What is the ‘new normal’ in Mindanao?

MATI,

Davao Oriental — The recent renewal of martial law in Mindanao has left many hands clapping and a number worried about its implications, particularly those who think that it is creating a “new normal” in Mindanao.

Let’s examine this “new normal” from various angles.

For one, those who oppose martial law on the island believe that it will cause more suffering and human rights violations, exacerbate poverty, and drive away investors, akin to the economic dive we took in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

On the other hand, those who applaud martial law say it has achieved the opposite. They cite better than national average economic growth (Regions 11 and 12) and record beating unemployment (3% in the same regions, besting the country’s 5.2).

Moreover, the recent report of the Commission on Human Rights in Region 12 noted that no human rights violations have been noted in their area of operation once notorious for such in ther 1970s. Many expected this agency to produce volumes of atrocities in their very sensitive area of operation, thus were surprised at the announcement.

Numbers may say one thing, but actual stories give it more texture.

In the recent Sulong Pilipinas gatherings of business and civil society stakeholders, the continued imposition of Martial Law was one if the recommendations.

Talking to business and tourism stakeholders on the island, one story struck me: A banana grower shares how tha New Peoples Army once sent him “love letters” extorting money while peace talks with their group were ongoing, and how this stopped with its cancellation and the imposition of martial law.

A business leader from Davao Oriental notes how they cannot cope with the influx of tourists to this once unknown yet strikingly beatiful eastern coast of Mindanao, now boasting a world heritage site and waves that now draw a larger global crowd of surfers and adventure tourists. New investments in hotels and resorts are needed to meet demand.

Curiously, many who oppose the continued imposition of martial law also say that the once violent conditions no longer exist, or at least not in the same scale.

Those who support martial law may actually agree with them, but say that threats remain hidden and will require that the blanket provided by the measure reassures them that in case such events take place, any violence can be contained the same way it happened in Marawi.

What the supporters and oppositors of martial law can agree on even more is how the growth has changed the skylines of Mindanao’s major cities.

Cagayan de Oro and Davao cities are now dotted with new high-rise buildings and central business districts, and once empty commercial lots in many other cities like Tagum, Iligan and Butuan now filled with construction activity, causing heavier vehicular traffic made worse with mallwide midnight sales now common in Mindanao’s major urban centers (where an increasing number of the islands residents now live) as Christmas draws near.

It seems that even as they disagree on Martial Law, the growth, and the traffic that has come during its imposition are the “new normals” they can agree on.

Oh my? what has happened to the House?

Recent events at the House of Representatives may not be good for the leadership of the House of Representatives led by Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Hopes were high that her assumption in June would bring the supermajority support of the President to bear on new laws that would add to the many reforms achieved in his first two years. Many expected the GMA led House to deliver the needed legislation meant to further cement the Duterte reform legacy. Has it?

It serms that with accusations of improper “pork” allocations in the 2019 budget and what federalism advocates say is a lackluster draft federal constitution (a key reform) her own legacy as speaker is in jeopardy.