"building peace and upholding justice "

Rumors about the declaration of Martial Law in the Province of Maguindanao have been circulating through SMS Friday night even before the government formally declared the imposition of Proclamation 1959. Among others, the imposition of Martial law in Maguindanao suspends the writ of habeas corpus, the taking over of the military, through Lieutenant General Ferrer, of the administrative control of the province, and to give enough power to the armed forces to thwart the reported massing up of hundreds of armed men purportedly to defend the Ampatuans, the clan suspected of orchestrating the brutal election related massacre in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao last November 23 leaving at least 57 dead of mostly women and journalists.

It is important to point out that the said declaration took place while various developments related to the November 23 massacre and its effects to the political relations in Mindanao are taking shape and are massively being highlighted in the media. Until the declaration of martial law, Maguindanao is already under the State of Emergency, thus allowing the military and the police to limit the movements of the Ampatuan clan leaders, who are occupying various top local and regional government positions, within their mansions and controlling their visitors. Also, the primary suspect of the massacre, Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., was already under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Luzon. Hundreds, if not thousands of supporters of the Ampatuans have also staged various rallies in Sharif Aguak town to show their support to the Ampatuan clan.

Days before, immediately following after the fateful November 23 incident, the Administration Party Lakas-KAMPI-CMD, to which the Ampatuans belong and supposedly under which the Ampatuans would run for the coming 2010 elections, kicked out the whole clan in its roster of members. The Ampatuans were a major asset for the said party in the previous elections owing to their “very remarkable” ability to produce votes that almost none of the other elites in the whole country could surpass. Upon the letting-go of the Ampatuans, the Lakas-KAMPI-CMD, through its presidential candidate Gilbert “gibo” Teodoro, immediately sided with the Mangudadatu clan, the clan that is challenging the realms of the Ampatuans and who painfully lost members of the clan during the November 23 massacre.

The government, a little late, took actions to “bring justice swiftly and impartially” to the relatives of the victims of the massacre. After the controversial statement of the setting president that they remained friends with the Ampatuan clan, the latter seemed cooperative to the process. Probably due to massive local, national and international pressures and protests, and the fear of another sound defeat in the coming elections owing to its inability to get rid of bad eggs in their basket (of course aside from the very low approval ratings of the present government) the handlers of the government saw that the situation would eventually go out of hand. In order to contain the situation they decided to systematically take drastic moves once and for all to publicly appear to be sincere to uphold justice and save itself from the destruction of the monster, the Ampatuan clan, that it created over the years, and eventually fine tune this unfortunate happening in Maguindanao with the over-all plan of the administration to perpetuate power beyond 2010.

This drastic move would hasten the destruction of the Ampatuan clan, bury to the graves the issues and blunders that the Ampatuans knew and participated like the massive electoral cheating in 2004 which made Gloria Arroyo won the presidency against Fernando Poe Jr., the hiding of the election commissioner and operator Virgilio Garcilliano during the height of the Hello Garci electoral Scandal, the Lintang Bidol Case, the 2007 electoral scandals which, unbelievably, made the opposition got zero in the ballot in almost all areas controlled by the Ampatuans, and the high profiting arms trade in the south. This contention is not far from the statements made by North Cotabato Vice Governor many Piñol, himself a former Malacañang close ally.

Thus, the simultaneous and remarkably accurate raids in various mansions and armories of the Ampatuans in different parts of the province are part of this whole politically saving move of the administration. It is no wonder that the military did not find it hard to locate the armories of the clan. An armory composed of high powered armaments, like automatic modern rifles, explosives, machine guns, sniper rifles, anti-tank weapons and hundreds of boxes of ammunitions, all with the stamp and marks of the Department of National Defense  (DND), that is sufficient to equip battalions of combatants is impossible to posses without connivance with high ranking government and military officials.

The administration handlers and analysts are now very precise and seemingly got the upper hand in maximizing this situation towards their advantage by exploiting the in-placed system that breeds warlordism. By completely systematically dismantling and silencing the Ampatuans, it is putting to power another strong clan in Maguindanao with the eventually election of the Mangudadatus, the clan that lost many members during the November 23 massacre. Already an established political clan in Mindanao, the expansion and strengthening of the Mangudadatu within the perpetuating system and under the pampering of the administration would serve the latter on many things. For one, if their dominance will be consummated before the elections, it would solve the problem of vote delivery for the administration and a powerful clan partner of the Manila elites and war-mongers left by the Ampatuans. Given its present performance on the ratings, the administration presidential candidate needs the bulk votes of Mindanao more than anyone to accomplish the administration’s bid for power. 

Another benefit the administration would get from this situation is the founding of a new partner to implement what might be called the worst-case scenario of the administration which is the failure of elections. A little farfetched but certainly not negligible, a new and wider scope of a powerful clan could best serve the interest of disrupting the electoral process, with a scope enough to influence the turn-out of the national elections. It has been a discussion that the last move of the administration is to declare a failure of election if all its initiatives to perpetuate power like the running of the president in congress, charter change and electoral fraud, would fail. This failure of elections scenario could be coupled with Martial Law, either through sustaining the momentum of the situation which the government said compelled them to declare Martial law, or declaring another Martial Law after the declaration of a failure of elections.  Either way, Proclamation 1959 serves as a good and timely exercise for the administration handlers in implementing their wicked plans and in conditioning the public. 

In all these thoughts on the declaration of Martial Law in Maguindanao, one could clearly conclude that it is just a clash of local elites at the expense of at least 57 lives. It is politics and political survival of the administration that is on top of the agenda of the government, rather than the genuine seeking for Justice. The seeking for justice is a good camouflage to pursue the administrations interest, and it remains threatened of being sidelined along the process. This is because, with the politics of no permanent ally and no permanent enemy, negotiations and compromises by the Mangudadatus and Ampatuans with the Manila elites as broker are still possible. After all, the Ampatuans are still keeping the president’s secrets!

Thus the quest for genuine justice for the victims of the massacre should not be solely trusted on the government. Mobilizations should be continued and intensified towards the internationalization of this issue. International human rights bodies should be tapped to ensure more human rights watchdog involvement. Moreover, this situation should be maximized to expose to the peoples how this corrupt and imposed system eventually breads warlords in Mindanao in order to highlight the need for a system change. Surely this situation would always happen in the future. Unless there would be a democratic system over haul by the people could this problem of warlordism, corruption and barbarism be effectively addressed in the long run.

DISCLAIMER!

The following article by a certain Mr. Gataw Malindang entitled "Unsaon Nalang Kami: Critic sa GRP-MILF Draft MOA on Ancestral Domain" dated August 9, 2008 was recieved by the akmkforum administrator last August 10, 2008. Mr. malintang, as of this moment, remains unknown to the administrator and to the AKMK Forum Editorial Board. The administrator and the Editorial Board decided to publish said article in the name of democracy, right to free discourse and public information. To read the Article, click the link below.

Unsaon Nalang Kami: Critic sa GRP-MILF Draft MOA on Ancestral Domain

The Following is the Draft Statement of the Ranao Tri-People Movement for Peace and Development (RTMGPD) Inc. for the 2008 State of the Nation Address (SONa) of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. RTMGPD is a network of various People's Organizations (POs) and Non-government Organizations (NGOs) in the Lanao provinces of Mindanao. The various local youth organizations of AKMK in Lanao provinces anre also part of the RTMGPD Inc.

SONA 2008 pamahayag.doc

DISCLAIMER!

This article is recieved through email by a friend and the original author of this is still unknown. The administrator of this site decided to publish this article for the sake of discussions, opinion, freedom of expression and public debates. Click here to read the article.

The AKMK FORUM was conceptualized by the Alyansa ng mga Kabataan sa Mindanao para sa Kapayapaan (AKMK) council, members and the secretariat during the Training on Responsible Journalism at Naawan, Misamis Oriental late last year.

The importance of having the publication was seen as an urgent need for the youth alliance as a vehicle to popularize its peace efforts and that of its member organizations. As an organization aiming to be a part in the mainstream of peace builders, the AKMK Forum will not only promote the youth alliance, but as well as  highlight its contributions in the society. Further, it is also through this publication that AKMK will be able to reach  a broad spectrum of readership and following for its its advocacies and programs. Moreover, this publication will be a great consolidating factor for AKMK, as it publishes its recent initiatives and at the same time give updates as the implementation of the general trust of the organization and most of all, respond to the burning issues of the time that confronts not only the interest of the alliance but to the young people of Mindanao in general.

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A right not a privilege

Education is one of the significant key areas towards the holistic development of an individual. It is an area that should not be taken for granted, nor set aide. Education should be developed, invested and sustained.

With the influx of globalization, the Philippines do not remain isolated and untouched. The country is subject to the compliance of liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. We have been a living witness with the education sector’s commercialization; wherein it already became a privilege and even an opportunity and not a right anymore! Ion fact, only significant minority and those who had enough resources can go to school and enjoy the benefit of an”educated individual”. We don’t think so, a family earning below $50 a month can send children to school and support their college education.

This is absolutely not fair! As poverty, graft and corruption, unemployment, underemployment, and among others explode and run the social system, the young people and the children were exposed to this ruthless system. Education sector must have the highest budget and should benefit the highest appropriation of resources, but the State like to spend more money on its war and military sector to wage war against the so-called rebels, terrorist in which such group are fighting against injustices and the prevailing system; and basically, education is a right, not a privilege of the few!

As we can notice, developed Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore have invested on educating their youths. They relied the future of their nation to the young generation. So, as a program the government, in part supported for the education of their people. And they have already the fruits of perseverance and patience as their education sector in return serves their country. This should be the case in the Philippines, but sad to note, it is not! Information Technology, nursing profession and courses that in great demand abroad are very much promoted and encouraged here in our country. An educational system that do not fit to the Philippine context. We are educating our people to be a servant, to be exploited, to be harassed and maltreated. The Philippines is experiencing “brain drain” nowadays! And still the government of this country continue to neglect and deny this sad picture that would bring sad future to this land.

To our fellow youth, comrades of the past, today and the future:

Let us build and be an edifice of beacon that serves as a guide, and as a tool for empowerment of our generation. Let us be an instrument to the development of our sector and of our society! Let us not limit our learning in the four corners of our classroom.

Let us take the challenge and take our part in the struggle for total emancipation…

-DEMOCRATIC YOUTH LEAGUE (DYL)

 dyl_pakigbisog@lycos.com

Juan and Juan

Goldy Luck Omelio, Duyog

I live in a place where social justices and equality seem to be unattainable, a place where life is so unfair, or shall I say, some people made it unfair. This came to my realization when I met two different individuals belonging to different classes.

            I met them both on the country road. I first met a man who had a horse with him, a horse of somewhat shaggy mountain type, a real country nag that for him, enough for a good travel. His horse’s accruement was simple, a thick sheepskin covering the uncomfortable wooden frame of his saddle. He wore not in rags but in cheaply clad underneath his coarsely woven poncho, with ill-fitting trousers, an ungainly short jacket, a dilapidated felt hat and well worn shoes.

            I first smile at him, and he did smile in return. I ask his name, he is Juan.

            Juan was ten years older than his lord patron and during his childhood, he had frequently acted as if a guardian and companion of the little fellow who had now grown into proprietorship of the family estate. He told me that his father and grandfather had been born on this estate. His mother’s family, too, had lived on the distant part of the same property for as many generations as they could recall.

            He had begun his duties as son of a tenanted serf when about seven years old. When he was in the age of ten he was spending most of his time in care of the sheep belonging to the estate. When he was a boy, there had been no school upon the estate and the nearest village was miles a way. So he grew to manhood with no opportunity to learn to read and write. He was thus illiterate, though far from ignorant.   

            He told me of his experience when he had been sent into town with most of the other serfs of the estate to vote on a measure that affected the property. He had for this occasion painstakingly learned to write his name and had put his signature where told on a sheet of paper. Such had been the life of his father, his grandfather, and as many generations as could be remembered. Sharing such experience to me, he never noticed neither the pain I felt in my heart nor the tears that flow from his eyes.

            The next day, I’m in the country road again. I met this person who was in a sharp contrast to my friend Juan. He was mounted on a tall, beautiful mare. The saddle he used was made of handsome leather, and the seat was covered with the soft skin of a large mountain bird.

            His name, too, is Juan, but the people in the village called him Don Juan. My mind then strikes the idea that he may be a respectable and honorable person in the village. I was neither wrong nor right, for respectable and honorable are not enough to describe him.

            According to the few friendly people I’ve talked with along the country road, Don Juan begun his career by learning to command. Almost before he could walk or talk he had learned that he could impose his will on most of the circle around him. Servants attended him from dawn until night. He had no set tasks that he must do for every labor was done for him; he moved a small King in his small world…

            The situation changed somewhat when at an early age he was put into a private school in the city. A servant accompanied him to the school in the morning and was waiting for him at the end of the day, even carrying his books to few blocks between school and home… Until he was nearly twenty years of age, most of his time had been spent in school, first under a governess in their city home, then in the priest’s school, later in the capital of the country. Most of his education had been in letters and arts. He had never studied agriculture or administration.

            During the period of schooling, vacations had been spent on the estate where he had become familiar with some of the problems of its management. He had never done any manual work. His hands had never tuned a shovelful of earth, nor had he followed a plow, nor milked a cow… his training and experience had fitted him only to direct, to command.

            After his education was completed he had begun practicing a degree of law that very soon brought him into political life. Here the influence of family and friends together with the prestige of his wealth had led to rapid advance. He had occupied many official positions, most of them under the national government. He had served as governor of his province, as deputy in congress, and was now a senator of the country.

            From this class also were recruited most of those who entered the learned professions. The university professors, the literary rights, the artists, the lawyers, the medical men and women, the politicians and statesmen were mostly drawn from this group.

            Don Juan was, in fact, a city dweller most of the year, rather than a country resident, a gentleman land owner rather than a farmer. This had been the character of his father before him and of each generation.

            Thoughts then are wandering in my mind after knowing the character of these two different persons. There has existed a social structure built on a distinctly agrarian basis, and the nation’s entire lives have been moulded by relation to the land. The landowner has commanded, a landless people have obeyed.

            But that was ten years ago… standing again in this village where I met and knew the two Juans, there are certain changes I’ve greatly noticed. Changes that made me think how future would look like after knowing that now, the capitalist has commanded and a worker has obeyed. This is the thought that made me realize the existence of exploitation worse than I ever expected.

*inspired by Ronald M. Glassman’s Political History of Latin America. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1969.