Peacemakers, peacebuilders
HUMAN rights is at the heart of social justice which is the centerpiece of the 1987 Constitution. The Commission of Human Rights (CHR), was created by the Constitution, with 11 powers and functions, among which include investigation on its own or on complaint by any party, all forms of human rights violations, recommend to Congress measures to promote human rights and to provide for compensation to victims of human rights violations, monitor the Government’s compliance with international treaties, and establish a program of research, education, and information to enhance respect for the primacy of human rights. But a few days ago, the House’s supermajority slash its 1628 million budget to 11,000, a move that was interpreted by several sectors as a clear message to mean that the CHR must now close shop. This was followed by protests not only from left-leaning and opposition groups but from the Secretary of Defense himself who had kind words to say about the important role of he institution. While several members of the Senate had expressed commitment towards the restoration of the allocated budget, this action by the Lower House, and the rise of extrajudicial killings, continue to fuel fears especially among the poor sectors who are often the victims of EKJs. Too, there is growing anxiety about the future – that the country may be gradually moving towards authoritarianism. And, IBON, the publication that monitors critical national issues, further noted that the landmark tax reform package would have a negative impact on the lower income groups.
To continue with my piece on our peacemakers who have taken been asked whether we can possibly attain a “nonkilling society,” three eminent citizens replied that it is possible.
Ambassador Howard Q. Dee, founding president of Assisi Development Foundation has this vision of a just and more humane society. Dee also established the Tabang Mindanaw’s Sanctuaries of Peace which had been transforming the lives of marginalized and the indigenous peoples through what he envisions as a shift from State security to a human security paradigm which defines human relationship along a new vision of life and on a platform of peace and human freedom, human rights and human development. He notes the existence of an “unjust social, economic, political and cultural structures that place certain sectors of their people at great disadvantage, exposing them to high risk situations hostile to their survival. In some parts of our own country, mortality of children is twice that of the national average and life expectancy is reduced by twenty years. Thus, it is not only guns but also unjust policies and practices, and even prejudice that can kill. On the rights of indigenous peoples, he describes them as (1) the right to self-determination, to live cultural traditions and customs in peace, free from political and ideological warfare, to be self-governing; (1) the right to development, a development that is just, equitable, and totally human, to be self-nourishing and selfsustaining; (3) the right to education and empowerment to enable them to be self-reliant; (4) the right to ancestral domain and its protection which is the right of IP communities to survival; and (5) the right to enjoy human freedoms, including freedom from fear, from hunger, from prejudice and discrimination, from oppression and armed conflict and freedom to live in peace.
Another peace advocate , Fr. Albert Alejo, SJ., Executive Director, Mindanawan Initiatives for Cultural Dialogue, calls for a disciplined hope, imaginative passion, and passionate patience. On whether we can achieve a nonkilling society, he believes that it is possible because it is imaginable. It is imaginable because we have at least a chance and capacity, to go back to that nonkilling moment in a nonkilling relationship, that moment of the lullaby.
Dr. Macapado Muslim, former president of the Mindanao State University believes that federalism can make governance genuinely multiculturalist, with potential to address the goals of peace and development in Mindanao. This will transform Mindanao into fertile ground for a nonkilling society.
Professor Glenn Paige, founding president of the Center for Global Nonviolence, suggests networking with groups and individuals that are working towards the goals of peace and human rights. They include these groups – nonviolent religions (Quakers, Menonites, Jewish Peace Fellowship); political parties (Fellowship party of England, Plaid Cyrnru of Wales); community development movements (Sarvodaya Shramadana of Sri Lanka); labor movements (United Farm Workers); universities (Gandhigram Rural University); education-training institutions( University of Rhode Island, Martin Luther Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change), political struggle research institutes (Albert Einstein Institution ,US); human rights organizations (Amnesty International, Unrepresented Nations and People’s Organizations; media (Fellowship Magazine, US, Peace News, England); scholarly associations (Nonviolence Commission of the International Peace Research Association); arts (Center for Nonviolence through the Arts, Ahmedabad,India); environmental defense organizations (Greenpeace) security institutions (prisons without armed guards, police without firearms); and government agencies (Thai National Security Council, Bangkok, Non-Violence, Office of the Governor, Antioquia, Colombia).