The GPH-NDFP Peace Process,Final Quarter of 2010: The GPH Peace Panel

With the announcement on Wednesday,October 20th,2010 that the President had chosen the person that will Chair the GPH (Government of the Philippines) Peace Panel for a renewed Peace Process with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines,or"NDFP,"a sudden glimmer of hope appeared on the bloody horizon.Nearly 7 years after the last tet a tet on settling what is now Asia's longest running insurgency (apologies to the demented Laotian anti-Communists who dream of American Hueys dropping food baskets and Green Cards).The 5 member Panel,including its Chairperson,is well rounded with people deeply connected to t issues at hand and instantly recognisable to the NDFP and its partisans.

So,who is this Chairperson?

Alexander"Alex"D.Padilla,54,while by no means a household name,is relatively well known by the Philippine Left due to his Martial Law Era legal activism which had him representing Political Prisoners and Detainees in the last hurrah of the Marcos Dictatorship.In fact,for a brief moment in time he was actually a member of the NDF,as the NDFP was previously known.After Marcos fled the country Padilla began working with the Government and eventually left the NDF (NDFP).In the course of his Government service he has served various post-Marcos Administrations in such varied capacities as Commissioner of Customs,Assistant Secretary of DILG (Dept.of Interior and Local Govt.),Special Prosecutor in the Office of the Omsbudsmsn,Sr.State Prosecutor in the DOJ (Dept.of Justice) and is currently serving as Undersecretary of External Affairs and Regions at the DOH (Dept.of Health) he has0always managed to remain committed to causes generally well received by the Left.Some prime examples are his work with the Manila branch office of FLAG (Free Legal Assistance Group),a group with which he as enjoyed an extremely long association.Outside of the Legal arena he is involved with PAHRA (Philippine Alliance for Human Rights Advocates),IPER (Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms) and IID (Inititiatives for International Dialogue). It is also worth nothing that Padilla will be leaving his position at DOH to assume that of COO (Chief Operations Officer) at PhilHealth,a position he will manage concurrently with that of his Chairmanship of the GPH Peace Panel for the GPH-NDFP Peace Process.

Unfortunately the 4 subordinate members of that Panel do not have nearly as illustrious qualifications for such appointments.Unlike the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front),the other oppositional entity stumbling along towards re-implemented Peace Talks with the GPH,THIS Panel will face an extremely savvy opponent in the NDFP.Like him or not,Jose Maria"JOMA"Sison,the chief ideologue ofthe CPP/NPA/NDFP is no political pushover (not to infer that the MILF's collective will is either but you could throw 3500 of them into the blender and still not find an iota of intellectual ability).The Aquino Administration needs to seriously get its game tight if it aims to curb the nation's,AND Asia's longest running insurgency.

So,who ARE the 4 subordinate members of THIS GRP Peace Panel?

I) Pablito V.Sanidad Sr.,a 66 year old Human Rights attorney born in Baguio City on Luzon,where he currently lives and works.Like Alex Padilla he too has served various Administrations and in various positions.In fact,in 1972 he served as Vice Governor of Illocos Sur Province,also on Luzon.In 1986 he served as an Undersecretary of Justice.In his private life he has devoted considerable time and effort to causes generally popular with the Left.Among them are his tenure as Chairperson of the Singapore-based NGO,"RCHRA" (Regional Council of Human Rights in Asia),serving on the Board of"TFDP"(Task Force Detainees,Philippines),the Swiss NGO,Centre for Independance of Judges and Lawyers of the International Commission of Jurists and again,like Chairperson Padilla he has a long and storied involvement with the Legal charity,FLAG (Free Legal Assistance Group).Indeed Sanidad was 1 of the founders of that valuable entity.It is worth mentioning as well that Sanidad served as a Private Prosecutor during the Impeachment Proceedings against former President Joseoh"ERAP"Estrada.

II) Maria Lourdes M.Tison,a 51 year old sociologist and anthropologist who concurrently holds a BA in Urban Planning.A native of Negros Occidental Province in the Central Philippines where she currently lives,she had a minor role on the GPH (or as it was then known,GRP,or,"Government of the Republic of the Philippines") team in the 2001 GRP-RPM-P/RPA-ABB (Revolutionary Proletariat Movement of the Philippines and its military wing,the Revolutionary Proletariat Army-Alex Boncayo Brigade,Marxist Leninist spin-off of the CPP/NPA) as a Representative of the Private Sector,a facet that will luckily no longer be incorporated into GPH Peace Panels for the forseeable future.Tison's Leftist credentials are a bit more"respectable"than her co-members with considerable involvement in the Sectoral entity,Paghiliusa sa Paghidaet,an organisation expressly founded to counter the AFP's OPLAN Thunderbolt,a COIN (Counterinsurgency Warfare) protocol implemented in Negros in 1990.Currently she has managed to tone it down with her main pastime being her participation in the UNDP,the UN Development Programme dedicated to formenting peace via sustainable development.

III) Jurgette Alviola Honculada,a 63 year old native of Butuan City in NE Mindano's Agusan del Norte Province but currently living in Zamboanga City on the Western spur of our fair island is another personality familiar to the Phlippine Left and best known for her advocacy work with regards to gender and the labour movement.Ms.Honculada has formerly held the Vice Chairmanship of"Pilipina,"an NGO devoted to feminist issues as well as formerly serving as Chairperson of WAND,(Womens' Action Network for Development).Currently Honculada is the General Secretary of the"NFL,"and no it is not an organisation devoted to the inane American sport of"Football."This entity is the "National Federation of Labor."

IV) Ednar Carlos"Nanan"Gempesaw Dayanghirang is a 48 year old native of Barangay Zaragoza in the town of Manay in Davao Oriental Province here on Mindanao.Unlike the other 4 he has absolutely no Leftist bonafides and no relevant experience what-so-ever.His very limited public service has been relegated to the Vice Presidency of the Agricultural Development Board of Davao City.A liscenced Medical Technician he butters his bread by raising mangoes and hosting a local Public Affairs television show on Davao City's Channel 15 on Skynet Cable.With absolutely no credentials at all the natural question to ask is,WHY??? (Or alternatively,what was Noynoy smoking when he picked THIS guy's name out of the hat?).Basically it boils down to the need for a token Lumad.

For those who thus far remain unaware,the word"Lumad"is a Cebuano (i.e."Bisaya") word meaning,"Born of this land").-t is applied to the 18 Animist ethnicities on Mindinao,excepting the so called,"Negritos"who are so far down the Philippine social totem pole that they find themselves igored even by other Animists.Though not as disrespected as the Negritos the Lumad still find themselves in the bottom percentile across the board with the NPA naturally finding in most Lumad Tribes a ready made recruitment pool.Ergo the goverment's feeble attempt at appearing inclusive...

Mr.Dayanghirang is a member of the Mandaya Tribe and apparently the best that the GPH can do on such short notice,especially when they must find an educated Lumad that hasn't gone over to the other side,if not having taken up arms in the process.