches in Malaysia

By EDD K. USMAN
January 14, 2010 / Manila Bulletin


The 1.5-billion strong Islamic world called Ummah, through the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Thursday condemned the attacks and burning of churches in Malaysia, as it called for dialogue to resolve the conflict on the use of the Arabic word for God, “Allah.”

Muslim Filipinos also raised their voices to condemn the aggression on Christian houses of worship in Malaysia, as the Philippine Center for Halal Awareness (PCHA) chaired by Ustadhz Abdulhadie Daguit, said the attacks were against the teachings of Islam.

Abdulhadie said that in Islam, churches, synagogues, temples and other houses of worship are deemed protected.

“Islam prohibits attacks against houses of worship of any religion,” said the PCHA official.

In an e-mail to the Manila Bulletin, the OIC, composed of 57 Muslim and some non-Muslim states, quoted OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu who called for self-restraint and to use dialogue in resolving the Malaysians' conflict.

“OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu condemns the aggression on and burning of Christian Churches in Malaysia, insisting on the importance of the prevalence of peaceful co-existence among the members of the Malaysian people,” the e-mail said.

Ihsanoglu lauded the Malaysian government's “judicious treatment of the events,” referring to the Malay Muslims' vehement opposition to Christians' use of the word “Allah” to refer to God.

The dispute emerged after the Malaysian High Court lifted on December 31 a government ban on Catholics' use of Allah as translation for God in their Bible.

Some Malaysian Muslims oppose this, wanting exclusive use of the word Allah.

But Malaysian Christian communities claim they have been using Allah for over 300 years.

Majority of the Muslim world does not support the stand of their Malaysian fellow Islam adherents as the OIC, the PCHA, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) showed.

CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad urged American Muslims to help in repairing the damaged churches in Malaysia.

He said Arabic-speaking Christians universally refer to God as Allah.

“Muslims in America, Malaysia and worldwide must help protect all houses of worship, and thereby show the true spirit of Islam," Awad said in an e-mail.

“American Muslims, as a symbol of their commitment to interfaith understanding and peaceful coexistence, will take the lead in helping restore the damaged churches. Muslims cannot remain silent in the face of attacks on any houses of worship. Our community needs to take serious and prompt measures to reclaim the moral high ground established by Islamic principles,” said Awad.

He said CAIR has done the same action in defense of the American Muslim community against the same hate crimes, including vandalism committed on mosques.

Awad cited the story of Caliph Umar Bin Al-Khattab who was offered the keys to Jerusalem by the Christian patriarch Sophronius in the 7th century.

“When the Caliph was asked to pray in a Jerusalem church, he declined saying he did not want to provide a pretext for Muslims to appropriate a Christian holy site,” said Awad.

He also cited the Christian ruler of Abyssinia who provided refuge to early Muslims who escaped persecution and death in Makkah.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9745 - AN ACT PENALIZING TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN AND DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFOR

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9745

AN ACT PENALIZING TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN AND DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT AND PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFOR

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Ad shall be known as the “Anti-Torture Act of 2009″.

SEC. 2. Statement of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State:

(a) To value the dignity of every human person and guarantee full respect for human rights;

(b) To ensure that the human rights of all persons, including suspects, detainees and prisoners are respected at all times; and that no person placed under investigation or held in custody of any person in authority or, agent of a person authority shall be subjected to physical, psychological or mental harm, force, violence, threat or intimidation or any act that impairs his/her free will or in any manner demeans or degrades human dignity;

(c) To ensure that secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado or other similar forms of detention, where torture may be carried out with impunity, are prohibited; and

(d) To fully adhere to the principles and standards on the absolute condemnation and prohibition of torture as provided for in the 1987 Philippine Constitution; various international instruments to which the Philippines is a State party such as, but not limited to, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDA W) and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT); and all other relevant international human rights instruments to which the Philippines is a signatory.

SEC. 3. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean:

(a) “Torture” refers to an act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him/her or a third person information or a confession; punishing him/her for an act he/she or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed; or intimidating or coercing him/her or a third person; or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a person in authority or agent of a person in authority. It does not include pain or Buffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

(b) “Other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment” refers to a deliberate and aggravated treatment or punishment not enumerated under Section 4 of his Act, inflicted by a person in authority or agent of a person in authority against a person under his/her custody, which attains a level of severity causing suffering, gross humiliation or debasement to the latter.

(c) “Victim’ refers to the person subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment as defined above and any individual who has suffered harm as a result of any act(s) of torture, or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

(d) “Order of Battle” refers to any document or determination made by the military, police or any law enforcement agency of the government, listing the names of persons and organizations that it perceives to be enemies of the State and that it considers as legitimate targets as combatants that it could deal with, through the use of means allowed by domestic and international law.

SEC. 4. Acts of Torture. - For purposes of this Act, torture shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) Physical torture is a form of treatment or punishment inflicted by a person in authority or agent of a person in authority upon another in his/her custody that causes severe pain, exhaustion, disability or dysfunction of one or more parts of the body, such as:

(1) Systematic beating, head banging, punching, kicking, striking with truncheon or rifle butt or other similar objects, and jumping on the stomach;

(2) Food deprivation or forcible feeding with spoiled food, animal or human excreta and other stuff or substances not normally eaten;

(3) Electric shock;

(4) Cigarette burning; burning by electrically heated rods, hot oil, acid; by the rubbing of pepper or other chemical substances on mucous membranes, or acids or spices directly on the wound(s);

(5) The submersion of the head in water or water polluted with excrement, urine, vomit, and/or blood until the brink of suffocation;

(6) Being tied or forced to assume fixed and stressful bodily position;

(7) Rape and sexual abuse, including the insertion of foreign objects into the sex organ or rectum, or electrical torture of the genitals;

(8) Mutilation or amputation of the essential parts of the body such as the genitalia, ear, tongue, etc.;

(9) Dental torture or the forced extraction of the teeth;

(10) Pulling out of fingernails;

(11) Harmful exposure to the elements such as sunlight and extreme cold;

(12) The use of plastic bag and other materials placed over the head to the point of asphyxiation;

(13) The use of psychoactive drugs to change the perception, memory. alertness or will of a person, such as:

(i) The administration of drugs to induce confession and/or reduce mental competency; or

(ii) The use of drugs to induce extreme pain or certain symptoms of a disease; and

(14) Other analogous acts of physical torture; and

(b) “Mental/Psychological Torture” refers to acts committed by a person in authority or agent of a person in authority which are calculated to affect or confuse the mind and/or undermine a person’s dignity and morale, such as:

(1) Blindfolding;

(2) Threatening a person(s) or his/her relative(s) with bodily harm, execution or other wrongful acts;

(3) Confinement in solitary cells or secret detention places;

(4) Prolonged interrogation;

(5) Preparing a prisoner for a “show trial”, public display or public humiliation of a detainee or prisoner;

(6) Causing unscheduled transfer of a person deprived of liberty from one place to another, creating the belief that he/she shall be summarily executed;

(7) Maltreating a member/s of a person’s family;

(8) Causing the torture sessions to be witnessed by the person’s family, relatives or any third party;

(9) Denial of sleep/rest;

(10) Shame infliction such as stripping the person naked, parading him/her in public places, shaving the victim’s head or putting marks on his/her body against his/her will;

(11) Deliberately prohibiting the victim to communicate with any member of his/her family; and

(12) Other analogous acts of mental/psychological torture.

SEC. 5. Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. - Other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment refers to a deliberate and aggravated treatment or punishment not enumerated under Section 4 of this Act, inflicted by a person in authority or agent of a person in authority against another person in custody, which attains a level of severity sufficient to cause suffering, gross humiliation or debasement to the latter. The assessment of the level of severity shall depend on all the circumstances of the case, including the duration of the treatment or punishment, its physical and mental effects and, in some cases, the sex, religion, age and state of health of the victim.

SEC. 6. Freedom from Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, An Absolute Right. - Torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment as criminal acts shall apply to all circumstances. A state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability, or any other public emergency, or a document or any determination comprising an order of battle shall not and can never be invoked as a justification for torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

SEC. 7. Prohibited Detention. - Secret detention places, solitary confinement, incommunicado or other similar forms of detention, where torture may be carried out with impunity are hereby prohibited. In which case, the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other law enforcement agencies concerned shall make an updated list of all detention centers and facilities under their respective jurisdictions with the corresponding data on the prisoners or detainees incarcerated or detained therein such as, among others, names, date of arrest and incarceration, and the crime or offense committed.

This list shall be made available to the public at all times, with a copy of the complete list available at the respective national headquarters of the PNP and AFP. A copy of the complete list shall likewise be submitted by the PNP, AFP and all other law enforcement agencies to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), such list to be periodically updated, by the same agencies, within the first five (5) days of every month at the minimum. Every regional office of the PNP, AFP and other law enforcement agencies shall also maintain a similar list far all detainees and detention facilities within their respective areas, and shall make the same available to the public at all times at their respective regional headquarters, and submit a copy, updated in the same manner provided above, to the respective regional offices of the CHR.

SEC. 8. Applicability of the Exclusionary Rule; Exception. - Any confession, admission or statement obtained as a result of torture shall be inadmissible in evidence in any proceedings, except if the same is used as evidence against a person or persons accused of committing torture.

SEC. 9. Institutional Protection of Torture Victims and Other Persons Involved. - A victim of torture shall have the following rights in the institution of a criminal complaint for torture:

(a) To have a prompt and an impartial investigation by the CHR and by agencies of government concerned such as the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), the PNP, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the AFP. A prompt investigation shall mean a maximum period of sixty (60) working days from the time a complaint for torture is filed within which an investigation report and/or resolution shall be completed and made available. An appeal whenever available shall be resolved within the same period prescribed herein;

(b) To have sufficient government protection against all forms of harassment; threat and/or intimidation as a consequence of the filing of said complaint or the presentation of evidence therefor. In which case, the State through its appropriate agencies shall afford security in order to ensure his/her safety and all other persons involved in the investigation and prosecution such as, but not limited to, hislher lawyer, witnesses and relatives; and

(c) to be accorded sufficient protection in the manner by which he/she testifies and presents evidence in any fora in order to avoid further trauma.

SEC. 10. Disposition of Writs of Habeas Corpus, Amparo and Habeas Data Proceedings and Compliance with a Judicial 0rder. - A writ of habeas corpus or writ of amparo or writ of habeas data proceeding, if any, filed on behalf of the victim of torture or other cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment or punishment shall be disposed of expeditiously and any order of release by virtue thereof, or other appropriate order of a court relative thereto, shall be executed or complied with immediately.

SEC. 11. Assistance in Filing a Complaint. - The CRR and the PAO shall render legal assistance in the investigation and monitoring and/or filing of the complaint for a person who suffers torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, or for any interested party thereto.

The victim or interested party may also seek legal assistance from the Barangay Human Rights Action Center (BHRAC) nearest him/her as well as from human rights non-government organizations (NGOs).

SEC. 12. Right to Physical, Medical and Psychological Examination. - Before and after interrogation, every person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation shall have the right to he informed of his/her right to demand physical examination by an independent and competent doctor of his/her own choice. If such person cannot afford the services of his/her own doctor, he/she shall be provided by the State with a competent and independent doctor to conduct physical examination. The State shall endeavor to provide the victim with psychological evaluation if available under the circumstances. If the person arrested is a female, she shall be attended to preferably by a female doctor. Furthermore, any person arrested, detained or under custodial investigation, including his/her immediate family, shall have the right to immediate access to proper and adequate medical treatment.

The physical examination and/or psychological evaluation of the victim shall be contained in a medical report, duly signed by the attending physician, which shall include in detail his/her medical history and findings, and which shall he attached to the custodial investigation report. Such report shall be considered a public document. Following applicable protocol agreed upon by agencies tasked to conduct physical, psychological and mental examinations, the medical reports shall, among others, include:

(a) The name, age and address of the patient or victim;

(b) The name and address of the nearest kin of the patient or victim;

(c) The name and address of the person who brought the patient or victim for physical, psychological and mental examination, and/or medical treatment;

(d) The nature and probable cause of the patient or victim’s injury, pain and disease and/or trauma;

(e) The approximate time and date when the injury, pain, disease and/or trauma was/were sustained;

(f) The place where the injury, pain, disease and/or trauma was/were sustained;

(g) The time, date and nature of treatment necessary; and

(h) The diagnosis, the prognosis and/or disposition of the patient.

Any person who does not wish to avail of the rights under this provision may knowingly and voluntarily waive such rights in writing, executed in the presence and assistance of his/her counsel.

SEC. 13. Who are Criminally Liable. - Any person who actually participated or induced another in the commission of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment or who cooperated in the execution of the act of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment by previous or simultaneous acts shall be liable as principal. Any superior military, police or law enforcement officer or senior government official who issued an order to any lower ranking personnel to commit torture for whatever purpose shall be held equally liable as principals.

The immediate commanding officer of the unit concerned .of the AFP or the immediate senior public official of the PNP and other law enforcement agencies shall be held liable as a principal to the crime of torture or other cruel or inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment for any act or omission, or negligence committed by him/her that shall have led, assisted, abetted or allowed, whether directly or indirectly, the commission thereof by his/her subordinates. If he/she has knowledge of or, owing to the circumstances at the time, should have known that acts of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment shall be committed, is being committed, or has been committed by his/her subordinates or by others within his/her area of responsibility and, despite such knowledge, did not take preventive or corrective action either before, during or immediately after its commission, when he/she has the authority to prevent or investigate allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment but failed to prevent or investigate allegations of such act, whether deliberately or due to negligence shall also be liable as principals.

Any public officer or employee shall be liable as an accessory if he/she has knowledge that torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment is being committed and without having participated therein, either as principal or accomplice, takes part subsequent to its commission in any of the following manner:

(a) By themselves profiting from or assisting the offender to profit from the effects of the act of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment;

(b) By concealing the act of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment and/or destroying the effects or instruments thereof in order to prevent its discovery; or

(c) By harboring, concealing or assisting m the escape of the principal/s in the act of torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment: Provided, That the accessory acts are done with the abuse of the official’s public functions.

SEC. 14. Penalties. –

(a) The penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be imposed upon the perpetrators of the following acts:

(1) Torture resulting in the death of any person;

(2) Torture resulting in mutilation;

(3) Torture with rape;

(4) Torture with other forms of sexual abuse and, in consequence of tortuxe, the victim shall have become insane, imbecile, impotent, blind or maimed for life; and

(5) Torture committed against children.

(b) The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be imposed on those who commit any act of mental/psychological torture resulting in insanity, complete or partial amnesia, fear of becoming insane or suicidal tendencies of the victim due to guilt, worthlessness or shame.

(c) The penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed on those who commit any act of torture resulting in psychological, mental and emotional harm other than those described in paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) The penalty of prision mayor in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed if, in consequence of torture, the victim shall have lost the power of speech or the power to hear or to smell; or shall have lost an eye, a hand, a foot, an arm or a leg; or shall have lost the use of any such member; Or shall have become permanently incapacitated for labor.

(e) The penalty of prision mayor in its minimum and medium periods shall be imposed if, in consequence of torture, the victim shall have become deformed or shall have lost any part of his/her body other than those aforecited, or shall have lost the use thereof, or shall have been ill or incapacitated for labor for a period of more than ninety (90) days.

(f) The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its minimum period shall be imposed if, in consequence of torture, the victim shall have been ill or incapacitated for labor for more than thirty (30) days but not more than ninety (90) days.

(g) The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium period shall be imposed if, in consequence of torture, the victim shall have been ill or incapacitated for labor for thirty (30) days or less.

(h) The penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed for acts constituting cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as defined in Section 5 of this Act.

(i) The penalty of prision correccional shall be imposed upon those who establish, operate and maintain secret detention places and/or effect or cause to effect solitary confinement, incommunicado or other similar forms of prohibited detention as provided in Section 7 of this Act where torture may be carried out with impunity.

(k) The penalty of arresto mayor shall be imposed upon the responsible officers or personnel of the AFP, the PNP and other law enforcement agencies for failure to perform his/her duty to maintain, submit or make available to the public an updated list of detention centers and facilities with the corresponding data on the prisoners or detainees incarcerated or detained therein, pursuant to Section 7 of this Act.

SEC. 15. Torture as a Separate and Independent Crime. - Torture as a crime shall not absorb or shall not be absorbed by any other crime or felony committed as a consequence, or as a means in the conduct or commission thereof. In which case, torture shall be treated as a separate and independent criminal act whose penalties shall be imposable without prejudice to any other criminal liability provided for by domestic and international laws.

SEC. 16. Exclusion from the Coverage of Special Amnesty Law. - In order not to depreciate the crime of torture, persons who have committed any act of torture shall not benefit from any special amnesty law or similar measures that will have the effect of exempting them from any criminal proceedings and sanctions.

SEC. 17. Applicability of Refouler. - No person shall be expelled, returned or extradited to another State where there are substantial grounds to believe that such person shall be in danger of being subjected to torture. For the purposes of determining whether such grounds exist, the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Secretary of the DOJ, in coordination with the Chairperson of the CHR, shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable and not limited to, the existence in the requesting State of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights.

SEC. 18. Compensation to Victims of Torture. – Any person who has suffered torture shall have the right to claim for compensation as provided for under Republic Act No. 7309; Provided, That in no case shall compensation be any lower than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00). Victims of torture shall also have the right to claim for compensation from such other financial relief programs that may be made available to him/her under existing law and rules and regulations.

SEC. 19. Formulation of a Rehabilitation Program. Within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the DOJ and the Department of Health (DOH) and such other concerned government agencies, and human rights organizations shall formulate a comprehensive rehabilitation program for victims of torture and their families. The DSWD, the DOJ and the DOH shall also call on human rights nongovernment organizations duly recognized by the government to actively participate in the formulation of such program that shall provide for the physical, mental, social, psychological healing and development of victims of torture and their families. Toward the attainment of restorative justice, a parallel rehabilitation program for persons who have committed torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment shall likewise be formulated by the same agencies.

SIlC. 20. Monitoring of Compliance with this Act. – An Oversight Committee is hereby created to periodically oversee the implementation of this Act. The Committee shall be headed by a Commissioner of the CRR, with the following as members: the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, the respective Chairpersons of the House of Representatives Committees on Justice and Human Rights, and the Minority Leaders of both houses or their respective representatives in the minority.

SEC. 21. Education and Information Campaign. – The CHR, the DOJ, the Department of National Defense (DND), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and such other concerned parties in both the public and private sectors shall ensure that education and information regarding prohibition against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment shall be fully included in the training of law enforcement personnel, civil or military, medical personnel, public officials and other persons who may be involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment. The Department of Education (DepED) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) shall also ensure the integration of human rights education courses in all primary, secondary and tertiary level academic institutions nationwide.

SEC. 22. Applicability of the Revised Penal Code. – The provisions of the Revised Penal Code insofar as they are applicable shall be suppletory to this Act. Moreover, if the commission of any crime punishable under Title Eight (Crimes Against Persons) and Title Nine (Crimes Against Personal Liberty and Security) of the Revised Penal Code is attended by any of the acts constituting torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment as defined herein, the penalty to be imposed shall be in its maximum period.

SEC. 23. Appropriations. - The amount of Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated to the CHR for the initial implementation of tills Act. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 24. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The DOJ and the CHR, with the active participation of human rights nongovernmental organizations, shall promulgate the rules and regulations for the effective implementation of tills Act. They shall also ensure the full dissemination of such rules and regulations to all officers and members of various law enforcement agencies.

SEC. 25. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SEC. 26. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders or rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 27. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

(Sgd.) JUAN PONCE ENRILE
President of the Senate

(Sgd.)PROSPERO C. NOGRALES
Speaker of the House
of Representatives

This Act which is a consolidation of House Bill No. 5709 and
Senate Bill No. 1978 was finally passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on September 2,2009.

(Sgd.) EMMA LIRIO REYES
Secretary of the Senate

(Sgd.) MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP
Secretary General
House of Representatives

Approved: NOV 10, 2009

(Sgd.) GLOIA MACAPAGAL~ARROYO
President of the Philippines

For Moros, Dreams of Peace and Homeland Hanged in Balance in 2009

By Alexander Martin Remollino/ Bulatlat.com


As the curtain was beginning to fall on 2009, the on-and-off peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) resumed in Kuala Lumpur, with both parties agreeing to begin talks on the drafting of a Comprehensive Peace Compact that would resolve the Moro question.

The year, however, drew to a close without any far-reaching movement in the GRP-MILF peace process.

After the disastrous halt to the 11-year-old peace negotiations in mid-2008, which resulted from the re-escalation of conflict provoked by the botched signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the two parties, the entire peace process appeared to be in limbo, with practically no movement except steps toward the resumption of talks. When the talks finally resumed in Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 8, 2009, the two parties agreed only to start negotiations on the drafting of a Comprehensive Peace Compact that would resolve the Moro question. The GRP and the MILF also committed to making the most of what may be achievable before President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo steps down in 2010.

With this, the Moro people’s dreams of peace in a homeland of their own continue to hang in the balance.

More than 10 years of on-and-off peace negotiations between the GRP and the MILF almost ended in a disaster when the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the two parties was aborted on Aug. 4, 2008, following the Supreme Court’s issuance of a temporary restraining order based on a petition filed by North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piñol and Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat.

North Cotabato and Zamboanga City are both covered by the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), the autonomous area that the MILF wants to create, the scope of which would have been subjected to a plebiscite following the signing of the MOA-AD.

The non-signing of the MOA-AD gave rise to a re-escalation of armed confrontations between government troops and the MILF in Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato, and Maguindanao — provinces known to be strongholds of the MILF. Following the outbreak of renewed hostilities, the government ordered a manhunt for MILF commanders Abdurahman Macapaar a. k. a. Commander Bravo, Ameril Ombra Cato, and Alim Pangalian who have been dubbed as “rogue MILF commanders” and leaders of “lost commands.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ruling late in 2008 declaring the MOA-AD as unconstitutional sent the negotiations back to the drawing board.

The re-escalation of conflict led to the displacements of entire communities in Central Mindanao.

As of April 2009, based on a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, there are some 600,000 people who have been displaced in Central Mindanao since August 2008. This is higher than the numbers for Sudan (550,000), Kenya (500,000), Congo (over 400,000), Iraq (360,000), Pakistan (more than 310,000), Somalia (300,000), Colombia (270,000 as of June 2008), Sri Lanka (230,000), and India (220,000).

On July 29, 2009, chief negotiators Rafael Seguis of the GRP and Mohagher Iqbal of the MILF issued a joint statement in which they acknowledged the MOA-AD as “an unsigned and yet initialed document to reframe the consensus points with the end in view of moving towards the comprehensive compact to bring about a negotiated political settlement…” This was even as Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita had previously said that any agreement to be entered into by the two parties should be in accordance with the Constitution, and that the MILF’s demand for a BJE should pass through Congress as an “ordinary” piece of legislation.

On Sept. 15 last year, the GRP and MILF panels agreed on the formation of an International Contact Group (ICG) that will provide “critical support” to the peace negotiations in the wake of the escalating conflict.

About a month later, during her visit to the Philippines, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed her government’s wish that the GRP and the MILF be able to ink a peace pact before Arroyo finishes her term.

“This is a significant statement,” said MILF peace panel member Maulana Bobby Alonto in an interview. “It is an acknowledgement by the US government that the Bangsamoro question is a political problem which requires a political solution. The MILF is a non-state actor. The US is a state actor, and a superpower at that. So that is a significant statement coming from a statesman of the US. But let us see, because we cannot deny the fact that the US has strategic interests in this region.”

On Dec. 3, the two parties announced in a joint statement the establishment of the ICG, with its membership initially composed of Japan, the United Kingdom, and Turkey as member-countries and the Asia Foundation, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Conciliation Resources, and Muhammadiyah as international non-government organization (INGO) members.

When the peace negotiations resumed in Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 8, the GRP and the MILF agreed to start talks on drawing up a Comprehensive Peace Compact aiming to end the decades-old conflict in Mindanao. Both parties aimed for “maximum achievement” in the peace negotiations within the remainder of Arroyo’s term, which is expected to end on June 30 this year.

The GRP-MILF peace process has been going on and off for almost 11 years, and it no doubt still has a long way to go.

The issue of ancestral domain had early on emerged as the most contentious issue in the GRP-MILF peace negotiations, and for the MILF, the MOA-AD would have been a major accomplishment, or, as Iqbal described in a roundtable discussion with peace advocates in Quezon City, “evidence of accomplishment from more than 10 years of negotiations.” At this point any real movement in the peace process would still have to proceed from a resolution of the ancestral domain question. How both parties can resolve an issue that has remained unresolved after more than a decade is a question that begs to be answered.

Will the formal resumption of their talks eventually bring a peace that is in accordance with the aspirations of the Moro people?

Alonto expressed hope that it will. “I cannot really say whether the peace talks will end up according to the expectations of our people, but we are hoping that we can achieve the aspirations that our people have,” he said. (Bulatlat.com)

More Mindanawons to be proud of than to be ashamed of in 2009

by Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews
Saturday, 09 January 2010 00:34


DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/07 January) – The Ampatuans -- Datu Andal Ampatuan, Jr., mayor of Datu Unsay town in Maguindanao, principal suspect in the massacre of at least 58 persons in Ampatuan town, and other clan members who allegedly also participated in the mass murder -- shamed Mindanawons and the entire country in 2009. The abductors and killers of Rebelyn Pitao, the 21-year old teacher-daughter of New People’s Army commander Leoncio Pitao alias Parago, and other victims of summary executions in Mindanao,too.
But many more Mindanawons made Mindanawons and the rest of the country proud: a second placer in the bar, a peace advocate awarded nationally and internationally, a boxing hero, and for development consultant Mags, “(Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael)Mangudadatus wife , Bai Genalyn, and his siblings, Atty. Connie Jayme-Brizuela and Atty. Grace Oquendo-Ayon (who) paid with their lives because they believed in change and pursued it.”

Genalyn Mangudadatu, the two lawyers and 55 others were in a convoy en route to the provincial office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Shariff Aguak, when stopped by at least a hundred armed men believed led by Datu Unsay mayor Datu Andal Ampatuan, Jr., who was bent on running unopposed for Maguindanao governor.

Presidential Adviser Jesus Dureza earned both a “proud of” and “ashamed of” vote each for his handling of Ampatuan, Jr. A reporter said he was “ashamed of Dureza for giving Ampatuan Jr., a special treatment” while a researcher said she was proud of Dureza’s handling of the Ampatuans.

Mylene Amerol-Macumbal, a Maranao accountant from the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) placed second in the 2008 bar exams, with a grade of 85.65 or .05 less than topnotcher Judy Lardizabal of San Sebastian College in Manila

A total of 1,310 passed out of the 6,364 law graduates (20.58% passed) who took the exams nationwide.

In the field of sports, Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao of Sarangani and General Santos City, made history in 2009 by becoming the only fighter to ever win seven belts in seven different weight classes. Pacquiao is now busy preparing for his electoral fight in the lone district of Sarangani province which he wants to represent in Congress.

Tandag (Surigao del Sur) Bishop Nereo Odchimar, 68, a canon lawyer and CBCP vice president, won the votes of 86 out of 88 bishops present at the 99th Plenary Assembly of the Bishops’ Conference at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Manila in July 2009.

Odchimar assumed the post in December from Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo who served two terms from 2005 to 2009.

The last time a Mindanawon Bishop was CBCP President was in 2003 to 2005 -Davao Arcbishop Fernando Capalla. Before him, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo was president for two terms from 1999 to 2003

Mindanawon peace advocate Mary Ann Arnado won the PeaceMaking Award of World Vision International, the first peace award given by the 50-year old institution. This is Arnado’s second award this year, having been named in February as Ninoy Aquino Fellow for Public Service.

A lawyer and secretary-general of the Mindanao People’s Caucus (MPC), Arnado bested two other finalists from Kosovo and Rwanda for the award, William O. Lowrey, Director for Peacebuilding and Reconciliation, told reporters just before the awarding rites at the Grand Men Seng Hotel on Monday, International Day of Peace.

Arnel Mardoquio, the artist behind the film “Hunghong sa Yuta” (Earth’s whisper), won a grant from Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

For Redemptorist Brother Karl Gaspar, seeing youth groups in schools, parishes and those linked with NGOs “continue to campaign for young people to register for the next elections” has been very inspiring.

For Samira Gutoc of the Young Moro Professionals, “evacuees made us proud of their resilience.”

Gutoc was referring to the persons displaced by the August 2008 war in Maguindanao and neighboring areas. At its height, some 600,000 persons were displaced although the number dropped to about half by end of 2008.

A still undetermined number of evacuees continue to remain in evacuation centers in Datu Piang and some other towns in Maguindanao as of today. (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)

Finding the good in bad news Mindanao 2009

by Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews
Saturday, 09 January 2010 00:36


DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/07 January 2010) – Not everything that happened in Mindanao in 2009 was bad even as the Ampatuan Massacre on November 23 of at least 58 persons, 31 of them journalists, will be among the most unforgettable crimes in the country’s history.

Already, it is “the biggest single atrocity against journalists in recent history,” according to the International Federation of Journalists.
The Ampatuan Massacre came just as the country was still raging over the beheading of Gabriel Canizares, principal of Kanague Elementary School in Patikul, Sulu, who was abducted on October 18 and whose severed head, placed in a sack, was found near a gasoline station in Jolo, Sulu on November 9, his body retrieved in a sitio in Patikul on November 14.

At dawn of November 12, Fr. Michael Sinnott, kidnapped from the Columban House in Pagadian City on October 11, was set free in the outskirts of Zamboanga City.

But there were good things that happened in Mindanao in 2009, among them the resumption of the peace talks a year after the botched signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) in August 2008, and the findings of the Bishops-Ulama commissioned year-long Konsult Mindanaw! community consultations that confirmed Mindanawons from all sectors prefer peace talks over war.

Konsult Mindanaw! project director Fr. Albert Alejo said a total of 4,916 participants from the Catholic, Muslim, Protestant and Lumad sectors in 311 focus group discussions (FGDs) were asked four questions: “What is your vision of peace? What are your recommendations on the peace talks between the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) and the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front)? What can you recommend on the broader peace process? What can you personally contribute – or even sacrifice – for peace in Mindanao?”

For Redemptorist Brtoher Karl Gaspar, the other good things that happened in Mindanao in 2009 were the ban aerial spray campaign and the Sumilao farmers finally tilling their own land.

The ban aerial spray campaign that started in Davao City, then moved to the Court of appeals in Cagayan de Oro in 2008, became a nationwide advocacy campaign in 2009 with the Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spray (MAAS) people waging their campaign right in Metro Manila. A bill has now been filed in Congress and has had hearings to allow all voices to be heard.

“The Sumilao farmers' struggles and their subsequent small victories. Year 2009 saw them tilling their acquired land. In turn the Sumilao farmers have been sought by other communities struggling for their own causes e.g. for MAAS,” Gaspar said.

The continuing campaigns against mining from Surigao to South Cotabato to Zamboanga peninsula are good news, too, says Gaspar, as they show the level of awareness of residents in the areas that will be affected by mining.

Road construction all over Mindanao in pre-election year 2009 is now making travel a bit more comfortable for commuters, he adds.

With better roads, more comfortable air-conditioned buses are now serving commuters across Mindanao.

Also, airconditioned passenger vans can now ply comfortably the East Coast highway from Davao Oriental to Surigao del Sur. There are portions between Surigao del Sur and Surigao del Norte that may take yet another pre-electoral year to complete construction.

On the cultural side, Gaspar said the network of Mindanao theatre through the Tanghalan research project under the NCCA-CDA (include Kaliwat Theatre Collective, Sining Kambayoka, Sining Kapapagariya, Iligan Performing Arts Guild and others) have begun “to write their own histories and documentations will be made available for interested parties in 2010.”

Historian Rudy Rodil, a member of the Regional Consultative Commission and later the peace panels of the government in the negotiations with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) says “maybe the trick is not only to search for good news but also to find the good in every bad news.”

The Ampatuan Massacre, he said, “reeks for its badness but out of that, many people have realized in unmistakable terms that warlordism in the Philippines does not exist by itself and in isolation. Malacanang and its principal occupant usually sustain it with largesse, political power and guns. Let's stop pretending we have a democracy where Malacanang maintains a symbiotic, mutually supportive relationship with provincial warlords.”

After the massacre, Rodil noted, “more than ever, one sees the need for universal disarmament all over the country. Creating a gunless society will now be a political agenda for succeeding administrations. I am in favor of constitutionally outlawing possession of firearms among the civilian population.”

“Ehem (anti-corruption movement) is expanding its ranks... the massacre accentuated the need for an honest to goodness election with absolutely no vote buying and selling of votes. Enough of Garci,” he said.

Rodil also found significant the findings of the Commission on Human Rights team that monitored the military during martial law in Maguindanao (martial law was declared from 9 p.m. of December 4 to 9 p.m. of December 12) -- that those doing frontline work committed no human rights violations.

“The resumption of the peace talks” is a common response on what good news happened in Mindanao in 2009.

The government’s declaration of a suspension of offensive military operations (SOMO) on July 23 and the MILF’s declaration of a suspension of military action (SOMA) on July 25 put the peace process back on track, ending a year-long impasse that triggered mass evacuations and displaced some 600,000 residents starting August 2008.

It was the “biggest new displacement in the world” out of 4.2 million newly displaced in 2008, the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) said in its April 2009 report.

On July 28 and 29, the two panels finally met again in Kuala Lumpur, agreeing, among others, to sign the framework agreement on the formation of the International Contact Group (ICG), in recognition of the role that interested countries and international non-government organizations (INGO) can play in the peace process.

According to the agreement, the ICG will consist of “interested countries accompanying the peace process preferably drawn from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the European Union (EU) as well as accredited INGO(s) to be invited by the Parties in consultation with the Third Party Facilitator.”

The three other things the panels agreed to do were:
- sustain both the Government’s SOMO and the MILF’s SOMA;
-acknowledgment of MOA-AD as an unsigned and yet initialed document, and commitment by both parties to reframe the consensus points with the end in view of moving towards the comprehensive compact to bring about a negotiated political settlement; and
-work for a framework agreement on the establishment of a mechanism on the protection of non-combatants in armed conflict.

The ICG has been set up and the parties was set up in early December, initially composed of three countries and four international non-governmental organizations: United Kingdom, Japan and Turkey as member-countries and The Asia Foundation, the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the London-based Conciliation Resources and the Indonesia-based Muhammadiyah as INGO members.

The ICG had, in fact held its first organizational meeting on December 4, 2009 in Manila.

In a joint statement after their peace talks on December 8 and 9 in Kuala Lumpur, the two panels said the mechanisms that were functioning before the talks collapsed in August last year, are being returned and even expanded.

The two parties agreed to request renewal of the Terms of Reference for the International Monitoring Team (lMT) that would monitor ceasefire and other humanitarian, rehabilitation, development and civilian protection agreements.

The panels agreed to invite again Malaysia, Japan, Brunei and Libya into the IMT and to invite NGOs such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Mindanao People's Caucus (MPC) and the Non-Violent Peace Force (NVPF).

“They also agreed to revive the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) to continue efforts in coordinating the interdiction and isolation of criminal and lawless elements.” (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)

Next round of gov’t-MILF talks in January

12.16.2009
By Adriel M. Paglinawan
Business World

THE GOVERNMENT and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels will hold the second round of talks in January, officials from both sides said early this week.

In last week’s initial round of talks more than a year after negotiations bogged down, both panels agreed in Kuala Lumpur -- Malaysia being the third-party negotiator -- to revive the International Monitoring Team which oversees the 1997 ceasefire pact, and the Ad Hoc Action Group, a body that would address organized crime within or near identified MILF areas.

"Next round of talks is tentatively set in January," MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said in a phone interview.

The talks will focus on the comprehensive peace pact, he said, adding they are hoping to agree on a peace deal before President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo steps down in June 2010.

"The most difficult aspect of the talk is finding a just and lasting solution to the problems in Mindanao," Mr. Iqbal said, referring to the peace pact.

In a separate interview, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Anabelle T. Abaya said peace negotiations with the MILF will resume after the Christmas season.

Although the government peace negotiating panel is looking at forging a possible peace deal within the administration’s term, Ms. Abaya said, imposing a deadline may be misinterpreted as imposing "undue pressure" on both panels.

Ms. Abaya said the state’s draft proposal is guided by two principles: "no fractionalizing of the country" and "all agreements must be within the bounds of the Constitution."

"We will be enlarging consultations to include local government units and the military," she said, noting that the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process has concluded its consultations with the academe and civil society groups on the comprehensive peace agreement.

Formal talks collapsed last year after the proposed territorial deal which sought to give broader administrative powers to the Moros in an expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) hit a constitutional snag in October.

The MILF, which split from the larger Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), has been fighting for a separate state in Southern Mindanao since 1978.

The MNLF signed a peace pact with the government in 1996 paving the way for the creation of the ARMM which the MILF rejected.
The ARMM groups the provinces of Basilan, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Toast Remarks by US President Barack Obama at the 2009 Nobel Banquet

The Grand Hotel, Oslo, Norway
December 10, 2009


Thank you very much. Your Majesties, Your Excellencies, Your Royal Highnesses -- to all my friends, my family. This is obviously an extraordinary evening, and I must say -- I was telling the committee members that, having entirely exhausted myself with the speech this afternoon -- (laughter and applause) -- I have -- I spoke for a very long time. (Laughter.) I have only a very few words to say.

First of all, I would like to thank the committee once again for the extraordinary confidence that they placed in me and this great honor that I have received tonight. As I indicated before, no one was more surprised than me. (Laughter.) And I have to say that when the chairman spoke introducing me, I told him afterwards that I thought it was an excellent speech and that I was almost convinced that I deserved it. (Laughter and applause.)

I also wanted to pick up on a theme in both our speeches, and that is the extraordinary power that this prize has in lifting up those who otherwise would be forgotten; in magnifying the cause of justice when it's confronting great resistance. In 1964, when Dr. King received this prize, the course of the civil rights movement was still uncertain. How that would play itself out was not yet entirely known. And for a Baptist preacher from the South to be lifted up on the international stage, to highlight the fact that this was not simply a parochial struggle but was rather a struggle for the ages, a struggle for the hearts and minds not just of the American people but of the world, and how we thought about each other and how we thought about minorities in countries everywhere -- what extraordinary power that had. And as a consequence, I think it's fair to say that it helped to put the wind behind the sails of a movement that is largely responsible for both Michelle and my presence here tonight.

You know, it's obviously one of life's great ironies that Alfred Nobel, the man responsible for inventing dynamite -- (laughter) -- helped to establish this extraordinary moral force in the world. He bequeathed his largest share of fortune to the Nobel prizes and the roster of Nobel laureates has grown to include not only the finest minds in science and literature and economics, but I think what captivates people most is the giants of peace that it has acknowledged.

When Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament on November 27, 1895, it's not entirely clear that he could have foreseen the impact that his prizes would have. But he did know this truth: that our destinies are what we make of them, and that each of us in our own lives can do our part in order to make a more just and lasting peace and forge the kind of world that we want to bequeath to our children and our grandchildren.

That has been the mission of the committee. It has carried out over these 108 years this charge with extraordinary diligence, creativity, and as I indicated today at lunch, great moral imagination. And so, for that, I am grateful not only to the current committee, but past committee members who I know are here. The world thanks you for the work that you do. And as a consequence, what I'd like to do is to propose a toast -- once I get some wine. (Laughter.)

I'd like to propose -- actually, if you will bear with me, in Washington, in the Senate or the House, this is called a point of personal privilege. I don't want to make her cry, but I do want to say my sister is here tonight, and it was in one of the earlier toasts discussed a passage in my book that talks about my mother and the values that she instilled in me. And I do think that it's worth noting that, to the extent I am deserving of this esteemed prize, either now or in the future, it will be largely because of her and the largeness of her heart. (Applause.)

So, to Alfred Nobel -- Skål. Cheers. Thank you. Thank you very much. (Applause.)