The Challenge and Call of the Peace Processby REV. REX RB REYES, JR.
General Secretary, National Council of Churches in the PhilippinesConvenor, Pilgrims for Peace
Ecumenical Liturgy for the Resumption of Formal Peace TalksUniversity of Santo Tomas, February 15, 2011
Your Excellency the Honorable Teofisto Guingona, (I am honored by the title you bestowed on me – “the thinking priest” - am happy enough to be known as the Igorot priest.) Bishops, Reverend Fathers and Pastors, Brothers and Sisters of the Religious Orders, Dean Sison of the UST Graduate School, mga kababayan,
Thank you for joining us today. Among the sectors that should be happiest endorsers of the peace process should be the churchpeople or to be more precise people who claim to have faith in God. Among the institutions that should willingly throw its weight into the peace process are church institutions. And among organizations and orders that should be the easiest to call upon to show warm bodies and mobilize even if it were a mere dramatic show of force should be church organizations and orders.
Yet, we are not united enough. Dean Sison apologized earlier that she could only offer a small space for our use today. Let us not stop growing in numbers until such time that we can fill up the UST stadium. Let me, however, venture to say that a reason why we cannot achieve that unity for peace and justice is because we have often confined these terms as concepts and/or theories rather than concrete relational terms. Just this morning, driving together to the office, Bishop Toquero, Vice Chair of NCCP, co-convenor of EBF and a happily retired Methodist bishop (I emphasize happy because the bishop can serve more people now.) recalled how he told the media gathered that as long as more people are getting hungry, more people are getting killed extrajudicially, more people are losing land, forcibly migrating, denied basic rights, there can be no peace, even if Christian would recite “Righteousness exalts a nation” as a mantra without lifting a finger to live out justice and peace. In this hall, I am honored and pleased to see older brothers and sisters, whose ranks I look forward to joining soon. They have held on to a basic principle – not only to seek peace but to pursue it. They have consecrated their lives and service to these twin causes mainly because of their concrete experience with the people they met and served and because they heartily believe that while Jesus Christ had a place for all he held a special place in his heart for the intentionally deprived and the vulnerable. They did so with the belief that justice and peace is the way towards the “new heaven and a new earth.”
In this hall, too, are young people – the faces of the future. And certainly youth hold so much promise. The latest events in the so-called Middle East showed that such promise is neither a thing to be imagined nor simply confined to the ideal. It is a promise that is not remote in its fulfillment.
We are most certainly glad that the exploratory talks between the GPH and the MILF took place last February 9-10. We are equally glad that after nine horrible years of Arroyo’s fascism, the formal peace talks finally resumes today. We support and pray for its success not because it will stop the war but more so because we hope it will address the issues of poverty injustice, landlessness and oppression that have been, systematically in place in this country for years. And we are glad that aside from the resumption of the formal peace talks, we note as well the intention to convene the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) to deal with the issues of human rights violations. The JMC is the mechanism to help address the issue of human rights violations by both sides. I was told the work of the JMC also includes the victims of human rights violations during the Martial Law years.
President Aquino has made good his campaign promise that the peace process is a way to look into the roots of the conflict in the Philippines. The National Democratic Front has also stood by its word based on the same premise. It is good. We are waiting.
I began by mentioning the presence of the venerables and the youth in this hall. We who are older long to see not just strands of peace and justice but whole locks of it. The youth also in claiming the future desire a just and peaceful present. Let us then be vigilant that nobody hijacks the formal peace talks and the succeeding ones.
Let us not get tired organizing and attending forums like this. Let us go ahead and have more of it, even if it would seem we see the same faces again and again. At the end of each forum we know that there will be one or ten more new pilgrims for peace. For we have seen the price of unpeace. If it continues to be so, it might be so late when younger leaders shall emerge – more daring and more creative in perpetrating violence and armed conflict. Peace talks is a viable alternative means towards resolving conflicts.
Let me conclude by quoting a great person who loved to the end. “Let me say at the risk of being ridiculous that the true revolutionary is guided by the feelings of love.”
Dean Lilian Sison of the UST Graduate School of Theology opens
the ecumenical gathering with a welcome message.
Former Vice-President Teofisto Guingona Jr. welcomes personalities
and organizations emphasizing the urgent need to work for a just and lasting peace.
Hon. Satur Ocampo from Makabayan shares the historical roots of
armed conflict in the country explaining the continuing economic
and social inequity benefiting the few and foreign investors.
Mr. Nardy Sabino (Promotion of Church People's Response) shares the urgent
task of peace-building and enjoins everyone to take active and sustaining participation.
Bp. Sol Toquero (United Methodist Church) and Rev. Rex Reyes (National Council of Churches in the Philippines) lead the Peace torch-lighting enjoining everyone to keep the flame of peace-building enduring.
From Flickers of Light to a Bright New Day
( A Statement of the Ecumenical Bishops Forum Congratulating the Negotiating Panels of the Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines for the Success of the First Round of the Resumption of Formal Peace Talks)
The Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF) is very much elated to learn that the first round of the resumed formal Peace Talks between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Oslo, Norway on February 15-21 this year was a big success. The fact that the talks resumed after six long years of suspension was gain enough. But more than that, the initial agreements arrived at so far between the two parties give ample hope to the broad masses of suffering Filipino people that a just and lasting peace in the land is possible.
Both parties re-affirmed the previous agreements such as The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantee (JASIG), and the Comprehensive Agreement on, Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
Their affirmation of national sovereignty as the framework and basic principle of the talks is laudable as far as the Filipino nation is concerned. With this, we believe that both parties will not allow any powerful foreign country to intrude into and pose hindrances to the ongoing negotiation and thereby both parties ensure its smooth flow until it ends in victory.
The reconvening of the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) for the CARHRIHL was also a positive step to address the complaints from the government side and the rebel side, and satisfactorily resolve the issues.
It is also good news that both parties have taken steps through their respective Working Groups to prepare the ground for the discussion of the remaining substantive agenda such as the social and economic reforms, political and constitutional reforms, and the cessation of hostilities and disposition of forces.
Finally, the EBF welcomes with much expectation the timeframe agreed upon by both parties for the whole peace process to take place, with definite dates to complete and sign agreements on specific issues under consideration:
Ø Comprehensive Agreement on Social and economic Reforms (CASER) by September 2011
Overcoming the initial obstacles may lead to fruition. The flickers of light may turn to a bright new day.
In view of all these, we wholeheartedly congratulate the GPH Negotiating Panel led by Atty. Alexander Padilla and the NDFP Negotiating Panel led by Mr. Luis Jalandoni, and their respective staff, consultants and other resource persons, for doing their best to attain what they had accomplished.
We hope and pray that the eighteen (18) month timeframe they gave themselves to finish the whole peace process will be met. We ardently look forward to that day when swords are turned into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks (Isaiah 2:4), and where the Filipino people “will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places” (Isaiah 32:18).
May the God of justice and peace guide and accompany the two panels as they steer the negotiation towards a triumphant conclusion for the good of the Filipino nation and people, in fulfillment of the biblical promise of “full and abundant life for all” (John 10:10).
(Sgd.) BISHOP ELMER M. BOLOCON
Sgd.) BISHOP SOLITO K. TOQUERO
Sowing the Seeds of Peace
Mindanao Movement for a Just and Lasting Peace
MANIFESTO
Advance the Mindanao People’s Aspirations for A Just and Lasting Peace
We the different organizations and individuals from various parts in Mindanao, including churchpeople, government officials and public servants, professionals, Lumads, Bangsamoro, the basic sectors, women, community and people’s organizations, human rights groups, and entrepreneurs, have gathered here in Cagayan de Oro for the Fellowship for Peace held in February 13, 2011.
We greet with jubilation with the resumption of the GPH-NDFP peace talks this 15-21 February 2011 in Oslo, Norway to discuss the social and economic reforms – the core substantive agenda of the peace negotiations. We hope for adherence to all previously-signed agreements between the two sides.
Likewise, we believe that the resumption of the GPH-MILF peace talks provides the same opportunity of getting immediate benefits for the people of Mindanao particularly through reforms that address the Moro question.
As Filipinos, we cannot miss this opportunity to support the resumption of peace talks, with the hope that a negotiated settlement will lead to the attainment of meaningful and long-term reforms for the people by addressing the roots of the armed conflict.
We are united in the common aspiration for peace based on justice. We believe that for genuine and lasting peace to be attained, the roots of the armed conflict should be addressed; we are thus reminded of the words of the great nationalist and human rights advocate Jose W. Diokno: “Peace means jobs and justice, food and freedom.”
We are inspired to work for peace, drawing from each of each of our organization’s statements of faith and commitment to work for peace.
As such, we commit to support the talks on February 15 along with fervent prayers and manifestations of support to the GRP-NDFP peace talks through simultaneous ecumenical gatherings across Mindanao
Along with this, we pledge to sow the seeds of peace in Mindanao by carrying out the following:
- to hold simultaneous Mindanao-wide ecumenical and interfaith gatherings for peace on February 15, the first day of the GPH-NDFP peace talks and the beginning of unilaterally-declared ceasefire
- to call for a Multisectoral Consultation-Workshops for the crafting of the Mindanao People’s Peace Agenda that can be submitted as our “contribution” to the upcoming peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway
- declare all Sundays of feb and march as Sundays of prayer in support for this peace talks.
- to invite the GPH and NDFP panels to a Mindanao Peace Forum as a post-session report to the people of Mindanao
- to carry out thoroughgoing education on peace based on justice and the peace talks among our various constituencies especially at the grassroots level
- To initiate other necessary undertakings and activities as a movement to help the GRP and NDFP peace talks move forward to a higher level in the substantive agenda.
We come together to sow the seeds of peace. Sowing the seeds of peace is the essence of peace negotiations. With continued dialogue, we are hopeful that our people will reap the harvest of peace that is anchored on social justice, a peace that is liberating and lasting for future generations.
Signed February 13, 2011 at the Fellowship for Peace hosted by the Ecumenical Bishops Forum held in Dynasty Court Hotel, Cagayan de Oro.
STATEMENT ON THE CLOSING OF THE FIRST ROUND OF THE GPH-NDFP PEACE TALKS
February 23, 2011
We in the Sisters’ Association in Mindanao (SAMIN) express our support to the positive outcome of the first round of the peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Oslo, Norway.
We are pleased with the conclusion of the talks last February 22 that broke six years of impasse, and paved the way for the talks to move forward to achieve a settled negotiation within 18 months.
We believe in the power of dialogue. Dialogue must be sincerely done to unselfishly uphold the common good of humankind and the whole of Creation. We hope therefore that the GPH-NDFP dialogue results to life-bearing agreements that uplift those who live in the margins and lead them to fullness of life. In this sense, we are one with the common aspirations of the poor for genuine agrarian reformand national industrialization. The need for a redistribution of wealth is echoed in the words of Pope Pius XI as affirmed in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church: “The distribution of created goods, which, as every discerning person knows, is labouring today under the gravest evils due to the huge disparity between the few exceedingly rich and the unnumbered propertyless, must be effectively called back to and brought into conformity with the norms of the common good, that is, social justice”[354].
We take the side of the poor and the oppressed. It is their agenda for peace that should breathe life into the text of any peace agreement. For their agenda for social and economic reforms is the very essence of resolving the roots of the armed conflict. This is an unequivocal right as stated by the Church: “Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services.” (Par 11, Pacem in Terris)
We uphold the rights and welfare of women as a measurement of any relevant peace agreement. Social and economic reforms must benefit women and children, being more than half of the population, and being the most vulnerable sectors in any given society. Women must benefit the fruits of economic justice and gender equality and must be able to reclaim their rights as persons. No society can be truly peaceful until all women live with justice and dignity.
We are in solidarity with the struggles for self-determination of our Moro and Lumad brothers and sisters. They deserve their proper place in society, with equal access to land and resources, free from discrimination and oppression, and able to determine their destiny as a people with distinct cultures and collective aspirations. Social and economic reforms therefore must accord them respect for their ancestral lands and their right to self-determination.
Lastly, but not least importantly, we care for the integrity of Creation as a legitimate agenda in the peace negotiations. Social and economic reforms and justice for the environment are integral to each other. Without upholding the integrity of Creation, social and economic reforms will not be sustainable. At the same time, any effort to conserve the environment without regard for the welfare of the poor, will be empty. Pope John Paul II states this clearly: “It must also be said that the proper ecological balance will not be found without directly addressing the structural forms of poverty that exist throughout the world.” (Peace with God the Creator, Peace with all Creation, World Day of Peace, 1 January 1990).
We therefore urge both parties in the armed conflict to work towards the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms that embodies the rights and welfare of those who till the land, who labor to produce goods for all, of women and children, of national minorities, and which respects the integrity of the whole of Creation.
As women religious in Mindanao, we promise to contribute our efforts towards building peace based on justice. In this island which has seen much misery, poverty, and conflict, we continue to bear witness to our people’s day-to-day journey for a life of peace. We hope to continue propagating peace education in our communities, apostolates, schools, and ministries. We offer our prayers and our actions so that social and economic reforms may be enjoyed by the poor by building the Kindom of God here and now.
It is our hope that the outcome of the GPH-NDFP peace talks will resonate thePsalms: “The poor themselves shall possess the earth, and they will find their delight in the abundance of peace. The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” — Psalm 37:11, 29.
SR. FRANZIA BLANDO, RGS
Board of Trustees
Sisters’ Association in Mindanao
0906-258-5738
Sisters’ Association in Mindanao (SAMIN) is an association of women religious living out the Church option for the poor, voicing out the call for social justice, peace and patrimony.
The Challenge and Call of the Peace Process
by REV. REX RB REYES, JR.
General Secretary, National Council of Churches in the Philippines
Convenor, Pilgrims for Peace
Ecumenical Liturgy for the Resumption of Formal Peace Talks
University of Santo Tomas, February 15, 2011
Thank you for joining us today. Among the sectors that should be happiest endorsers of the peace process should be the churchpeople or to be more precise people who claim to have faith in God. Among the institutions that should willingly throw its weight into the peace process are church institutions. And among organizations and orders that should be the easiest to call upon to show warm bodies and mobilize even if it were a mere dramatic show of force should be church organizations and orders.
Yet, we are not united enough. Dean Sison apologized earlier that she could only offer a small space for our use today. Let us not stop growing in numbers until such time that we can fill up the UST stadium. Let me, however, venture to say that a reason why we cannot achieve that unity for peace and justice is because we have often confined these terms as concepts and/or theories rather than concrete relational terms. Just this morning, driving together to the office, Bishop Toquero, Vice Chair of NCCP, co-convenor of EBF and a happily retired Methodist bishop (I emphasize happy because the bishop can serve more people now.) recalled how he told the media gathered that as long as more people are getting hungry, more people are getting killed extrajudicially, more people are losing land, forcibly migrating, denied basic rights, there can be no peace, even if Christian would recite “Righteousness exalts a nation” as a mantra without lifting a finger to live out justice and peace. In this hall, I am honored and pleased to see older brothers and sisters, whose ranks I look forward to joining soon. They have held on to a basic principle – not only to seek peace but to pursue it. They have consecrated their lives and service to these twin causes mainly because of their concrete experience with the people they met and served and because they heartily believe that while Jesus Christ had a place for all he held a special place in his heart for the intentionally deprived and the vulnerable. They did so with the belief that justice and peace is the way towards the “new heaven and a new earth.”
In this hall, too, are young people – the faces of the future. And certainly youth hold so much promise. The latest events in the so-called Middle East showed that such promise is neither a thing to be imagined nor simply confined to the ideal. It is a promise that is not remote in its fulfillment.
We are most certainly glad that the exploratory talks between the GPH and the MILF took place last February 9-10. We are equally glad that after nine horrible years of Arroyo’s fascism, the formal peace talks finally resumes today. We support and pray for its success not because it will stop the war but more so because we hope it will address the issues of poverty injustice, landlessness and oppression that have been, systematically in place in this country for years. And we are glad that aside from the resumption of the formal peace talks, we note as well the intention to convene the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) to deal with the issues of human rights violations. The JMC is the mechanism to help address the issue of human rights violations by both sides. I was told the work of the JMC also includes the victims of human rights violations during the Martial Law years.
President Aquino has made good his campaign promise that the peace process is a way to look into the roots of the conflict in the Philippines. The National Democratic Front has also stood by its word based on the same premise. It is good. We are waiting.
I began by mentioning the presence of the venerables and the youth in this hall. We who are older long to see not just strands of peace and justice but whole locks of it. The youth also in claiming the future desire a just and peaceful present. Let us then be vigilant that nobody hijacks the formal peace talks and the succeeding ones.
Let us not get tired organizing and attending forums like this. Let us go ahead and have more of it, even if it would seem we see the same faces again and again. At the end of each forum we know that there will be one or ten more new pilgrims for peace. For we have seen the price of unpeace. If it continues to be so, it might be so late when younger leaders shall emerge – more daring and more creative in perpetrating violence and armed conflict. Peace talks is a viable alternative means towards resolving conflicts.
Let me conclude by quoting a great person who loved to the end. “Let me say at the risk of being ridiculous that the true revolutionary is guided by the feelings of love.”
 |
| Dean Lilian Sison of the UST Graduate School of Theology opens the ecumenical gathering with a welcome message. |
 |
| Former Vice-President Teofisto Guingona Jr. welcomes personalities and organizations emphasizing the urgent need to work for a just and lasting peace. |
 |
| Hon. Satur Ocampo from Makabayan shares the historical roots of armed conflict in the country explaining the continuing economic and social inequity benefiting the few and foreign investors. |
 |
| Mr. Nardy Sabino (Promotion of Church People's Response) shares the urgent task of peace-building and enjoins everyone to take active and sustaining participation. |
 |
| Bp. Sol Toquero (United Methodist Church) and Rev. Rex Reyes (National Council of Churches in the Philippines) lead the Peace torch-lighting enjoining everyone to keep the flame of peace-building enduring. |
From Flickers of Light to a Bright New Day
( A Statement of the Ecumenical Bishops Forum Congratulating the Negotiating Panels of the Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines for the Success of the First Round of the Resumption of Formal Peace Talks)
The Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF) is very much elated to learn that the first round of the resumed formal Peace Talks between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Oslo, Norway on February 15-21 this year was a big success. The fact that the talks resumed after six long years of suspension was gain enough. But more than that, the initial agreements arrived at so far between the two parties give ample hope to the broad masses of suffering Filipino people that a just and lasting peace in the land is possible.
Both parties re-affirmed the previous agreements such as The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantee (JASIG), and the Comprehensive Agreement on, Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
Their affirmation of national sovereignty as the framework and basic principle of the talks is laudable as far as the Filipino nation is concerned. With this, we believe that both parties will not allow any powerful foreign country to intrude into and pose hindrances to the ongoing negotiation and thereby both parties ensure its smooth flow until it ends in victory.
The reconvening of the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) for the CARHRIHL was also a positive step to address the complaints from the government side and the rebel side, and satisfactorily resolve the issues.
It is also good news that both parties have taken steps through their respective Working Groups to prepare the ground for the discussion of the remaining substantive agenda such as the social and economic reforms, political and constitutional reforms, and the cessation of hostilities and disposition of forces.
Finally, the EBF welcomes with much expectation the timeframe agreed upon by both parties for the whole peace process to take place, with definite dates to complete and sign agreements on specific issues under consideration:
Ø Comprehensive Agreement on Social and economic Reforms (CASER) by September 2011
Ø Comprehensive Agreement of Political and Constitutional Reforms (CACPR) by February 2012
Ø Comprehensive Agreement on the End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces (CAEHDF) by June 2012
Overcoming the initial obstacles may lead to fruition. The flickers of light may turn to a bright new day.
In view of all these, we wholeheartedly congratulate the GPH Negotiating Panel led by Atty. Alexander Padilla and the NDFP Negotiating Panel led by Mr. Luis Jalandoni, and their respective staff, consultants and other resource persons, for doing their best to attain what they had accomplished.
We hope and pray that the eighteen (18) month timeframe they gave themselves to finish the whole peace process will be met. We ardently look forward to that day when swords are turned into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks (Isaiah 2:4), and where the Filipino people “will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places” (Isaiah 32:18).
May the God of justice and peace guide and accompany the two panels as they steer the negotiation towards a triumphant conclusion for the good of the Filipino nation and people, in fulfillment of the biblical promise of “full and abundant life for all” (John 10:10).
(Sgd.) BISHOP ELMER M. BOLOCON
Executive Secretary
(Sgd.) MOST REV. DEOGRACIAS S. INIGUEZ, JR., D.D
Co-chairperson
Sgd.) BISHOP SOLITO K. TOQUERO
Co-chairperson
March 2, 2011
Sowing the Seeds of Peace
Mindanao Movement for a Just and Lasting Peace
MANIFESTO
Advance the Mindanao People’s Aspirations for A Just and Lasting Peace
We the different organizations and individuals from various parts in Mindanao, including churchpeople, government officials and public servants, professionals, Lumads, Bangsamoro, the basic sectors, women, community and people’s organizations, human rights groups, and entrepreneurs, have gathered here in Cagayan de Oro for the Fellowship for Peace held in February 13, 2011.
We greet with jubilation with the resumption of the GPH-NDFP peace talks this 15-21 February 2011 in Oslo, Norway to discuss the social and economic reforms – the core substantive agenda of the peace negotiations. We hope for adherence to all previously-signed agreements between the two sides.
Likewise, we believe that the resumption of the GPH-MILF peace talks provides the same opportunity of getting immediate benefits for the people of Mindanao particularly through reforms that address the Moro question.
As Filipinos, we cannot miss this opportunity to support the resumption of peace talks, with the hope that a negotiated settlement will lead to the attainment of meaningful and long-term reforms for the people by addressing the roots of the armed conflict.
We are united in the common aspiration for peace based on justice. We believe that for genuine and lasting peace to be attained, the roots of the armed conflict should be addressed; we are thus reminded of the words of the great nationalist and human rights advocate Jose W. Diokno: “Peace means jobs and justice, food and freedom.”
We are inspired to work for peace, drawing from each of each of our organization’s statements of faith and commitment to work for peace.
As such, we commit to support the talks on February 15 along with fervent prayers and manifestations of support to the GRP-NDFP peace talks through simultaneous ecumenical gatherings across Mindanao
Along with this, we pledge to sow the seeds of peace in Mindanao by carrying out the following:
Signed February 13, 2011 at the Fellowship for Peace hosted by the Ecumenical Bishops Forum held in Dynasty Court Hotel, Cagayan de Oro.
STATEMENT ON THE CLOSING OF THE FIRST ROUND OF THE GPH-NDFP PEACE TALKS
February 23, 2011
We in the Sisters’ Association in Mindanao (SAMIN) express our support to the positive outcome of the first round of the peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Oslo, Norway.
We are pleased with the conclusion of the talks last February 22 that broke six years of impasse, and paved the way for the talks to move forward to achieve a settled negotiation within 18 months.
We believe in the power of dialogue. Dialogue must be sincerely done to unselfishly uphold the common good of humankind and the whole of Creation. We hope therefore that the GPH-NDFP dialogue results to life-bearing agreements that uplift those who live in the margins and lead them to fullness of life. In this sense, we are one with the common aspirations of the poor for genuine agrarian reformand national industrialization. The need for a redistribution of wealth is echoed in the words of Pope Pius XI as affirmed in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church: “The distribution of created goods, which, as every discerning person knows, is labouring today under the gravest evils due to the huge disparity between the few exceedingly rich and the unnumbered propertyless, must be effectively called back to and brought into conformity with the norms of the common good, that is, social justice”[354].
We take the side of the poor and the oppressed. It is their agenda for peace that should breathe life into the text of any peace agreement. For their agenda for social and economic reforms is the very essence of resolving the roots of the armed conflict. This is an unequivocal right as stated by the Church: “Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services.” (Par 11, Pacem in Terris)
We uphold the rights and welfare of women as a measurement of any relevant peace agreement. Social and economic reforms must benefit women and children, being more than half of the population, and being the most vulnerable sectors in any given society. Women must benefit the fruits of economic justice and gender equality and must be able to reclaim their rights as persons. No society can be truly peaceful until all women live with justice and dignity.
We are in solidarity with the struggles for self-determination of our Moro and Lumad brothers and sisters. They deserve their proper place in society, with equal access to land and resources, free from discrimination and oppression, and able to determine their destiny as a people with distinct cultures and collective aspirations. Social and economic reforms therefore must accord them respect for their ancestral lands and their right to self-determination.
Lastly, but not least importantly, we care for the integrity of Creation as a legitimate agenda in the peace negotiations. Social and economic reforms and justice for the environment are integral to each other. Without upholding the integrity of Creation, social and economic reforms will not be sustainable. At the same time, any effort to conserve the environment without regard for the welfare of the poor, will be empty. Pope John Paul II states this clearly: “It must also be said that the proper ecological balance will not be found without directly addressing the structural forms of poverty that exist throughout the world.” (Peace with God the Creator, Peace with all Creation, World Day of Peace, 1 January 1990).
We therefore urge both parties in the armed conflict to work towards the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms that embodies the rights and welfare of those who till the land, who labor to produce goods for all, of women and children, of national minorities, and which respects the integrity of the whole of Creation.
As women religious in Mindanao, we promise to contribute our efforts towards building peace based on justice. In this island which has seen much misery, poverty, and conflict, we continue to bear witness to our people’s day-to-day journey for a life of peace. We hope to continue propagating peace education in our communities, apostolates, schools, and ministries. We offer our prayers and our actions so that social and economic reforms may be enjoyed by the poor by building the Kindom of God here and now.
It is our hope that the outcome of the GPH-NDFP peace talks will resonate thePsalms: “The poor themselves shall possess the earth, and they will find their delight in the abundance of peace. The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” — Psalm 37:11, 29.
SR. FRANZIA BLANDO, RGS
Board of Trustees
Sisters’ Association in Mindanao
0906-258-5738
Sisters’ Association in Mindanao (SAMIN) is an association of women religious living out the Church option for the poor, voicing out the call for social justice, peace and patrimony.
Sowing the Seeds of Peace
Mindanao Movement for a Just and Lasting Peace
MANIFESTO
Advance the Mindanao People’s Aspirations for A Just and Lasting Peace
We the different organizations and individuals from various parts in Mindanao, including churchpeople, government officials and public servants, professionals, Lumads, Bangsamoro, the basic sectors, women, community and people’s organizations, human rights groups, and entrepreneurs, have gathered here in Cagayan de Oro for the Fellowship for Peace held in February 13, 2011.We greet with jubilation with the resumption of the GPH-NDFP peace talks this 15-21 February 2011 in Oslo, Norway to discuss the social and economic reforms – the core substantive agenda of the peace negotiations. We hope for adherence to all previously-signed agreements between the two sides.
Likewise, we believe that the resumption of the GPH-MILF peace talks provides the same opportunity of getting immediate benefits for the people of Mindanao particularly through reforms that address the Moro question.
As Filipinos, we cannot miss this opportunity to support the resumption of peace talks, with the hope that a negotiated settlement will lead to the attainment of meaningful and long-term reforms for the people by addressing the roots of the armed conflict.
We are united in the common aspiration for peace based on justice. We believe that for genuine and lasting peace to be attained, the roots of the armed conflict should be addressed; we are thus reminded of the words of the great nationalist and human rights advocate Jose W. Diokno: “Peace means jobs and justice, food and freedom.”
We are inspired to work for peace, drawing from each of each of our organization’s statements of faith and commitment to work for peace.
As such, we commit to support the talks on February 15 along with fervent prayers and manifestations of support to the GRP-NDFP peace talks through simultaneous ecumenical gatherings across Mindanao
Along with this, we pledge to sow the seeds of peace in Mindanao by carrying out the following:
- to hold simultaneous Mindanao-wide ecumenical and interfaith gatherings for peace on February 15, the first day of the GPH-NDFP peace talks and the beginning of unilaterally-declared ceasefire
- to call for a Multisectoral Consultation-Workshops for the crafting of the Mindanao People’s Peace Agenda that can be submitted as our “contribution” to the upcoming peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway
- declare all Sundays of feb and march as Sundays of prayer in support for this peace talks.
- to invite the GPH and NDFP panels to a Mindanao Peace Forum as a post-session report to the people of Mindanao
- to carry out thoroughgoing education on peace based on justice and the peace talks among our various constituencies especially at the grassroots level
- To initiate other necessary undertakings and activities as a movement to help the GRP and NDFP peace talks move forward to a higher level in the substantive agenda.
Signed February 13, 2011 at the Fellowship for Peace hosted by the Ecumenical Bishops Forum held in Dynasty Court Hotel, Cagayan de Oro.
STATEMENT ON THE CLOSING OF THE FIRST ROUND OF THE GPH-NDFP PEACE TALKS
February 23, 2011
We in the Sisters’ Association in Mindanao (SAMIN) express our support to the positive outcome of the first round of the peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Oslo, Norway.
We are pleased with the conclusion of the talks last February 22 that broke six years of impasse, and paved the way for the talks to move forward to achieve a settled negotiation within 18 months.
We believe in the power of dialogue. Dialogue must be sincerely done to unselfishly uphold the common good of humankind and the whole of Creation. We hope therefore that the GPH-NDFP dialogue results to life-bearing agreements that uplift those who live in the margins and lead them to fullness of life. In this sense, we are one with the common aspirations of the poor for genuine agrarian reformand national industrialization. The need for a redistribution of wealth is echoed in the words of Pope Pius XI as affirmed in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church: “The distribution of created goods, which, as every discerning person knows, is labouring today under the gravest evils due to the huge disparity between the few exceedingly rich and the unnumbered propertyless, must be effectively called back to and brought into conformity with the norms of the common good, that is, social justice”[354].
We take the side of the poor and the oppressed. It is their agenda for peace that should breathe life into the text of any peace agreement. For their agenda for social and economic reforms is the very essence of resolving the roots of the armed conflict. This is an unequivocal right as stated by the Church: “Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services.” (Par 11, Pacem in Terris)
We uphold the rights and welfare of women as a measurement of any relevant peace agreement. Social and economic reforms must benefit women and children, being more than half of the population, and being the most vulnerable sectors in any given society. Women must benefit the fruits of economic justice and gender equality and must be able to reclaim their rights as persons. No society can be truly peaceful until all women live with justice and dignity.
We are in solidarity with the struggles for self-determination of our Moro and Lumad brothers and sisters. They deserve their proper place in society, with equal access to land and resources, free from discrimination and oppression, and able to determine their destiny as a people with distinct cultures and collective aspirations. Social and economic reforms therefore must accord them respect for their ancestral lands and their right to self-determination.
Lastly, but not least importantly, we care for the integrity of Creation as a legitimate agenda in the peace negotiations. Social and economic reforms and justice for the environment are integral to each other. Without upholding the integrity of Creation, social and economic reforms will not be sustainable. At the same time, any effort to conserve the environment without regard for the welfare of the poor, will be empty. Pope John Paul II states this clearly: “It must also be said that the proper ecological balance will not be found without directly addressing the structural forms of poverty that exist throughout the world.” (Peace with God the Creator, Peace with all Creation, World Day of Peace, 1 January 1990).
We therefore urge both parties in the armed conflict to work towards the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms that embodies the rights and welfare of those who till the land, who labor to produce goods for all, of women and children, of national minorities, and which respects the integrity of the whole of Creation.
As women religious in Mindanao, we promise to contribute our efforts towards building peace based on justice. In this island which has seen much misery, poverty, and conflict, we continue to bear witness to our people’s day-to-day journey for a life of peace. We hope to continue propagating peace education in our communities, apostolates, schools, and ministries. We offer our prayers and our actions so that social and economic reforms may be enjoyed by the poor by building the Kindom of God here and now.
It is our hope that the outcome of the GPH-NDFP peace talks will resonate thePsalms: “The poor themselves shall possess the earth, and they will find their delight in the abundance of peace. The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” — Psalm 37:11, 29.
SR. FRANZIA BLANDO, RGS
Board of Trustees
Sisters’ Association in Mindanao
0906-258-5738
Sisters’ Association in Mindanao (SAMIN) is an association of women religious living out the Church option for the poor, voicing out the call for social justice, peace and patrimony.
