Afternoon News Monitoring Report January 16, 2015 GPH-MILF Pope Francis endorses Mindanao peace process – Rappler / Specials Writer: Angela Casauay I express my trust that [this] will result in just solutions in accord with the nations founding principles and respectful of the inalienable rights of all MANILA, Philippines – Since embarking on a two-nation Asian tour this week, Pope Francis has endorsed the ongoing peace process in Mindanao twice. Addressing about 450 guests at the Malacañang Palace Friday, January 16, Pope Francis commended the praiseworthy efforts to promote dialogue and cooperation between followers of different religions in the Philippines. In a particular way, I express my trust that the progress made in bringing peace to the south of the country will result in just solutions in accord with the nations founding principles and respectful of the inalienable rights of all, including the indigenous peoples and religious minorities, Francis said in his first speech in the Philippines. Francis has made a mark in being a peacemaker after his decision to make a surprise stop at the West Bank went viral. He also brought this message of peace to Sri Lanka. In the Philippines, Muslim leaders welcomed Francis as he is scheduled to meet with leaders of different religions during his trip. His comments on the peace process in southern Philippines come at a time when Congress is deliberating a proposed law that seeks to install an autonomous government in the south that will have greater fiscal and political powers than the current one in place. The establishment of a new region – to be called the Bangsamoro – is aimed at ending more than 4 decades of war in Mindanao. Before leaving for Sri Lanka on Monday, Francis also cited the gains made in resolving conflict in Mindanao. “I note with pleasure that last March an agreement was signed to end long years of tension in the Philippines,” Francis told told members of the Vatican diplomatic corps. The signing of a peace deal between the government and the Philippines largest organized armed group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), in March 2014 has raised hopes for lasting peace in Mindanao. MILF leaders invited the Pope to visit Cotabato City through a letter sent to Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, but there was not enough time for the Pope to do so. In the letter, the MILF asked the Pope to mention the peace process during his visit. Of course, we thank him for the endorsement. We also thank Cardinal Quevedo for bringing the letter to the Pope, said MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal. Pope: bringing peace to Mindanao “will result in just solutions” – Mindanews / Peace Process Writer: Carolyn O. Arguillas DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/16 January) — President Aquino said nothing about the peace processes involving the Bangsamoro and the communist guerrillas in his speech to welcome Pope Francis in Malacanang but the Pope expressed trust that the progress made in bringing peace to Mindanao “will result in just solutions” in accordance with the nation’s founding principles “and respectful of the inalienable rights of all, including the indigenous peoples and religious minorities.” The Pope praised the country for its rich cultural and religious heritage but posed a challenge and “a word of prayerful encouragement” that the deepest spiritual values of the Filipino people continue to find expression “in your efforts to provide your fellow citizens with an integral human development. In this way, each person will be able to fulfill his or her potential, and thus contribute wisely and well to the future of this country.” He also said he was confident that the “praiseworthy” efforts to promote dialogue and cooperation between the followers of different religious in the country, “will prove fruitful in the pursuit of this noble goal” (integral human development). “In a particular way, I express my trust that the progress made in bringing peace to the south of the country will result in just solutions in accord with the nation’s founding principles and respectful of the inalienable rights of all, including the indigenous peoples and religious minorities,” the Pope said. The government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed a Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) on March 27 last year and are awaiting action from Congress on their draft Bangsamoro Basic Law for the future Bangsamoro Government that both parties hope will be installed by June 30, 2016, the end of the six-year term of the Aquino administration. Cardinal Orlando B. Quevedo, the Archbishop of Cotabato, in a paper delivered at the 27th General Assembly of the Bishops-Business Conference in Taguig, Metro Manila on July 8, 2003, shortly after the 2003 Buliok war, cited injustice as the root of the conflict with the Moro: “Injustice to the Moro Identity; Injustice to Moro Political Sovereignty; and Injustice to Moro integral development.” Quevedo was then President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Pope Francis named him as Mindanao’s first Cardinal in January last year. “With the loss of political sovereignty came the loss of great chunks of Moro ancestral lands. Much of the loss resulted from a long series of legal enactments by the Philippine Commission, the Commonwealth government, and the post-independence government. Moro writers call this ‘legalized land grabbing.’” Quevedo wrote. “The loss of land was compounded by government neglect of the Moro right to integral development during the Commonwealth and post-independence governments. In all dimensions of human development, political, economic, educational, and cultural, the Moro population continues to lag far behind its Christian Filipino counterparts. The latest national census bears this out in terms of educational improvement, political participation, and economic development. This is truly a tragic plight,” Quevedo said. ARMM launches devt package for the poor – Philstar / Nation Writer: John Unson COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The executive department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) launched Thursday another comprehensive grassroots development intervention package meant to restore normalcy in poor, conflict-wracked communities. The program, Bangsamoro Regional Inclusive Development for Growth and Empowerment, or “BRIDGE,” aims to involve barangay folks in providing services to the local communities as a capacity-building measure meant to encourage public cooperation in governance and to hasten the normalization of areas made poor by security problems and calamities. The BRIDGE will complement the ARMM’s now two-year continuing Humanitarian, Education, Livelihood and Peace Synergy (HELPS) initiative, which delivers community extension services directly to underdeveloped barangays in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in Central Mindanao, and in the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, who led the launching of the BRIDGE at the Office of the Regional Governor (ORG) here, said the new program will have community development, capacity-building, administration, monitoring and evaluation components. The BRIDGE is intended to hasten the ARMMs development efforts that are focused on the restoration of normalcy in underdeveloped communities that are still reeling off from the bad effects of armed conflicts. Hataman said all development initiatives of the ARMM are in support of the common socio-economic agenda of President Benigno Aquino III, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, which is chaired by Muhaquer Iqbal of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. “While we wait for the transition, from the ARMM to the new MILF-led Bangsamoro, we will extensively deliver all kinds of services and capability-building interventions to the local communities as part of our preparations for the `continuing expansion’ of the Mindanao peace process, under the Bangsamoro governing outfit,” Hataman said. He said the Mindanao peace process, which aims to foster durable political, socio-economic and religious solidarity among Muslims, Christians and the lumad people, will intensity with the implementation “in letter and spirit” of the government-MILF peace pact. Also present in the launching of the BRIDGE were the ARMM’s regional vice-governor, Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman, and Hataman’s regional executive secretary, lawyer Laisa Alamia. Alamia said the Hataman administration is keen on expanding its community-based programs meant to provide economic and political empowerment to barangay folks as a preparation for the creation of the Bangsamoro government. The setting up of the Bangsamoro entity is part of the peace deal between the government and the MILF, the March 27, 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro. The enabling measure for the creation of the outfit that would replace the ARMM, the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law, is now in Congress, expected to be enacted into law within the year. C/N/N NDF hopeful papal visit will call attention to rights abuses – Rappler / Nation Writer: Karlos Manlupig We, in the revolutionary movement, stand in fervent hope that Pope Francis’ visit will inspire the people to unite and be more resolute in their struggle for social justice DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Hoping for a reflective atmosphere during the papal visit, the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Mindanao reminds its guerrillas to observe the unilaterally declared ceasefire to welcome Pope Francis. Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos, Mindanao spokesperson of the NDF, said that all revolutionary forces on the island greet Pope Francis and ensure that members of the New People’s Army will strictly adhere to the 10-day unilaterally declared ceasefire. “In deference to the papal visit, the NDFP-Mindanao has reiterated to the New People’s Army (NPA) in the island to strictly comply with the 10-day ceasefire declared by the NDFP at the national level, which includes in its coverage the 4-day stay of the Pope in the country. During such time, the NPA, while in defensive mode, shall cease all its tactical offensive military operations,” Madlos said. With the messages delivered by Pope Francis about social justice and human rights, Madlos commented that these would hopefully motivate the Filipino people to continue fighting for what is right. “As a world leader whose office holds considerable influence over the Filipino populace, we, in the revolutionary movement, stand in fervent hope that Pope Francis’ visit will inspire the people to unite and be more resolute in their struggle for social justice, particularly for genuine land reform, which is the aspiration of millions of peasants who have been for so long exploited and deprived of land to own, and, for national industrialization, which is the hope of exploited workers, particularly factory, mine and plantation workers who struggle to free themselves from below subsistence wages and inhuman working condition,” Madlos said. The communist spokesman added that they are expecting the papal visit to bring attention to the alleged cases of human rights abuses and the culture of impunity in the country. “Gleaning from the Pope’s views against pervasive abuses against human life and dignity, the Filipino people should be inspired by the visit to take the fight against human rights violations further, especially in the context of millions who have fallen victim to Benigno Aquino III’s brutal military campaign Oplan Bayanihan. This bloody campaign has, since the first quarter of 2014, razed the countryside in the island of Mindanao with incessant combat operations, terrorizing populated villages with cannon fire and aerial bombardment, and compelling whole communities of peasants, Lumad, and Moro to abandon their farms and flee their villages,” Madlos said. OTHER STORIES FULL TEXT: Aquinos speech in the presence of Pope Francis at Malacañang – Philstar / Headlines Writer: Philstar Your Holiness: Colonialism was brought to our shores, partly by the efforts of the conquistadores, and partly through the efforts of the Church. When the clergy in that period was asked how they justified the injustices committed during the colonization of the Philippines, they responded by saying: the Kingdom of God is not of this earth. With Vatican II however, this changed: Instead of being a pillar of the establishment, the Church began to question the status quo. My understanding of the changes inspired by Vatican II, and of the influence of liberation theology, was the notion that temporal matters affect our spiritual well-being, and, consequently, cannot be ignored. Two passages from scripture come to mind. The first comes from Matthew, Chapter 22, Verses 36-40, in which a Pharisee posed this question to Jesus Christ, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” The clear link between the two greatest commandments, as Christ put it, is further emphasized in another passage. In Matthew Chapter 25 Verses 35-36, Christ said, “For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’” The Gospel challenges each member of the Church to go beyond almsgiving and mere charity, and to be concerned with injustice in temporal matters. We were further taught that if we do not intercede to make each person capable of exercising true freedom of choice, then we are not our brother’s keepers. One of the examples given to us involved a certain question. If it is a sin to steal, who is the greater sinner: the desperate man in an impossible situation forced to steal to feed his starving family, or the politician with an insatiable greed who, despite not having real material needs, stole from the public coffers? When the Church engaged in temporal matters, it was truly working to bring the Kingdom of God apparent in this world. It was a living Church, a source of nurturing and support for the faithful, at a time when movies like “The Cardinal,” “The Shoes of the Fisherman,” and even “Jesus Christ Superstar” elicited deeper thoughts on how to further deepen the faith. *Press CTRL and CLICK the headline to open the complete news story online.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 11:32:39 +0000
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