Tag: Mindanao

The Peace in Mindanao

This morning, during my usual commute to the office, I heard the radio commentator discussing the current situation in Mindanao. With the recent tragedy involving the SAF Elite Unit, it appears the peace process is compromised – possibly altogether abandoned.

He said that before we all rush into emotionally charged decisions, we should consider first all factors involved – rationally. The peace process gave hope to our fellow Filipinos in Mindanao. Not the rebels, but the civilians. Civilans who have become too scared to seek means of livelihood. Innocent children who have become too scared to go to school. Thousand of innocent Filipinos, caught in the crossfire between the government and the rebels. They are the ones for whom the peace process is for.

And with the recent skirmish, abandoning talks of peace process all over again, is akin to dashing that single shred of hope to bits and pieces. A shred of hope that for years they haven’t even the slightest idea was possible.

While it is true that we must grieve and mourn the fate of the Fallen 44, that we must sympathize with the families who have lost them, we should not let ourselves be consumed with our emotions to forego all rational thinking. After all, these brave men died for the very same thing many wants to abandon – peace.

The Bangsamoro Issue, these peace talks and peace process with Mindanao, these are all issues that I have heard over and over again. Back in college, I gained a better understanding about the Bangsamoro and their plight. I gained friends who were residents of Mindanao, proud to be so, and longing to see peace in their land. I know they deserve it. Like us, who fight for our basic rights, these people also deserve the most basic right anyone can get – peace.

With the recent momentum in the peace process, I shared their glimmer of hope. That finally, after so many years, peace will come to Mindanao. It was a shock when the masacre happened. It was a shock even more when people reacted so strongly to the point that they wanted to abandon the peace process. I even read some hate messages to simply wipe out the rebels.

It made me wonder: are we still humans? Are we still capable of love? forgiveness? peace? even in the midst of tragedy? Yes, it was a loss. But it was not just a loss on the military (or police’s) side. There was also lost in the MILF side. There were civilan casualties as well. But as a friend from Mindanao put it, why would the media care? Why would people care? The Fallen 44 were the glorious heroes. The fallen MILF were the bad guys. The fallen civilians were the extras.

War is a lose-lose situation. Each side will suffer. One side may win but at the expense of what? The best course is to really forge peace. Peace is a noble thing to aspire for. It will not come without a cost; without challenges. But we must hold on. We must desire it and fight for it to not deterioate.

What can we do? We can do the most powerful thing we can. PRAY. Pray for our leaders. Pray for the people in power who have the ability to move things. Pray that peace really happens this time. Pray for healing in the hearts of those who grieve. Those who are angry. Those who are ignorant. Prayer can do wonders. It is time we do our part.

Where is PNoy?

With everything happening in our country now, one wonders where is the President in all this? It’s almost Christmas – the time for merrymaking before the year ends but there will be no rounds of holiday cheers in devastated Mindanao – particularly Cagayan de Oro. The place has been ravaged by Typhoon Sendong to the point that funeral homes are now faced with the dilemma of burying the almost 500 casualties. Aside from the usual call for relief goods, there is a plea for additional coffins, formalin and body bags.

It is indeed devastating. The country is left grieving at such destruction so close to Christmas. And amid all these turmoil, where is the President?

In a tweet by a celebrity, he is allegedly enjoying himself at a night of party laughing candidly at said celebrity’s jokes. In a follow up tweet, the celebrity apologized if her earlier tweet was deemed insensitive. She claimed that the President did has his duties to his employees and that enjoying a party didn’t mean he was not thinking of ways to help out the devastated parts of the country. This statement was made amid the issues created by such tweet.

Indeed I cannot blame PNoy for wanting to enjoy the holiday cheer. I can just imagine the stress he’s in and the pressure being a President has put on him. In fact, I do not doubt if he is regretting being president right now. He was not so keen after all to run for President during the 2010 elections. He was more like forced into it by the death of his mother.

This is also not the first time PNoy has been accused of being inactive in the face of a national crisis. There’s the Quirino Grandstand Hostage Taking which people felt PNoy could have done better; there’s the devastation by Typhoon Pedring and Quiel where PNoy visited the sites – after the devastation was over. He doesn’t like being showy about his support. He doesn’t even like photo shoots.

PNoy has his own brand of governance which many perceive to be laid back. He has even been called lazy by some. He simply doesn’t like being in the thick of things. He is not like past presidents which immediately travel to devastated areas, surveying the damage and rallying the supports. That simply is not his brand.

The question though is – does he have the liberty to run the country in his own style? Is he taking too much liberty in running it the way he wants to? I do not question his cleaning up the government – impeaching an Ombudsman and a Supreme Court Justice – if that is the way for his tuwid na daan to push through. I do not question his putting a higher priority in eliminating corruption over improving the country’s economy. But I sincerely question his action in the face of adversity – or the lack of it.

Given that he, in his own private ways, away from the lenses of cameras, is deliberating ways to help out the calamity stricken citizens. Given that to somehow lessen the stress and pressure he is feeling, he went to an official party (it was his employees’ Christmas Party after all) and enjoyed his evening. He is doing something after all and de-stressing is simply part of the deal. But the public needs his presence more than anything else.

In a time of nationwide crisis, apart from the behind-the-camera work he is doing, what the public needs is his image – surveying the damage and rallying the troops. He was elected into office not just to lead the country and serve the people but to also inspire and give them hope. Just like the kings of medieval times whose presence are needed in battles to give the soldiers hope, our country’s President, to become effective, need to also make his presence felt. Of course he need to work on real concrete and effective solutions but then he must also be visible and public.

Once he embraced the life of a public servant, specifically that of the highest rank in the land, he forego most of his privacy and lived his life in complete service to the people who placed him in office.

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Sidenote: The celebrity also has her share in the blame. As they say, think before you click. She should have thought out the implications of her tweet before sending it to cyberspace. However, the public would have been more forgiving and understanding of PNoy’s behavior if his behavior is one of active involvement instead of laid back action.