Muni-muni ng Isang Gala

More than two months into the Marawi crisis, government troops are still employing daily airstrikes to flush out the local terrorists. The 60-day Martial law declaration which was declared by President Duterte on the same day the siege started have been extended to five months, that is, until the end of December this year. The initial declaration was upheld by the Supreme Court with a vote of 11-3-1. Eleven fully supported the declaration, three limiting it to Marawi only, and one lone dissenter, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen nullyfing the declaration as without legal grounds. The Supreme Court's decision have buttressed the Chiefs of Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police's proposal to recommend the extension of Martial Law until Marawi City is rebuilt. So, when President Duterte wrote a proposal to Congress to extend Martial LAw, it was no surprise that both houses of Congresses readily supported the Preident's proposal.  Meanwhile, almost h...

Kini ang kusganon ug kolektibong panawagan sa Mindanao Peoples' Peace Movement (MPPM), usa ka tri-people ( Bangsamoro, Katawhang Lumad ang mga Migrante sa Mindanao) nga alyansa sa nagkadaiyang grupo gikan sa nagkalaain laing komunidad sa Mindanao nga nagaduso sa pagrespetar sa tawhanong katungod sa tanang katawhan. Buot ipaabot sa MPPM ang iyang mainiton nga pakigtimbaya ug pagsuporta sa mga kaigsuonang Subano sa lungsod sa Midsalip nga sa kasamtangan naga-atubang ining dako nga hulga sa ilang mga komunidad,mao ang pagsulod sa mina nga gipanag-iya sa kumpanyang MMEC, kanhi Geotechniques and Mining Inc (GAMI). Kining pagtimbaya sa kaigsoonang mga Subano bunga sa kasinatian usab sa uban nga katribuhan sa Katawhang Lumad nga nasugamak sa susama nga sitwasyon,diin ang ilang mga yutang kabilin ug ang mga katawhan niini napaubos na sa mando ug pang-abuso sa mga korporasyon nga mina. Ang pagbarog sa mga kaigsoonong Subano sa Midsalip sa pagbalibad sa pagsulod sa MMEC ilang katungod isi...

The Bal'ian leading the agong players and the delegates for the closing ritual. Six (6) T’duray women, one of the more than twenty groups of Indigenous Peoples in Mindanao, with their colorful traditional dress shook my hand vigorously and a couple embraced me tightly as they arrived at the Upi Agricultural School, the venue of the 6 th Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Summit. Tired from the long habal-habal (motorcycle vehicles) travel and some trekking from the interior communities of South Upi, these women were still all smiles as they proudly showed off their agong (an indigenous musical instrument) to me. They were part of the one hundred twenty-five (125) women delegates out of the three hundred ninety-three (393) total participants to the sixth Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Summit last December 12-16,2010 in Upi,Maguindanao, Mindanao,Philippines. They were the agong players that accompany the Bal’ian (spiritual leader) in the opening and closing rituals. Now on its 10 th year,...

The November 23 Maguindanao massacre have shaken many of us. I was in a place with the only access to the outside world is through a 2-channel television when the news of the carnage broke out. Thus, the magnitude of the incident only sinks in the next day when I read it on the papers. A colleague had to make a trip to the City to buy the papers. Scanning the news, a victim’s name from the media caught my attention. A chill ran through me, it was one of our Council of Peoples’ Representatives from the Bagobo tribe, Mr. Napoleon Salaysay, from a local community paper in Cotabato City. I did not have the chance to get to know him fully, but I feel a deep sadness, not only for him but also for the rest of the massacre victims and their grieving families. Like other ordinary citizen, I also felt outraged with the callousness and impunity shown by the perpetrators. When the call from Atty. Harry Roque of CenterLaw Philippines came that his organization is planning to bring in forensic ...