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They say that there is such a thing as Murphy’s Law – that which mandates that if something will go wrong it will.
Ordinarily people would describe it as the worst week ever. Murphy’s law was simply everywhere. I practically lost it all last week. I received a losing verdict and a letter from nowhere. To my surprise, despite the inevitable lost, was an overwhelming sense of equanimity. But no(!) — to top it all off, I lost my one and only fancy bag – with everything on it.
When I say everything, I mean practically everything of temporal and material importance.
(1) my one and only fancy bag (a birthday gift from a lady lawyer with a vast collection of fabulous bags)
(2) my N series mobile phone (and it’s contacts and other contents)
(3) the her on what was our his and hers wallet
(4) an heirloom watch (I don’t generally wear watches, but it is my uncle’s bday gift)
(5) my favorite perfume for the season (another gift from the coolest aunt in the world)
(6) everything! Cards, precious pictures of friends and
family and limited cash in my wallet
(7) a bracelet from the one I love
I was in between travels. The quick stop to Baguio was scheduled to get fresh clothes and to briefly swing by the Justice Hall. Unfortunately, sleep debt overpowered my presence of mind. I tried to run after the cab but it was too late. An attempt to search out leads from the ‘barker’ and other drivers on queue hardly helped.
Then, the loss and it’s implications started to sink in. I cancelled my phone subscriptions and all my cards over the phone. An hour after the fact, I was already in the middle of acceptance and moving on – licking wounds and realizing further the ‘trivial’ value of the items that I lost.
Then my second phone (luckily, I forgot my 24/7 unlimited text and call mobile in my flat over the weekend) rang. He introduced himself as the taxi operator, informing me that his driver found my bag in his taxi. A ray of light! A second chance to get them back.
Coordinating our schedules was a challenge. I am en route to Baguio in a few hours, while Mr. Guieb is off on a business trip. As I write, I have not gotten hold of the fancy bag and it’s contents. But my dear bunso brother and Mr. Guieb, met up last night for the turnover.
I thank Mr. Gil Aquino, the taxi driver who found my bag and his operator – they were not only instrumental in recovering my bag. The gesture affirmed yet again my faith in the goodness of man.
And there’s more – Ateneo slip past Archers in an OT game. In the words of Norman Black, they guys had a lot of desire and hunger. [lifted from the Inquirer news bit]. And it showed on how they played. I could not even get enough of the game; I was still up on my toes while watching a replay. The best news ever! I woke up with a silly grin on my face.
Perhaps my week started with Murphy’s Law on the lead, but faith, hope and love – ruled above all.
Faith in the goodness of man
Hope that the blue Eagles will make it this season.
& Love – hmm res ipsa loquitur …
Faith, hope and love, and the greatest of which is love.
STATEMENT OF UNITY AND SOLIDARITY:
A CALL FOR PEACE, SOBRIETY AND RESTRAINT
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.
Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Ta’ala Wabarakatuhu!
When the Peace Talks was forged between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the peoples of Mindanao subsequently became hopeful that a just and lasting piece would finally reign in their land.
Bearing this common aspiration of the people in mind, both the GRP and the MILF peace panels strived hard to carry their respective mandates and missions to reach several milestones in the on-going peace process. Foremost among these is the Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities signed last July 18, 1997 at Cagayan De Oro City, which serves as the basic foundation of the peace talks. These milestones deserve appreciation.
When the Peace Talks experienced an impasse, both the government and the MILF peace panels had asserted and assured the people that the mechanisms which have been jointly established on the ground have remained and will continue to remain in full force and effect.
As stakeholders of peace, we have savored and treasured all the gains reached by the peace talks so far. As such, we have become morally and legally obligated to preserve these gains as our peace dividends and for the future generations.
Like others, we are also saddened by the armed confrontation between the Armed Forces of the
Philippines and the MILF Forces in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan on July 10, 2007. If only the military hierarchy had respected and abided by the Ceasefire Agreement, this painful, horrible and costly incident would never have taken place.
As we join others in extending our empathy and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family of Ustadz Matarul Hakim Alkanul, who was beheaded an hour prior to the military operations, and also to the families of the Marines who were killed in that encounter, we also declare our collective abhorrence to any terrorist action perpetrated against innocent civilians, specifically those in Tipo-Tipo, and vehemently condemn those who are responsible for both incidents in the highest manner!
Like the Midsayap War in North Cotabato, the Tipo-Tipo Armed Encounter between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the MILF Forces must be regarded and treated as an isolated case and must not erode the gains painstakingly attained by the GRP-MILF Peace Negotiations. It must not cripple the growing chance or a resumption of the GRP-MILF Peace Process and to eventually accomplish its mandate of seeking a viable solution to the centuries-old Mindanao conflict.
We, the undersigned leaders of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society, Inc., therefore, make the following assertions with the highest conviction:
First, we call on the government to suspend any military action in Basilan and other parts of Mindanao and instead allow the GRP and MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) to immediately conduct an impartial probe on the incidents to identify the real perpetrators and bring them to the bar of justice, as per mandated by the GRP-MILF Ceasefire Agreement;
Second, to prevent the occurrence of this eventuality, we strongly urge HE Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo in her dual capacity as “Civilian President” and “Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines” to order the immediate pull-out of pursuing military troops, who are about to undertake “punitive actions” against the alleged perpetrators to diffuse tension, pre-empt the possible eruption of war, and avert its escalation to other parts of Mindanao, as well as the subsequent perpetration of widespread human rights violations;
Third, we also enjoin all Moro and Non-Moro civil society organizations and networks, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, the Bishops-Ulama Conference, concerned LGUs, as well as all other sectors of society who have a common vision of a just and lasting peace in Mindanao to unite themselves in urging the government to settle the Basilan Crisis in a civilized and peaceful manner;
Fourth, we issue this heartfelt appeal to our brothers and sisters in Luzon, Visayas and the rest of Mindanao to objectively understand the Basilan Crisis and the kidnapping of Fr. Bossi. Let us not to be derailed or unduly influenced by the unnecessary “sensationalization” of this issue by some parties with questionable interests. The Bangsamoro and the Filipinos have suffered enough from centuries-old animosities. Let us continue to build peace together in the Philippines in general and in Mindanao in particular.
Enough is enough! We cannot afford to add more Internally Displaced People in our homeland. They are still suffering from the aftermath of seemingly unending wars. We cannot anymore afford to increase the number of children of war and widows of wars, whose hearts still bleed and are still waiting for justice for the death of loved ones.
Enough is enough! Onward with peace!
Adopted and signed in Pagadian City, this 23rd day
of July 2007.
NATHAN INSUNG (Sgd.) Chairperson, Reg’l Mgmt Committee CBCS – Zambas Region
AMENODIN T. CALI (Sgd.) Chairperson, Reg’l Mgmt Committee Chairperson, Reg’l Mgmt Committee
CBCS – Sibugay Region CBCS – Ranaw Region
TIMOJEN TULAWIE (Sgd.)
USTADZ RAHIB KUDTO (Sgd.)
Chairperson, Reg’l Mgmt Committee Chairperson, Reg’l Mgmt Committee
CBCS – Sulu Region CBCS – Kutawato Region
OSCAR SULAIMAN (Sgd.)
SAMMY BUAT (Sgd.)
Chairperson, Reg’l Mgmt Committee Chairperson, Reg’l Mgmt Committee
CBCS – Rajah Buayan Region CBCS – Dabaw Region
SAMMY P. MAULANA (Sgd.)
Acting Secretary-General/ Human Right and Justice Officer CBCS Central Office
Pagadian City
23 July 2007
CBCS/7/23/07
______________
The Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil society is a solidarity network of Bangsamoro NGOs and POs and other civil society organizations committed to a more sustained advocacy for Peace, Human Rights, Good Governance and Development. It is a network that engenders cooperation, collaboration and coordination among Moro civil society organizations in facing the challenges of creating a peaceful and just society.
ALTERNATIVE LAW GROUPS, INC.’s
STATEMENT ON THE HUMAN SECURITY ACT OF 2007
We, the Alternative Law Groups, Inc. (ALG), a coalition of eighteen (18) legal-resource non-government organizations that work for the empowerment of the poor and marginalized sectors in the country, reject and condemn the Human Security Act of 2007 (R.A. No. 9372). This law threatens the peoples’ rights to life, liberty and property, and endangers constitutionally protected rights to due process. It is the worst installment yet employed by the government in its campaign against the genuine exercise of civil and political rights of communities and organizations, following the constitutionally infirm Executive Order 464, Calibrated Preemptive Response and Presidential Proclamation 1017.
For almost two decades, our organizations have worked with marginalized communities and sectors of society in seeking justice and justice system reforms. History has shown that these communities are the most affected by tactics employed by the government to silence the voices of opposition at the ground level. The Human Security Act further restricts the right of the people to seek redress on the government’s failure to provide basic services and address national concerns.
The Human Security Act’s definition of “terrorism” is so ambiguous that it can encompass legitimate and non-terrorist activities, resulting to a chilling effect for those who are lawfully exercising their civil and political human rights. The provisions on surveillance, interception and recording of private communications, prolonged and unlimited period of detention without warrant, and proscription of terrorist organizations, associations, or groups of persons, effectively infringe constitutionally guaranteed rights. Given that the constitutional guarantees have often been observed in breach even before the passage of the Human Security Act, a law that authorizes direct contravention of these guarantees on the basis of a hazy definition of “terrorism” would open the floodgates to more abuses and violations.
Under these circumstances, the poor and marginalized sectors are the most vulnerable to abuses in the implementation of the Human Security Act because they lack the resources to ensure that their rights are respected and protected. Even prior to the passage of the law, the rights of the poor and marginalized sectors have not been recognized and have been trampled upon — a depressing fact that continues to this day. With the passage of the law, this situation will worsen.
As it is, even without the law, Moro communities in Mindanao, Metro Manila and elsewhere have been raided, religious leaders forcibly taken, and innocent civilians illegally arrested, tortured and detained, all in the name of counter-terrorism. As if the high level of militarization in many areas, especially in Sulu and Central Mindanao, is not enough to disrupt the simple lives of the residents, the Human Security Act will surely embolden state authorities to encroach on their civil liberties. The Moro is always singled out as the usual suspect in bombings that occur whenever peace becomes a likely prospect and the business of war is threatened. The Human Security Act will certainly encourage such discriminatory stereotyping of the Moro as terrorist.
The Human Security Act is indeed alarming in the context of the current political and economic policies of the government that facilitate the entry of foreign investments in the extractive industry and agribusiness sector, once again affecting the poor and marginalized sectors the most. Considering that militarization and numerous human rights violations connected with development aggression are pervasive at the ground level, the Human Security Act only legitimizes the unlawful and inhumane treatment of communities and organizations opposing development aggression.
The law is clearly another blatant attempt to silence the voices of communities who are suffering from the effects of national policies, laws and regulations that only work for the benefit of a few and continue to violate individual and collective rights. The law merely serves to distract the general public from the real terrorism that is happening now – the rampant violations of people’s rights, including the extrajudicial killings of activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers, and the government impunity that accompany such violations. The law does not address these issues, nor does it provide for adequate safeguards in the protection of the rights of the general public.
The Human Security Act of 2007 is not the answer to achieve peace and security throughout the country. This can only be done through good governance, transparency, accountability, a human-rights approach in the implementation of policies and laws, and genuine efforts to ensure public participation. Unfortunately, this is where the present government is sorely lacking. Unless these issues are answered, the Human Security Act of 2007 shall only be another backward step from true national development and security. This is an Act that promotes government-led terrorism.
We call on all lawyers, paralegals, communities, and civil society organizations to demand the repeal of the Human Security Act. We call on all members of civil society to remain vigilant in the protection of the rights of the poor and marginalized sectors and to ensure the accountability of those who perpetrate acts curtailing fundamental freedoms!
The ALTERNATIVE LAW GROUPS, INC.
15 July 2007
Alternative Law Research and Development Center, Inc. (ALTERLAW), Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC), Balay Alternative Legal Advocates for Development in Mindanaw, Inc. (BALAOD MINDANAW), Children’s Legal Bureau (CLB), Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC), Free Rehabilitation, Economic, Education and Legal Assistance Volunteers Association, Inc. (FREELAVA), Kaisahan Tungo sa Kaunlaran ng Kanayunan at Repormang Pansakahan (KAISAHAN), Kanlungan Center Foundation, Inc. (KANLUNGAN), Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan-Friends of the Earth Philippines (LRC-KSK-FOE Phils.), Paglilingkod Batas Pangkapatiran Foundation, Inc. (PBPF), Participatory Research Organization of Communities and Education Towards Struggle for Self-Reliance (PROCESS-PANAY), Pilipina Legal Resources Center (PLRC), Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN), Tanggapang Panligal ng Katutubong Pilipino (PANLIPI), Tanggol Kalikasan (TK), Women’s Legal Bureau (WLB), Women’s Legal Education, Advocacy and Defense Foundation, Inc. (WomenLEAD)
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