On the corner of Cagayan del Oro City's Tiano and Del Pilar Streets a band of Higaon-on Lumad ("Lumad" being the generic one size fits all label for Animist Hilltribes of Malayan stock on Mindanao) encamped on Thursday, September 1st, 2011. Leaving their homes in Bukidnon Province they travelled all the way to Misamis Oriental Province to hold a vigil outside the premises of NCIP-10, or the National Commission for Indigenous People Office for Region #10 in order to protest what they adamantly maintain is a bogus FIPC by Ernesto Villalon, ex-Mayor of Kibawe, a small municipality in Bukidnon Province and among other things, a cattle rancher in the neighbouring municipality of Malmag. FIPC, or Free and Informed Priar Consent is a pre-requisite before a lease, or tenement is given for the exploitation of natural resources. Overseen by the NCIP who in theory acts as the advocate for the Lumads who obstensibly hold the power to give, or withold, their signature to any perspective FPIC.
According to a Leftist peasant organisation, Panalsalan Dagumba'an Tribal Association, or PADATA in shorthand, that FPIC had been rendered by a group having nothing to do with the land in question. PADATA's 500-odd members are all Higaon-on and Ta'alandig Tribesmen whereas the signatories to the FPIC, the Barangay Captains of Barangays Dagumba'an and Panalsalan and a female chief, Bae Victoria Jakosalem Pangahin are Manobo Tribesmen and therefore, "not of that place." According to PADATA the Manobo are not originally from that immediate area although Bae Pangahin is the daughter of a reknowned and infamous Manobo chieftain, the late Datu Antonio "Salem" Jackosalem whose clan has farmed the immediate area at least since the first Bisaya settlement was founded in the 1840s. PADATA meanwhile can only prove a presence there dating from the 1990s with a direct connection to the Villalon Tenement merely dating to the Summer of 2008 when the organisation sponsored one hundred of its members in an infiltration of the ranch.
Using "grave hunger" as its raison d'etre the hundred farmers staked out a clearing atop a rocky promontory in the middle of the 480 hectare ranch. Quickly pitching plastic tarps as "homes" and sharing a single carabao (water buffalo) as a beast of burden to plow a 5 hectare plot in which they intended to raise corn the farmers attempted to re-write history, a common pursuit on this strife torn island. As their primary rationale for "taking possesion" of the ENTIRE ranch they arrogantly told anyone who would listen that because the Villalon Tenement, FGLMA #1816, of Forest Grazing Land Management Agreement #1816, expired in 1997, and because Villalon had failed to promptly renew his agreement, the land within that tenement had reverted to Public Lands. Moreover, as Indigenous People they are given automatic preference in any competitive application process so that EVEN IF Villalon subsequently decided to apply for an agreement renewal PADATA's applications for that land would be given first priority. However, PADATA was a bit slow on the uplink...
Ernesto Villalon is perhaps best known as the politician who sat in the centre of a legal precedent concerning Electoral Fraud. In the 1967 Elections Villalon ran against the incumbent, Mayor Arturo Serina in the municipality of Kibawe, immediately adjacent to the town of Malmag, wherein lies the tenement I am discussing. Villalon had bribed the Municipal Treasurer who was doing double duty as the town's Municipal Election Officer. As Election Officer this gentleman was given sealed ballot boxes from all of the municipality's voting precincts. Opening the ballot boxes he would then tally each vote and record it on an official form from which the higher officials within the electoral system would declare the winner. An alert town official however noticed that the Election Officer of Kibawe had already filled in the tally for Precinct #20, despite the fact that that ballot box had not even been picked up yet, much less delivered.
In those dark lonely days before the advent of affordable computers the written word held much more sway. The Election Officer had signed off on the overall tally with the endgame having been succesful in getting Villalon into office as the new Mayor of Kibawe. Naturally outgoing Mayor Serina didn't take this news lightly and wasted no time at all in petitioning the Courts to have the election results from Kibawe vacated and Villalon removed from office. The two politicians wasted each others' time and that of the Philippine Courts up until the mid-1970s and while Villalon managed to win re-election the rivalry turned Kibawe into yet another Mindanowan cliche, a pissant backwater town beset by politically inspired paramilitary violence.
Like most such rilvaries it ended up fading into obscurity as a new generation of greedy and bloodthirsty politicians came of age and strong armed themselves onto the Philippine political stage (I can even blog in verse! Perhaps I should try Haiku?). For his part, ex-Mayor Villalon concentrated on his farming interests which of course brings us back to the present and the "disputed" Villalon Tenement.
PADATA is but one of an umpteenth number of like minded peasant organisations who together form the "Alyansa Bukidon," or the Bukidon Alliance. The Alliance serves as an umbrella group directly reporting to Task Force Malapad, an organisation billing itself as an NGO devoted to advocating for landless peasants. In truth TF Malapad is a constituent organisation of the NDFP, or National Democratic Front of the Philippines, itself an umbrella organisation created by the Communist Party of the Philippines, or as it is commonly referred to, the CPP. Founded in 1974 the NDFP was designed to help the CPP retain its premier role in the Philippine Left as the CPP had been declared illegal at the end of the last decade by then-Dictator Fredinand Marcos who saw the CPP and its armed wing the NPA or New Peoples Army, as the nation's pre-eminent threat.
At the turn of the 21st Century the NPA's Northcentral Mindanao Regional Committee, or NCMRC sought to expand and solidify its mass base of support and concentrated on southern Bukidnon Province as the key sector in which to concentrate this effort, enter PADATA, stage left. With the group's infiltration of the tenement in 2008 an inevitable confrontation had been set in motion. Practically no tenement on Mindanao, whether for agri-business as with Mr.Villalon, logging, or even mining is entirely bereft of "Informal Settlers," the Philippine Government's Politically Correct label for rank squatters, thieves of land, resources, and in the end initiative and energy that may have been invested in any paricular tract. Usually though a Tenement holder will come to a mutually beneficial agreement if not ignoring them outright.
The 2008 infiltration didn't take place without a lot of forethought and posturing taking place with regard to a winnable strategy. Therefore Villalon was generally aware of PADATA's ill intentions and so was jolted out of his complacency and finally re-filed his application for renewal of the tenement. After his initial FGLMA lapsed in 1998 Villalon carried on unperturbed in the least. It wasn't until 2002 that Villalon began breaking out of his inertia as the Alyansa Bukidnon began concentrating on tenement holders in the Kulkul Mountains. In 2003 Villalon filed for his re-newal only to have it fall through the cracks as is so often the case on Mindanao. Satisfied that he had met the legal onus Villalon then concentrated on his cattle operation.
By 2007 PADATA was on his doorstep and with more than a modicum of urgency Villalon re-filed his application for renewal. It was months later that Padata sponsored the aforementioned infiltration and significantly upped the ante. In 2008 PADATA itself applied for a CBFMA, or Community Based Forest Management Agreement for an 800-odd hectare tract that encompassed all of the Villalon Tenement. Citing the causes I touched upon earlier in this entry, severe hunger and the farmers' status as Indigenous People. Just as with all permiting, liscencing and Governmant involved contracting PADATA's application lethargicaly began its long climb through the Philippine bureaucracy but Villalon had had a considerable headstart. In early 2010 Villalon Ranch received its new FGLMA, good until 2035.
Now desperate PADATA filed for a CAD, or Certificate of Ancestral Domain, the first step in a process that would, if sucessful, offer PADATA, via a member acting as a claimant, Title over a tract of land that would- just as with their CBFMA- encompass the Villalon Ranch Tenement. However it is of little import to Villalon since the now elderly rancher cannot be forced out of the Tenement until 2035 and because its issued to his privately held corporation, Villalon Ranch, the Tenement will remain in his family's control after his death.
Knowing that they have little or no chance of gaining total control of the land, PADATA has taken its fight to the media and as shoddy as the Philippine Media is it has served them very well. There is no pretence of objectivity in the Philippines. Journalists here either do as their publishers instruct then or, as is usually the case, seek out a soundbite and concentrate on who says the most. In this case the Villalon Clan will say absolutely nothing. PADATA however is an efficient cog in an extremely well oiled machine. The parent organisation, TF Mapalad, Left of Lenin (or in this case Mao) is quite adept at propaganda bordering on histronics.
Bukidnon, especially the southern portion of the province bordering on North Cotabato Province is largely un-Titled, full of Public Land entirely devoid of tenements such as the FGLMA at the centre of this land dispute. It is an under populated area so that in reality a group representing "landless peasants" whould have no difficulty whatsoever in finding arable land sufficiently suited for any demographic. To try and shove their way into an existing tenement is nothing more than a headline grabbing stunt. As noted, Ernesto Villalon is no angel but that is neither here nor there. I mean, if we are going to be absolutely factual the NPA has mass graves all over the island and its Kampayang Aho (Garlic Campaign, discussed in my recent "NPA Armed Contacts for the Third Quarter" entry covering the resurgence of Front 4B discussed it in detail) was concentrated in THIS part of the island. All the shtick about "big compradores" (landlords) and "enemies of the people" and "counter revolutionaries living off the lifeblood of the people" is nonsense. The Left is just as corrupt as the Right and has done just as much harm to people on BOTH sides. In fact, THAT can't even be said of the Right who only target the Left...
The 2010 Push concentrated on a mixed bag of "class enemies." By infiltrating a tenement held by the Del Monte Corporation the "Alyansa Bukidnon" was able to exercise a neat sleight of hand that had people concentrating on "evil multi-national corporations" while local businessman were extored to the nth degree in order to avoid being targetted by the CPP/NPA's multi-sectoral front lapdogs, like PADATA. Villalon was of course targeted during the Push with "Indigenous farmers at risk of losing their land" coming under gunfire from "goons" who for my two centavos must be the worst shots in the world to miss each and every one of the "peasants" crowding into a tiny tent city that is supposed to represent an "established settlement" inside the Villalon Tenement.
Indeed, these "persecuted" farmers were able to farm corn in a fenced in section of what is legally supposed to be a cattle ranch. In fact, PADATA was so successful in this endeavour that by August of 2011 a third corn crop was ready for harvest. Villalon engaged PADATA in a series of public dialogues, "Forums" as they are commonly called in the Philippines, to try and minimise friction and prevent any violent confrontations, knowing that "peasants harvesting corn to feed their starving families" could only lead to a propaganda nightmare IF Villalon and his men even attempted to prevent it.
Fast forward to Agust 24th, 2011 and the forum in question, where PADATA members were politely asked to leave all weapons and bags at a central point away from the actual meeting site. The media reported the shooting death of Welcie Gica as yet another poor landless peasant murdered by goons in the employ of landed gentry. Facts however, as I hope I have shown, paint a very different picture. Perhaps the larger tragedy is Mr.Gica having died in vain. His death changes nothingon either side. PADATA and by relation the CPP/NPA/NDFP are just as predatory and just as callous as they ever were. Mr.Villalon and his family STILL control 480 hectares (well 475 when one subtracts the 5 hectares consigned to the PADATA thugs) and will do so until at least 2035. What a waste.
Showing posts with label CPP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CPP. Show all posts
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
GPH-NDFP Peace Process,Second Quarter of 2011,Part III:Focus Forums are the Flavour of the Day
In the Summer of 2008 the Government of the Philippines (GPH) came within a milimeter of finally bring at least a temporary intermission to the nation's then 36 year old Islamic Insurgency.That this brief reprieve would have ended up tearing the nation asunder mattered little to then President Gloria M.Arroyo who only operated out of avarice and egotism,in that order.Since coming to power in a coup in 2001 Madame Arroyo had obsessed over the Islamic Separatism that has left Mindanao the poorest region in an incredibly poor nation.The"solution"was a document now known as the MoA-AD,or Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.
Non-Muslim warlords on Mindanao got wind of a very low key set of under the table negotiations taking place in Kuala Lampur,Malaysia.Moreover they were informed that the Arroyo Government was just about to sign away the bulk of non-Muslim lands in Central and Western Mindanao.These powerbrokers,Mayors Celso Lobregat (Zamboanga City),Lawrence Cruz (Iligan City),and Vice Governor Emmanuel"Manny"Pinol of North Cotabato Province pulled strings in Manila and got the Supreme Court to issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the signing of the document pending Supreme Court Review.
When the Court finally considered the MoA-AD they Ruled that it was Unconstitutional and that was that.Of course I am omitting a lot of other issues involved,especially the bloody 2 year war it precipitated,but sufficient to say for my purposes in this entry,one of the Constitutional issues cited was the lack of proper disclosure,especially vis a vis GPH and concerned stakeholders...like those aforementioned local warlords.Ergo the GPH-NDFP Peace Process isn't taking any chances.Both sides are taking a proactive stance with regard to stakeholder forums in which the respective Peace Panels jointly present their work to date followed by a Q and A (Question and Answer) Session with the audience.
On April 12,2011 both Panels fielded representatives for a lowkey unofficial forum.Fidel Agcaoli,labeled Vice Chairperson of the NDFP Peace Panel,did the honours for his organisation at Davao City's Mandaya Hotel.Among other things he took great pains to explain that the GPH Concessions given after Hong Kong (December,2010) and before Round I in Oslo (February 15 through 27,2011) weren't Concessions at all but rather were the CPP/NPA/NDFP's just rewards.Agcaoli noted that the Government is party to legally signed bilateral Agreements and as such doesn't have any choice BUT TO put up or shut up.Naturally he segued directly into a spiel about JASIG,the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees.As I have noted in at least 2 other recent CPP/NPA/NDFP entries the NDFP has been less than satisfied with GPH performance with regard to this Agreement.As Agcaoli noted,if the GPH fails to put out on this very simple and incredibly basic document,what hope is there that the CPP/NPA/NDFP could ever see the Philippine Government keep its word about anything.
Predictably,since the forum was being held in Davao City,GPH Panel Member Ednar Dayanghirang spoke at length as well.Mr.Dayanghirang is a native of neighbouring Davao Oriental Province where he splits his time farming mangoes and hosting a local cable access show devoted to local current events.As luck would have it he happened to have hosted that show on a Davao City-based cable television system so that he should be familiar to at least some of the attendees.
Between the 2 Panel Members they covered the entire 4-part Framework for the Final Peace Agreement.Revealingly the extremely verbose Dayanghirang told his audience that it was the NDFP itself that originally suggested that University of the Philippines (UP) Law School Dean Alexander"Alex"Padilla Chair the GPH Peace Panel.Though Padilla was serving the governmeent in addition to his academic position he is well known to the NDFP because he is in fact a former member.In the Marcos Era Padilla regularly provided captured CPP and NPA members with legal counsel.The quotation incorrectly attributed to Churchill comes to mind,"A man who isn't a Socialist by age 20 hasn't a heart.A man who hasn't rejected Socialism by age 40 hasn't a brain."
That the first forum went so well is suprising given the drama that had transpired just the day before,April 11th.Fidel Agcaoli went ballistic when he learned of recent comments made by Alex Padilla.In a radio interview the week before Padilla was asked to offer his take on the chances for success in the GPH-NDFP Peace Process.Amazingly Padilla said that he believed those chances to be very strong given the technological advances experienced in recent years.Asked to clarify his answer Padilla remarked that where as in the Marcos Era rebelliousness only found an outlet in deeds today's youth can vent on Facebook,Friendster and MySpace.Continuing in what has to be the best example of verbal dhiarrea seen in a long while Padilla said that Social Media will put an end to groups like the NPA.Aaaaah,if only it were true Alex,only if...
On April 19,2011 Mr.Dayanghirang was back on Luzon where he joined Sr.Military Advisor the GPH Peace Panel,Brigadier General Reynaldo"Rey"Ordonez in a briefing given to students at NDC (National Defense College) on the grounds of Camp Aguinaldo,the AFP General HQ (Headquarters) in Metro Manila's Quezon City.The students,all in the MNSA (Masters in National Security) Track weren't impressed,to say the least.
To a tee they all doubted the CPP/NPA/NDFP's sincerity.Showing his inexperience Dayanghirang tried to debate the students but only came off looking naïve at best.Luckily BGen.Ordonez stepped in and like an able tactician (rare in the AFP) explained that the CPP/NPA/NDFP's sincerity,or insincerity,is irrelevant.The fact that they are at the Table at all for the first time in nearly 6 years is progress enough for the moment.With that the students were brought to heel and what little time remained in the Briefing went a whole lot smoother.
The Davao City and NDC Talks were just warmups with the bulk of the forums to be held from April 27th to May 6th.
The first one,on April 27th took place in the municipality of Lacub,in Abra Province in Northern Luzon.Entitled"Addressing the Roots of the Armed Conflict Towards a Just and Lasting Peace"it was sponsored jointly by the CPA and the Party List organisation KATRIBU so should have added,"As Long as it Spells Victory for the NPA"as a subtitle.Taking place on the final day of a 3 day festival,the annually held Cordillera Day,the forum took a unique direction by directly inviting not only social and religious leaders but a representative of each of the Cordilleran Provinces who were tasked with representing the views and concerns of the hilltribes within their respective province.While Mindanowan hilltribes are known collectively as"Lumad,"Cordillerans are known either as"Igorot"or as"Tinggurian."Like the Lumad the Igorot/Tinggurian are at the bottom rung of their respective social and cultural ladder.Likewise they also are identical to Lumad in the respect that they are the most vulnerable to NPA/AFP recruitment and violence.Just as on Mindanao they must deal with extra-fierce Developmental Aggression from a government that has never given them a single ounce of respect or assistance.Used by both the Government and the NPA they continue to suffer,caught perennially in the middle.
Cordillera Day is sponsored by the CPA,the Cordillera Peoples Alliance,an umbrella entity founded in 1984 to unite the disparate Leftist groups either under or more usually un-represented by the national Leftist umbrella the NDF,or National Democratic Front (now known as the NDFP since adding"Philippines"to its moniker).Held in a different Cordilleran locale each year the 2011 festival is the 27th and attracts thousands of visitors.Suprisingly then,when Lacub officials learned that the Forum would also be held they suddenly got cold feet for the festival and begged off citing logistical,infrastructural AND security concerns.Festival AND forum organisers weren't about to be shunted aside and so revealed that Lacub's mayor had given the go ahead weeks in advance.
On the day in question the GHP Panel was represented by Peace Panelist Ednar Dayanghirang who concurrently Chairs the Panel's RWC-SER (Reciprocal Working Committee on Socio-Economic Reforms).Since the forum is only dealing with CASER,or the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms,this made him the best man for the job,besides his being the only Panelist willing to stump for the team.More over Mr.Dayanghirang is himself a Lumad,a Mandaya Tribesmen (how fitting then the locale of the Davao City Forum at the beginning of this entry).Joining him was Father Albert Alejo,Member of that same RWC-SER,and Jimmid Mansayag.Mr.Mansayag is also a Lumad,an Aroman Manobo Tribesman from the upper North Cotabato plateau in Central Mindanao.He is serving as a Resource Person (Consultant) on the RWC-SER with regard to IP (Indigenous People,in this sense Lumad,Igorot and Tinggurian).Sadly one never sees Negritos even mentioned and yet who could be any more"indigenous"than these first Filipinos?Neither Lumad nor Christian and as far as one can get from being Muslim,this demographic is truly the least served of all Filipino demographics.
For the NDFP Panel none other than Rafael Baylosis himself took the honours.Baylosis is a Consultant to the Panel and serves as a Member of its RWC-SER.It will be recalled that My.Baylosis,who is also the Secretary General of the CPP,or Communist Party of the Philippines,was incarcerated until released just prior to Round I,per GPH concession despite his holding immunity under JASIG.Conveniently joining Mr.Baylosis was Beverly L.Longid who not only serves the NDFP Peace Panel as its IP Resource Person but who co-incidentally sits as President of KATRIBU.
The representatives of each Cordilleran Province:
1) Abra
2) Apayao
3) Ifugao
4) Kalinga
5) Mountain
6) Benguet
all voiced the same wish list with very little differentiation.I will spare the Cordilleran-specific issues since I limit my focus to Mindanao but sufficient to say that some concerns were in fact universal.Issues like Global Warming,support for small scale agriculture,the desire for de-militarisation,rehabilitation of the Mining Act of 1995 as well as of IPRA (Indigenous Peoples Rights Act) and its pursuant CAD and CADT (Certificate of Ancestral Domain and CAD Title) all scored highly as chief concerns.
Non-Muslim warlords on Mindanao got wind of a very low key set of under the table negotiations taking place in Kuala Lampur,Malaysia.Moreover they were informed that the Arroyo Government was just about to sign away the bulk of non-Muslim lands in Central and Western Mindanao.These powerbrokers,Mayors Celso Lobregat (Zamboanga City),Lawrence Cruz (Iligan City),and Vice Governor Emmanuel"Manny"Pinol of North Cotabato Province pulled strings in Manila and got the Supreme Court to issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the signing of the document pending Supreme Court Review.
When the Court finally considered the MoA-AD they Ruled that it was Unconstitutional and that was that.Of course I am omitting a lot of other issues involved,especially the bloody 2 year war it precipitated,but sufficient to say for my purposes in this entry,one of the Constitutional issues cited was the lack of proper disclosure,especially vis a vis GPH and concerned stakeholders...like those aforementioned local warlords.Ergo the GPH-NDFP Peace Process isn't taking any chances.Both sides are taking a proactive stance with regard to stakeholder forums in which the respective Peace Panels jointly present their work to date followed by a Q and A (Question and Answer) Session with the audience.
On April 12,2011 both Panels fielded representatives for a lowkey unofficial forum.Fidel Agcaoli,labeled Vice Chairperson of the NDFP Peace Panel,did the honours for his organisation at Davao City's Mandaya Hotel.Among other things he took great pains to explain that the GPH Concessions given after Hong Kong (December,2010) and before Round I in Oslo (February 15 through 27,2011) weren't Concessions at all but rather were the CPP/NPA/NDFP's just rewards.Agcaoli noted that the Government is party to legally signed bilateral Agreements and as such doesn't have any choice BUT TO put up or shut up.Naturally he segued directly into a spiel about JASIG,the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees.As I have noted in at least 2 other recent CPP/NPA/NDFP entries the NDFP has been less than satisfied with GPH performance with regard to this Agreement.As Agcaoli noted,if the GPH fails to put out on this very simple and incredibly basic document,what hope is there that the CPP/NPA/NDFP could ever see the Philippine Government keep its word about anything.
Predictably,since the forum was being held in Davao City,GPH Panel Member Ednar Dayanghirang spoke at length as well.Mr.Dayanghirang is a native of neighbouring Davao Oriental Province where he splits his time farming mangoes and hosting a local cable access show devoted to local current events.As luck would have it he happened to have hosted that show on a Davao City-based cable television system so that he should be familiar to at least some of the attendees.
Between the 2 Panel Members they covered the entire 4-part Framework for the Final Peace Agreement.Revealingly the extremely verbose Dayanghirang told his audience that it was the NDFP itself that originally suggested that University of the Philippines (UP) Law School Dean Alexander"Alex"Padilla Chair the GPH Peace Panel.Though Padilla was serving the governmeent in addition to his academic position he is well known to the NDFP because he is in fact a former member.In the Marcos Era Padilla regularly provided captured CPP and NPA members with legal counsel.The quotation incorrectly attributed to Churchill comes to mind,"A man who isn't a Socialist by age 20 hasn't a heart.A man who hasn't rejected Socialism by age 40 hasn't a brain."
That the first forum went so well is suprising given the drama that had transpired just the day before,April 11th.Fidel Agcaoli went ballistic when he learned of recent comments made by Alex Padilla.In a radio interview the week before Padilla was asked to offer his take on the chances for success in the GPH-NDFP Peace Process.Amazingly Padilla said that he believed those chances to be very strong given the technological advances experienced in recent years.Asked to clarify his answer Padilla remarked that where as in the Marcos Era rebelliousness only found an outlet in deeds today's youth can vent on Facebook,Friendster and MySpace.Continuing in what has to be the best example of verbal dhiarrea seen in a long while Padilla said that Social Media will put an end to groups like the NPA.Aaaaah,if only it were true Alex,only if...
On April 19,2011 Mr.Dayanghirang was back on Luzon where he joined Sr.Military Advisor the GPH Peace Panel,Brigadier General Reynaldo"Rey"Ordonez in a briefing given to students at NDC (National Defense College) on the grounds of Camp Aguinaldo,the AFP General HQ (Headquarters) in Metro Manila's Quezon City.The students,all in the MNSA (Masters in National Security) Track weren't impressed,to say the least.
To a tee they all doubted the CPP/NPA/NDFP's sincerity.Showing his inexperience Dayanghirang tried to debate the students but only came off looking naïve at best.Luckily BGen.Ordonez stepped in and like an able tactician (rare in the AFP) explained that the CPP/NPA/NDFP's sincerity,or insincerity,is irrelevant.The fact that they are at the Table at all for the first time in nearly 6 years is progress enough for the moment.With that the students were brought to heel and what little time remained in the Briefing went a whole lot smoother.
The Davao City and NDC Talks were just warmups with the bulk of the forums to be held from April 27th to May 6th.
The first one,on April 27th took place in the municipality of Lacub,in Abra Province in Northern Luzon.Entitled"Addressing the Roots of the Armed Conflict Towards a Just and Lasting Peace"it was sponsored jointly by the CPA and the Party List organisation KATRIBU so should have added,"As Long as it Spells Victory for the NPA"as a subtitle.Taking place on the final day of a 3 day festival,the annually held Cordillera Day,the forum took a unique direction by directly inviting not only social and religious leaders but a representative of each of the Cordilleran Provinces who were tasked with representing the views and concerns of the hilltribes within their respective province.While Mindanowan hilltribes are known collectively as"Lumad,"Cordillerans are known either as"Igorot"or as"Tinggurian."Like the Lumad the Igorot/Tinggurian are at the bottom rung of their respective social and cultural ladder.Likewise they also are identical to Lumad in the respect that they are the most vulnerable to NPA/AFP recruitment and violence.Just as on Mindanao they must deal with extra-fierce Developmental Aggression from a government that has never given them a single ounce of respect or assistance.Used by both the Government and the NPA they continue to suffer,caught perennially in the middle.
Cordillera Day is sponsored by the CPA,the Cordillera Peoples Alliance,an umbrella entity founded in 1984 to unite the disparate Leftist groups either under or more usually un-represented by the national Leftist umbrella the NDF,or National Democratic Front (now known as the NDFP since adding"Philippines"to its moniker).Held in a different Cordilleran locale each year the 2011 festival is the 27th and attracts thousands of visitors.Suprisingly then,when Lacub officials learned that the Forum would also be held they suddenly got cold feet for the festival and begged off citing logistical,infrastructural AND security concerns.Festival AND forum organisers weren't about to be shunted aside and so revealed that Lacub's mayor had given the go ahead weeks in advance.
On the day in question the GHP Panel was represented by Peace Panelist Ednar Dayanghirang who concurrently Chairs the Panel's RWC-SER (Reciprocal Working Committee on Socio-Economic Reforms).Since the forum is only dealing with CASER,or the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms,this made him the best man for the job,besides his being the only Panelist willing to stump for the team.More over Mr.Dayanghirang is himself a Lumad,a Mandaya Tribesmen (how fitting then the locale of the Davao City Forum at the beginning of this entry).Joining him was Father Albert Alejo,Member of that same RWC-SER,and Jimmid Mansayag.Mr.Mansayag is also a Lumad,an Aroman Manobo Tribesman from the upper North Cotabato plateau in Central Mindanao.He is serving as a Resource Person (Consultant) on the RWC-SER with regard to IP (Indigenous People,in this sense Lumad,Igorot and Tinggurian).Sadly one never sees Negritos even mentioned and yet who could be any more"indigenous"than these first Filipinos?Neither Lumad nor Christian and as far as one can get from being Muslim,this demographic is truly the least served of all Filipino demographics.
For the NDFP Panel none other than Rafael Baylosis himself took the honours.Baylosis is a Consultant to the Panel and serves as a Member of its RWC-SER.It will be recalled that My.Baylosis,who is also the Secretary General of the CPP,or Communist Party of the Philippines,was incarcerated until released just prior to Round I,per GPH concession despite his holding immunity under JASIG.Conveniently joining Mr.Baylosis was Beverly L.Longid who not only serves the NDFP Peace Panel as its IP Resource Person but who co-incidentally sits as President of KATRIBU.
The representatives of each Cordilleran Province:
1) Abra
2) Apayao
3) Ifugao
4) Kalinga
5) Mountain
6) Benguet
all voiced the same wish list with very little differentiation.I will spare the Cordilleran-specific issues since I limit my focus to Mindanao but sufficient to say that some concerns were in fact universal.Issues like Global Warming,support for small scale agriculture,the desire for de-militarisation,rehabilitation of the Mining Act of 1995 as well as of IPRA (Indigenous Peoples Rights Act) and its pursuant CAD and CADT (Certificate of Ancestral Domain and CAD Title) all scored highly as chief concerns.
Monday, May 30, 2011
GPH-NDFP Peace Process, First Quarter of 2011, Part II
Edwin Brigano's arrest early New Year's Day may have been the only blatant Ceasefire faux paux by the Philippine Government but it wasn't the last arrest of a major NDFP/CPP/NPA figure in the lead up to the formal resumption of the Peace Process on February 15, 2011. Just 4 days later an even larger NPA luminary would be taken down, and end up wearing a bullet for his trouble. If Brigano was considered a big fish for leading an NPA Front Command, how much more valuable was the arrest of Tirso "Ka Bart" Alcantara who commands an entire Regional Committee? Indeed, in his prime Alcantara nearly gained control over the entire NPA nationwide, but those days are long gone and today Alcantara leads the Southern Luzon Regional Committee.
Today Alcantara still busies himself with Tactical Planning but nearing his mid-60s he has gotten a bit too soft in the britches. How else then to explain just why he allowed himself to forgo the number one rule of revolutionries the world over by becoming a creature of habit? At 830PM on January 5, 2011, Alcantara and fellow NPA member Apolonio "Ka Polly" Cuatro had just left an NPA safehouse in Lucena City's Barangay Ibabang Iyam in Quezon Province when his luck finally ran out. A joint operation by Quezon PPO (Police Provincial Office) and the 1st Special Forces Battalion of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) fell upon him. Disregarding a command to raise his hands Alcantara ended up with a bullet in his rear.
The AFP would soon defend the operation claiming that Alcantara brought it all upon himself by reaching for a 45 caliber pistol tucked into his waistband. After securing their two prisoners the combined force recovered two hand grenades,nine blasting caps and five meters of detonating cord. Taken on 23 separate warrants for among other things, 8 counts of Murder and 2 counts of Robbery in a Band, Alcantara was down for the count. Intially taken to SOLCOM (Southern Luzon Command of the AFP) Headquarters Hospital at Lucena City's Camp Nakar he was soon transferred to Metro Manila's V.Luna Hospital where he was handcuffed with both wrists to the bed frame, in excruciating pain.
Naturally the NDFP/CPP/NPA screamed bloody murder, swearing up and down that Alcantara is yet another JASIG (Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees) protected NDFP "Consultant to the Peace Process." Still, as loud as their collective voices screamed then, it would be nothing like the din they would raise on the initial opening of the resumed Talks in Oslo on February 15th. Just a day earlier, February 14th at 630PM the combined forces of the Baliuag MPO (Municipal Police Office) and the 56IB (Infantry Battalion) snared the Government's biggest catch yet, Alan Jazmines.
63 year old Jazmines is the Secretary General of the CPP, or Communist Party of the Philippines. Elected in 2008 as a compromise between two competing factions the ex-university lecturer cum poet slash Communist ideologue was arrested on 13 separate Murder charges in Barangay Subic in Bulacan Province's Baliuag. Initially taken to Camp Santos in Malolos, Bulacan he was quickly transferred to Camp Crame in Metro Manila's Quezon City. Coming as it did just hours before the Talks began there were critics from both ends of the political spectrum. Definitely not one of the brighter acts undertaken by the Government. When Jazmines protested, claiming JASIG protection, he was reportedly told, "F-ck JASIG." If any one quote could succinctly describe the GPH take on the Agreement, THAT would be it.
With Jazmine's incarceration the NDFP claim of wrongly jailed JASIG protected personalities topped out at 15 people. However, other than briefly, albeit strongly, touching upon these 15 cases in NDFP Peace Panel Chairperson Luis Jalandoni's Opening Speech on February 15th, THAT issue would have to wait until formal introduction vis a vis the Talks' itinerary.
As the second day began at 10AM on February 16th the two Panels agreed to re-convene Reciprocal Working Committees for the 2nd Component of the 4 Part Interim Agreement, or as both Panels refer to it in this embryonic stage,"Four Part Substantiative Agreement." The 4 components:
1) Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, aka "CARHRIHL." CARHRIHL was jointly signed on March 16, 1998.
2) Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reform, or "CASER." When Talks last ended in 2004 the 2 Peace Panels had agreed upon the Preamble and little more than its Declaration of Principles. CASER is considered to be the most difficult component and is the one being dealt with currently, with both sides aiming to sign it by September of 2011.
3) Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reforms, or "CAPCR."
4) Comprehensive Agreement on End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces, or "CAEoH/DoF," though it is usually abbreviated as EoH/DoF.
The second facet, CASER, as noted is barely past the very first portion of that large facet. The Reciprocal Working Committee for CASER, or RCW-SER (RCW-Social Economic Reforms) was tasked with working out its own schedule within the facet's stated time frame.
Next the Panels discussed formation of Working Committees, or "WCs," to try and gain a head start on the 3rd facet,the Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reform. The idea being to ease the effort of the yet to be formed Reciprocal Working Committees (RWC) on the 3rd component, RWC-PCRs. The WCs will each have 1 Chairperson, 2 members, and 2 consultants. Though they did butt heads at this First Formal Round they will hold a series of bi-lateral meetings, the first to be held in April of 2011. There after they will hold 1 bi-lateral meeting in June and then again in August. The goal as it stands is the convening of RWC-PCRs by October of 2011. Each RWC-PCR can empanel a 3 to 5 person "Committee of Sages" or "Resource Persons."
Last on the agenda that second day, February 16th was the re-conveneing of the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) for CARHRIHL,the first component. The JMC-CARHRIHL had been disbanded not long after its last meeting in July of 2005. Since that time, nearly 6 years, no mechanism existed to receive complaints regarding perceived violations of CARHRIHL by either side. With no entity to receive these complaints absolutely nothing was done about them. At the re-convening the JMC discussed producing a set of Supplemental Guidelines on the JMC and agreed to submit a Draft on the issue at a later, still unspecified date. They also began working to establish Protocols for the Complaint Process vis a vis CARHRIHL and finally,agreed to meet in March of 2011.
Days 3 and 4, February 17th and 18th, consisted of the aforementioned RWC-SER, WC-PCR and JMC-CARHRIHL getting back into the groove as their compatriots on the actual Panels brainstormed amongst themselves.
The RCW-SERs began by simply removing each side's RWC's progress since their initial formation in 2001. As I have noted both in this entry and the preceding entry (Part I) the RWCs had been able to agree on Preamble and Declaration of Principles. Then the RWCs decided on a revised set of guidelines for their component's development process. In doing this they took into account the April of 2004 list of unresolved issues on the component. Lastly, the 2 RWCs agreed on a schedule of 3 bi-lateral meetings:
1) 2nd week of June, 2011, to discuss basis, scope and applicability. Currently there are still major conceptualisation and ideation issues. The NDFP aims for Agrarian Reform, but GPH refuses to even touch it above and beyond the ridiculous CARP and CARPER, virtually worthless programmes. I will discuss those Governmental boondoggles and NDFP opposition to them in an entry on CASER. For the sake of brevity, the GPH approached the NDFP's Agrarian Reform wishlist by referring to "Asset Reform." It needs to be noted that 2 weeks prior to this first bi-lateral meeting both RWCs will exchange Working Drafts on CASER, so that the 1st meeting is a revision meeting more than anything.
2) 2nd week of August, 2011, will serve to iron out whatever kinks still remain.
3) 4th week of August, 2011, simply to concur on any last minute additions or deletions.
On the 5th day of the Talks, February 19th, the entire day consisted of both Panels engaging in a plenary session regarding 5 issues:
1) JASIG Violations that had occurred in the 6 year interval between Formal Talks. Naturally most of this session was devoted to the afore mentioned 15 arrestees, especially Brigano, Alcantara and Jazmines.
2) Both Panels attempted to come to some sort of a consensus regarding acceptable lists on JASIG protected individuals. This is no easy feat in that despite JASIG having 2 subsequent signed Agreements that sought to rectify the very ambiguous wording regarding the issues of JASIG ID and the identity of ID holders since, per the Agreement, the JASIG IDs are printed under fictitious names.
3) The 2 Panels then heard the initial report of the just re-convened RCW-SERs.
4) They then heard the reports of the just re-convened WG-PCRs.
5) Finally,they heard the report of the just re-convened JMC-CARHRIHL.
Because of the limited amount of time the 6th day, February 20th was reserved for completion of the previous day's plenary session.
On the final day, February 21st, both Panels issued a Joint Communique after which a brief Closing Ceremony was held and finally both Panel Chairpersons, the GPH's Alex Padilla and the NDFP's Luis Jalandoni held the customary Question and Answer Session. Except for a near bombshell of a revelation by Jalandoni, which was fully confirmed by Padilla, there was nothing worth noting. The bombshell being that the CPP/NPA is no longer considered to be a terrorist organisation by the Government. The listing had been the product of vindictiveness when the NDFP/CPP/NPA had refused then President Arroyo's precondition of an unconditional ceasefire prior to sitting backdown to the table in the early months of her Presidency. It took her nearly three years but in 2004 she got her wish as the United States ridiculously added the CPP/NPA to its list of terrorist organisations. When the EU moved to follow suit the Talks collapsed.It is was a positive development indeed because truth be told, for all its very real faults, the CPP/NPA is far from anything "terrorist." No word as to whether President Aquino will move to have the US re-consider its placement of the group on its list.
Today Alcantara still busies himself with Tactical Planning but nearing his mid-60s he has gotten a bit too soft in the britches. How else then to explain just why he allowed himself to forgo the number one rule of revolutionries the world over by becoming a creature of habit? At 830PM on January 5, 2011, Alcantara and fellow NPA member Apolonio "Ka Polly" Cuatro had just left an NPA safehouse in Lucena City's Barangay Ibabang Iyam in Quezon Province when his luck finally ran out. A joint operation by Quezon PPO (Police Provincial Office) and the 1st Special Forces Battalion of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) fell upon him. Disregarding a command to raise his hands Alcantara ended up with a bullet in his rear.
The AFP would soon defend the operation claiming that Alcantara brought it all upon himself by reaching for a 45 caliber pistol tucked into his waistband. After securing their two prisoners the combined force recovered two hand grenades,nine blasting caps and five meters of detonating cord. Taken on 23 separate warrants for among other things, 8 counts of Murder and 2 counts of Robbery in a Band, Alcantara was down for the count. Intially taken to SOLCOM (Southern Luzon Command of the AFP) Headquarters Hospital at Lucena City's Camp Nakar he was soon transferred to Metro Manila's V.Luna Hospital where he was handcuffed with both wrists to the bed frame, in excruciating pain.
Naturally the NDFP/CPP/NPA screamed bloody murder, swearing up and down that Alcantara is yet another JASIG (Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees) protected NDFP "Consultant to the Peace Process." Still, as loud as their collective voices screamed then, it would be nothing like the din they would raise on the initial opening of the resumed Talks in Oslo on February 15th. Just a day earlier, February 14th at 630PM the combined forces of the Baliuag MPO (Municipal Police Office) and the 56IB (Infantry Battalion) snared the Government's biggest catch yet, Alan Jazmines.
63 year old Jazmines is the Secretary General of the CPP, or Communist Party of the Philippines. Elected in 2008 as a compromise between two competing factions the ex-university lecturer cum poet slash Communist ideologue was arrested on 13 separate Murder charges in Barangay Subic in Bulacan Province's Baliuag. Initially taken to Camp Santos in Malolos, Bulacan he was quickly transferred to Camp Crame in Metro Manila's Quezon City. Coming as it did just hours before the Talks began there were critics from both ends of the political spectrum. Definitely not one of the brighter acts undertaken by the Government. When Jazmines protested, claiming JASIG protection, he was reportedly told, "F-ck JASIG." If any one quote could succinctly describe the GPH take on the Agreement, THAT would be it.
With Jazmine's incarceration the NDFP claim of wrongly jailed JASIG protected personalities topped out at 15 people. However, other than briefly, albeit strongly, touching upon these 15 cases in NDFP Peace Panel Chairperson Luis Jalandoni's Opening Speech on February 15th, THAT issue would have to wait until formal introduction vis a vis the Talks' itinerary.
As the second day began at 10AM on February 16th the two Panels agreed to re-convene Reciprocal Working Committees for the 2nd Component of the 4 Part Interim Agreement, or as both Panels refer to it in this embryonic stage,"Four Part Substantiative Agreement." The 4 components:
1) Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, aka "CARHRIHL." CARHRIHL was jointly signed on March 16, 1998.
2) Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reform, or "CASER." When Talks last ended in 2004 the 2 Peace Panels had agreed upon the Preamble and little more than its Declaration of Principles. CASER is considered to be the most difficult component and is the one being dealt with currently, with both sides aiming to sign it by September of 2011.
3) Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reforms, or "CAPCR."
4) Comprehensive Agreement on End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces, or "CAEoH/DoF," though it is usually abbreviated as EoH/DoF.
The second facet, CASER, as noted is barely past the very first portion of that large facet. The Reciprocal Working Committee for CASER, or RCW-SER (RCW-Social Economic Reforms) was tasked with working out its own schedule within the facet's stated time frame.
Next the Panels discussed formation of Working Committees, or "WCs," to try and gain a head start on the 3rd facet,the Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reform. The idea being to ease the effort of the yet to be formed Reciprocal Working Committees (RWC) on the 3rd component, RWC-PCRs. The WCs will each have 1 Chairperson, 2 members, and 2 consultants. Though they did butt heads at this First Formal Round they will hold a series of bi-lateral meetings, the first to be held in April of 2011. There after they will hold 1 bi-lateral meeting in June and then again in August. The goal as it stands is the convening of RWC-PCRs by October of 2011. Each RWC-PCR can empanel a 3 to 5 person "Committee of Sages" or "Resource Persons."
Last on the agenda that second day, February 16th was the re-conveneing of the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) for CARHRIHL,the first component. The JMC-CARHRIHL had been disbanded not long after its last meeting in July of 2005. Since that time, nearly 6 years, no mechanism existed to receive complaints regarding perceived violations of CARHRIHL by either side. With no entity to receive these complaints absolutely nothing was done about them. At the re-convening the JMC discussed producing a set of Supplemental Guidelines on the JMC and agreed to submit a Draft on the issue at a later, still unspecified date. They also began working to establish Protocols for the Complaint Process vis a vis CARHRIHL and finally,agreed to meet in March of 2011.
Days 3 and 4, February 17th and 18th, consisted of the aforementioned RWC-SER, WC-PCR and JMC-CARHRIHL getting back into the groove as their compatriots on the actual Panels brainstormed amongst themselves.
The RCW-SERs began by simply removing each side's RWC's progress since their initial formation in 2001. As I have noted both in this entry and the preceding entry (Part I) the RWCs had been able to agree on Preamble and Declaration of Principles. Then the RWCs decided on a revised set of guidelines for their component's development process. In doing this they took into account the April of 2004 list of unresolved issues on the component. Lastly, the 2 RWCs agreed on a schedule of 3 bi-lateral meetings:
1) 2nd week of June, 2011, to discuss basis, scope and applicability. Currently there are still major conceptualisation and ideation issues. The NDFP aims for Agrarian Reform, but GPH refuses to even touch it above and beyond the ridiculous CARP and CARPER, virtually worthless programmes. I will discuss those Governmental boondoggles and NDFP opposition to them in an entry on CASER. For the sake of brevity, the GPH approached the NDFP's Agrarian Reform wishlist by referring to "Asset Reform." It needs to be noted that 2 weeks prior to this first bi-lateral meeting both RWCs will exchange Working Drafts on CASER, so that the 1st meeting is a revision meeting more than anything.
2) 2nd week of August, 2011, will serve to iron out whatever kinks still remain.
3) 4th week of August, 2011, simply to concur on any last minute additions or deletions.
On the 5th day of the Talks, February 19th, the entire day consisted of both Panels engaging in a plenary session regarding 5 issues:
1) JASIG Violations that had occurred in the 6 year interval between Formal Talks. Naturally most of this session was devoted to the afore mentioned 15 arrestees, especially Brigano, Alcantara and Jazmines.
2) Both Panels attempted to come to some sort of a consensus regarding acceptable lists on JASIG protected individuals. This is no easy feat in that despite JASIG having 2 subsequent signed Agreements that sought to rectify the very ambiguous wording regarding the issues of JASIG ID and the identity of ID holders since, per the Agreement, the JASIG IDs are printed under fictitious names.
3) The 2 Panels then heard the initial report of the just re-convened RCW-SERs.
4) They then heard the reports of the just re-convened WG-PCRs.
5) Finally,they heard the report of the just re-convened JMC-CARHRIHL.
Because of the limited amount of time the 6th day, February 20th was reserved for completion of the previous day's plenary session.
On the final day, February 21st, both Panels issued a Joint Communique after which a brief Closing Ceremony was held and finally both Panel Chairpersons, the GPH's Alex Padilla and the NDFP's Luis Jalandoni held the customary Question and Answer Session. Except for a near bombshell of a revelation by Jalandoni, which was fully confirmed by Padilla, there was nothing worth noting. The bombshell being that the CPP/NPA is no longer considered to be a terrorist organisation by the Government. The listing had been the product of vindictiveness when the NDFP/CPP/NPA had refused then President Arroyo's precondition of an unconditional ceasefire prior to sitting backdown to the table in the early months of her Presidency. It took her nearly three years but in 2004 she got her wish as the United States ridiculously added the CPP/NPA to its list of terrorist organisations. When the EU moved to follow suit the Talks collapsed.It is was a positive development indeed because truth be told, for all its very real faults, the CPP/NPA is far from anything "terrorist." No word as to whether President Aquino will move to have the US re-consider its placement of the group on its list.
Monday, May 23, 2011
GPH-NDFP Peace Process, First Quarter of 2011, Vol.I: Preliminary Talks in Oslo, Norway and Three Arrests Worth Noting
Following the tet a tet in Hong Kong on December 2nd and 3rd, 2010, the two Panels agreed to hold Preliminary Talks from January 14th to the 21st in Oslo, Norway. Foremost on the NDFP's agenda was the re-implementation of JASIG, or the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees. JASIG was created on February 24th, 1995 and is designed to allow free movement and freedom from arrest and prosecution for all NDFP personnel directly involved with the Peace Process. Under former President Arroyo JASIG had been formally suspended on August 3rd, 2005 (though it then remained in effect for 30 days past that date) not long after the CPP/NPA/NDFP had officially withdrawn from negotiations owing to President Arroyo's successful lobbying of the United States to have the CPP/NPA added to America's list of terrorist organisations.
In other developments from Hong Kong, both sides re-affirmed Norway's role as the Facilitator to the Peace Process. Unlike the GPH-MILF Peace Process with Malaysia as Facilitator, Norway doesn't simply appoint a single individual but rather a Secretariat, though different terminology is used. In real terms, Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines, Tore Lundh, is Chairing that Facilitation Secretariat and so, for better or for worse, Ambassador Lundh gets tarred as the "Facilitator."
Having had a 6 year break between Formal Rounds both sides had to play formal catch up. In other words, in the interim both sides- especially the NDFP- were assesing and re-assesing all prior Agreements as to continued viability, currency and so on. However, jumping back into the Peace Process requires certain diplomatic protocols and formalities. One such formality is the decison to re-assess prior Agreements despite them having been constantly re-assesed during the long wait.
The NDFP, predictably, raised the issue of recent NPA arrestees whom they claim are NDFP Consultants to the Peace Process. According to JASIG Consultants will be issued identifying documents from the NDFP specifying their status as Consultants. These unspecified "documents" will then serve as Safe Conduct Passes allowing free and unmolested movement throughout the Philippines, as well as allowing travel into and out of the country. JASIG is ambiguous on the type of ID as well as not requiring any type of notification to the Government about who is serving as Consultants at any given time (or serving at all, though there were 2 additional Agreements on JASIG that are supposed to help rectify this problem), nor even the total number of members doing so. The NDFP then manipulates the Agreement by claiming that every high placed arrestee is protected under JASIG. On the other side of the coin, the AFP, or Armed Forces of the Philippines, absolutely ignores the Agreement except for the 4 actual members of the NDFP Peace Panel.
When the meeting in Hong Kong took place the NDFP claimed 15 arrestees were being held in violation of the Agreement.In particular 3 of those members:
1) Rafael Baylosis
2) Randall Echanis
3) Vicente Ladlad
were labelled as absolutely "vital" to the next phase of the Process, CASER (Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms). Ergo it was asked that their releases be expedited so as to allow them to participate by the opening of Formal Resumption, on February 15th, 2011. However, between the meeting's conclusion on December 3rd, 2010 and the opening of the Preliminary Talk on January 14th three more names were added to the overall list. At 3AM on New Years Day, January 1st, 2011 Edwin "Ka Julie" Brigano was arrested in Davao City on Mindanao.
Brigano, who also used the nom de guerre "Ka Patao" had availed himself to an offer made by that city's Vice Mayor, Rodrigo "Roddy" Duterte. A local warlord himself, Duterte sits with his daughter Sarah Duterte Carpio as Mayor since his term limit as Mayor expired in 2010. Duterte has led Davao City since the late 1980s after coming to a working agreement with local NPA leader Leonicio "Ka Parago" Pitao. At the time almost the entire city was controlled by the NPA but because of organisational wide internal purges its parallel city government was unable to exert proper control and the city was turning into a warzone as various state-sanctioned paramilitaries asserted themselves under the greatly weakened NPA. When Duterte rose to power it was only because Ka Parago had guaranteed him the vote in NPA-controlled barangays and districts. After winning that first election as Mayor in 1988 he entered into a more permanent arrangement with Ka Parago so as to end the bloodshed engulfing Davao City as the NPA and state sponsored paramilitaries took it to the street in a life and death struggle for supremacy.
Realising that the key to long lasting success is the fostering of what the Philippine Government likes to call, "Peace and Development" but what in reality can be very simply stated as "pesos." Duterte and Ka Parago agreed that the NPA would receive carte blanche to run its parallel government in three outlying city districts:
1) Toril
2) Paquibato
3) Marilog
and to a lesser extent Calinan and Baguio Districts as well. For this concession Ka Parago vowed that he would limit any NPA tactical operations to those three districts and moreover would relegate armed activities to security operations such as armed patrols and the like. Duterte also agreed to pay Ka Parago a healthy sum each month and to occasionally offer logistical and materiel support as well but that is a sordid tale for another time.
After the meeting in Hong Kong both sides announced a 16 day Ceasefire (covered in my NPA entry for the last quarter of 2010). Vice Mayor Duterte then went a step further and invited any and all NPA members who wished to, to come to Davao City and enjoy the holiday without fear of hassles from the AFP or PNP (Philippine National Police). In fact, Duterte even invited Ka Parago to an all expence paid holiday at the city's finest hotel, on the city's tab. As "grateful" as Ka Parago was he instead invited the Vice Mayor and his daughter, the Mayor, up to his camp in Paquibato District for a different take on the holiday. In fact father and daughter DID end up taking Ka Parago up on his offer, albeit very quietly and low key.
Meanwhile, an NPA leader from ComVal (Compostela Valley Province) decided to enjoy a safe and secure holiday in a nice warm bed. Coming out of the ComVal mountains Edwin Brigano made his way to his mother in law's home in Toril District's Barangay Bago Gallera. Much to his suprise, with 3 days left on the Ceasefire, he was pulled out of bed, hooded and hogtied. Adding to Brigano's discomfort was the fact that he had just taken a hiatus from his role within the organisation, as Secretary, or leader of Front 33, the Armando Dumandan Command in order to obtain much needed medical care for Hepatitis and a respritory illness he had acquired in the jungle.
Vice Mayor Duterte was beyond livid. He immediately began berating PNP Inspector Pedro V.Tango, Director of the Davao del Sur PPO (Police Provincial Office).The following week things heated up by several degrees as Duterte took to the airwaves on his weekly Sunday morning television show, "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa" (From the Masses, to the Masses). In the best tradition of dictators the world over, men like Hugo Chavez, Manuel Noriega and Moamar Khadaffy (Ghadaffi), Duterte's "show" is a 3 hour long exercise in non-sensical and egotistical rhetoric. Personally, my favourite "episode" was when Duterte invited Chinese drug lords to his city to open methamphetamine labs so that he could lock their doors and set fire to the buildings with them inside it. Others might prefer the numerous times he has admitted orchestrating death squads that target 12 year old "criminals." Duterte is the quinessential Mindanowan politico.
On the Sunday in question Duterte actually said the following, speaking in Cebuano, the lingua franca amongst non-Muslims on Mindanao, "There are bright Generals, but this Tango is not using the grey matter between his ears. If you create a bigger problem, if you are incompetent and don't know what you are doing for the country then you must go!" It was a classic Duterte moment because the raid wasn't even conducted by PPO Davao del Sur. Inspector Tango had absolutely nothing to do with it. It was undertaken by the PNP's CIDG-11 (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Region XI) and SAF, the PNP Special Forces. Tango definitely earned my respect in how he handled himself following those comments. Mindanao is an island where one sees the most arrogant pissant tin soldier type of mentality (as typified by old Roddy). I mean, anyone who sits for a Newsweek (US based international news magazine) piece and brags about killing people extra-judicially is beyond a carticature of "macho" or "Alpha Male," and yet juxtaposed against Vice Mayor Duterte's unabashed arrogance was Inspector Tango, not meekly but magnanimously offering that even though he wasn't responsible,he holds no grudges against Davao City's benevolent dictator. Of course it is always possible that Tango is a even more of a real man and simply settles scores privately. In the end, Tango was set to retire on April 29th when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 56. Two weeks prior to that date Duterte sponsored a dinner feting the man, apparently having realised that he had been completely mistaken over the responsibility in the Brigano Case. After the meal Duterte told the media that Tango rated an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. Tango offered that it was all water under the bridge, that he had never blamed Duterte.
And what of Edwin Brigano? He was nabbed on 2 separate warrants. The first from RTC (Regional Trial Court) #6 under Judge Patricio Balite in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur Province was for Double Frustrated Murder. The second, from RTC #3 under an unnamed jurist in Nabunturan, ComVal, was for Rebellion, the generic charge slapped on every Communist guerilla though for some unknown reason it is rarely utilised against any Muslim guerilla. I suppose that the Government MIGHT believe the phrase "Muslim Rebel" to be redundant. Brigano claims to have never having been to Agusan del Sur Province despite it being 4km from his boyhood home. In fact, prior to leading Front 33 he had led Front 2 whose AOR (Area of Responsibility) happens to include much of Agusan del Sur. On January 3rd, 2011 Brigano's attorney filed an urgent motion in RTC #3 in ComVal asking the court to compel CIDG-11 to produce Brigano in front of the court. The motion claimed that CIDG had no intention of allowing Brigano his day in the sun per his Constitutional Rights. More over, the motion claimed that CIDG personnel were subjecting Brigano to mental torture. The last allegation was sheer theatrics given the fact that anybody who wished to was allowed to vist with Brigano outside his cell.
In fact, two of his elder sisters visited him that same Wednesday. One of the women, only a year older than her 53 year old brother told how Brigano was asked to tend their elder brother's farm one day back in 1978. Left alone tending the crops and critters in Barangay Casoon in Comval's municipality of Monkayo, the 18 year old simply disappeared without a word to anyone. Despite leading an NPA element in another part of the province he never once tried to contact his grief stricken family. The woman's daughter had been watching the television news just the day before seeing Brigano doing the Perp Walk for the cameras. The girl, who had never met her uncle, excitedly told her mother that the arrestee looked just like an uncle she did know, Brigano's much younger brother. The family had believed Brigano dead all these years. They had mourned him, they had moved on with life. The matriarch of the family couldn't bear to visit her son, she was still in a state of shock. She was still in denial, all the more so because "Edwin Brigano" isn't his given name. It is a new identity assumed since joining the NPA.
To be continued...
In other developments from Hong Kong, both sides re-affirmed Norway's role as the Facilitator to the Peace Process. Unlike the GPH-MILF Peace Process with Malaysia as Facilitator, Norway doesn't simply appoint a single individual but rather a Secretariat, though different terminology is used. In real terms, Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines, Tore Lundh, is Chairing that Facilitation Secretariat and so, for better or for worse, Ambassador Lundh gets tarred as the "Facilitator."
Having had a 6 year break between Formal Rounds both sides had to play formal catch up. In other words, in the interim both sides- especially the NDFP- were assesing and re-assesing all prior Agreements as to continued viability, currency and so on. However, jumping back into the Peace Process requires certain diplomatic protocols and formalities. One such formality is the decison to re-assess prior Agreements despite them having been constantly re-assesed during the long wait.
The NDFP, predictably, raised the issue of recent NPA arrestees whom they claim are NDFP Consultants to the Peace Process. According to JASIG Consultants will be issued identifying documents from the NDFP specifying their status as Consultants. These unspecified "documents" will then serve as Safe Conduct Passes allowing free and unmolested movement throughout the Philippines, as well as allowing travel into and out of the country. JASIG is ambiguous on the type of ID as well as not requiring any type of notification to the Government about who is serving as Consultants at any given time (or serving at all, though there were 2 additional Agreements on JASIG that are supposed to help rectify this problem), nor even the total number of members doing so. The NDFP then manipulates the Agreement by claiming that every high placed arrestee is protected under JASIG. On the other side of the coin, the AFP, or Armed Forces of the Philippines, absolutely ignores the Agreement except for the 4 actual members of the NDFP Peace Panel.
When the meeting in Hong Kong took place the NDFP claimed 15 arrestees were being held in violation of the Agreement.In particular 3 of those members:
1) Rafael Baylosis
2) Randall Echanis
3) Vicente Ladlad
were labelled as absolutely "vital" to the next phase of the Process, CASER (Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms). Ergo it was asked that their releases be expedited so as to allow them to participate by the opening of Formal Resumption, on February 15th, 2011. However, between the meeting's conclusion on December 3rd, 2010 and the opening of the Preliminary Talk on January 14th three more names were added to the overall list. At 3AM on New Years Day, January 1st, 2011 Edwin "Ka Julie" Brigano was arrested in Davao City on Mindanao.
Brigano, who also used the nom de guerre "Ka Patao" had availed himself to an offer made by that city's Vice Mayor, Rodrigo "Roddy" Duterte. A local warlord himself, Duterte sits with his daughter Sarah Duterte Carpio as Mayor since his term limit as Mayor expired in 2010. Duterte has led Davao City since the late 1980s after coming to a working agreement with local NPA leader Leonicio "Ka Parago" Pitao. At the time almost the entire city was controlled by the NPA but because of organisational wide internal purges its parallel city government was unable to exert proper control and the city was turning into a warzone as various state-sanctioned paramilitaries asserted themselves under the greatly weakened NPA. When Duterte rose to power it was only because Ka Parago had guaranteed him the vote in NPA-controlled barangays and districts. After winning that first election as Mayor in 1988 he entered into a more permanent arrangement with Ka Parago so as to end the bloodshed engulfing Davao City as the NPA and state sponsored paramilitaries took it to the street in a life and death struggle for supremacy.
Realising that the key to long lasting success is the fostering of what the Philippine Government likes to call, "Peace and Development" but what in reality can be very simply stated as "pesos." Duterte and Ka Parago agreed that the NPA would receive carte blanche to run its parallel government in three outlying city districts:
1) Toril
2) Paquibato
3) Marilog
and to a lesser extent Calinan and Baguio Districts as well. For this concession Ka Parago vowed that he would limit any NPA tactical operations to those three districts and moreover would relegate armed activities to security operations such as armed patrols and the like. Duterte also agreed to pay Ka Parago a healthy sum each month and to occasionally offer logistical and materiel support as well but that is a sordid tale for another time.
After the meeting in Hong Kong both sides announced a 16 day Ceasefire (covered in my NPA entry for the last quarter of 2010). Vice Mayor Duterte then went a step further and invited any and all NPA members who wished to, to come to Davao City and enjoy the holiday without fear of hassles from the AFP or PNP (Philippine National Police). In fact, Duterte even invited Ka Parago to an all expence paid holiday at the city's finest hotel, on the city's tab. As "grateful" as Ka Parago was he instead invited the Vice Mayor and his daughter, the Mayor, up to his camp in Paquibato District for a different take on the holiday. In fact father and daughter DID end up taking Ka Parago up on his offer, albeit very quietly and low key.
Meanwhile, an NPA leader from ComVal (Compostela Valley Province) decided to enjoy a safe and secure holiday in a nice warm bed. Coming out of the ComVal mountains Edwin Brigano made his way to his mother in law's home in Toril District's Barangay Bago Gallera. Much to his suprise, with 3 days left on the Ceasefire, he was pulled out of bed, hooded and hogtied. Adding to Brigano's discomfort was the fact that he had just taken a hiatus from his role within the organisation, as Secretary, or leader of Front 33, the Armando Dumandan Command in order to obtain much needed medical care for Hepatitis and a respritory illness he had acquired in the jungle.
Vice Mayor Duterte was beyond livid. He immediately began berating PNP Inspector Pedro V.Tango, Director of the Davao del Sur PPO (Police Provincial Office).The following week things heated up by several degrees as Duterte took to the airwaves on his weekly Sunday morning television show, "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa" (From the Masses, to the Masses). In the best tradition of dictators the world over, men like Hugo Chavez, Manuel Noriega and Moamar Khadaffy (Ghadaffi), Duterte's "show" is a 3 hour long exercise in non-sensical and egotistical rhetoric. Personally, my favourite "episode" was when Duterte invited Chinese drug lords to his city to open methamphetamine labs so that he could lock their doors and set fire to the buildings with them inside it. Others might prefer the numerous times he has admitted orchestrating death squads that target 12 year old "criminals." Duterte is the quinessential Mindanowan politico.
On the Sunday in question Duterte actually said the following, speaking in Cebuano, the lingua franca amongst non-Muslims on Mindanao, "There are bright Generals, but this Tango is not using the grey matter between his ears. If you create a bigger problem, if you are incompetent and don't know what you are doing for the country then you must go!" It was a classic Duterte moment because the raid wasn't even conducted by PPO Davao del Sur. Inspector Tango had absolutely nothing to do with it. It was undertaken by the PNP's CIDG-11 (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Region XI) and SAF, the PNP Special Forces. Tango definitely earned my respect in how he handled himself following those comments. Mindanao is an island where one sees the most arrogant pissant tin soldier type of mentality (as typified by old Roddy). I mean, anyone who sits for a Newsweek (US based international news magazine) piece and brags about killing people extra-judicially is beyond a carticature of "macho" or "Alpha Male," and yet juxtaposed against Vice Mayor Duterte's unabashed arrogance was Inspector Tango, not meekly but magnanimously offering that even though he wasn't responsible,he holds no grudges against Davao City's benevolent dictator. Of course it is always possible that Tango is a even more of a real man and simply settles scores privately. In the end, Tango was set to retire on April 29th when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 56. Two weeks prior to that date Duterte sponsored a dinner feting the man, apparently having realised that he had been completely mistaken over the responsibility in the Brigano Case. After the meal Duterte told the media that Tango rated an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. Tango offered that it was all water under the bridge, that he had never blamed Duterte.
And what of Edwin Brigano? He was nabbed on 2 separate warrants. The first from RTC (Regional Trial Court) #6 under Judge Patricio Balite in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur Province was for Double Frustrated Murder. The second, from RTC #3 under an unnamed jurist in Nabunturan, ComVal, was for Rebellion, the generic charge slapped on every Communist guerilla though for some unknown reason it is rarely utilised against any Muslim guerilla. I suppose that the Government MIGHT believe the phrase "Muslim Rebel" to be redundant. Brigano claims to have never having been to Agusan del Sur Province despite it being 4km from his boyhood home. In fact, prior to leading Front 33 he had led Front 2 whose AOR (Area of Responsibility) happens to include much of Agusan del Sur. On January 3rd, 2011 Brigano's attorney filed an urgent motion in RTC #3 in ComVal asking the court to compel CIDG-11 to produce Brigano in front of the court. The motion claimed that CIDG had no intention of allowing Brigano his day in the sun per his Constitutional Rights. More over, the motion claimed that CIDG personnel were subjecting Brigano to mental torture. The last allegation was sheer theatrics given the fact that anybody who wished to was allowed to vist with Brigano outside his cell.
In fact, two of his elder sisters visited him that same Wednesday. One of the women, only a year older than her 53 year old brother told how Brigano was asked to tend their elder brother's farm one day back in 1978. Left alone tending the crops and critters in Barangay Casoon in Comval's municipality of Monkayo, the 18 year old simply disappeared without a word to anyone. Despite leading an NPA element in another part of the province he never once tried to contact his grief stricken family. The woman's daughter had been watching the television news just the day before seeing Brigano doing the Perp Walk for the cameras. The girl, who had never met her uncle, excitedly told her mother that the arrestee looked just like an uncle she did know, Brigano's much younger brother. The family had believed Brigano dead all these years. They had mourned him, they had moved on with life. The matriarch of the family couldn't bear to visit her son, she was still in a state of shock. She was still in denial, all the more so because "Edwin Brigano" isn't his given name. It is a new identity assumed since joining the NPA.
To be continued...
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