Who is afraid of the Bangsamoro?

“Islam is the religion or faith (the way of Allah) while Muslims are those who believe in Islam and attempt to practice it. Islam is an issue of theology. However, what Muslims (human fallible people) make of Islam is an arena open to social scientific inquiry. In other words, how human beings understand and apply Islam in their contemporary realities and daily lives is at least an area of debate not only in the present but also throughout the past history of Muslim communities.” -  Ayesha Imam 

I had a Muslim woman as a godmother at baptism. I have devoted more than two decades of my life working in Muslim communities all over Mindanao.
Actually, our work in Muslim communities is national because our reform proposals are addressed to changing national laws. 
Even as we adhere to the notion that not everything done by Muslims are Islamic and that what is Islam is always being reinterpreted and debated, we believe that Quranic teachings are ultimately about justice and equality. 

A survey research was conducted by our center,  PILIPINA Legal Resources Center (PLRC) in the Philippines on the extent of usage, attitudes, aspirations and behavior of Muslim women in relation to the Code of Muslim Personal Laws (CMPL).

It was found out, among others, that majority of the Muslim women were not familiar about their official legal rights. The solution to the problem of lack of legal literacy is easy. The greater problem, as the survey indicated, is that women’s lack of autonomy is largely cultural and justified by invoking customary laws and religious traditions.

This worldview affects the individual’s ability to participate in every level of social life – from decision-making within her home and family, to education, employment and public life.
Our research findings led us to outreach projects to overcome the problems revealed in the understanding of Muslim women concerning their rights under the law in the Philippines.

We did legal literacy work popularizing the Code of Muslim Personal Laws and promoting an alternative formulation in keeping with the gender equality provision of the Philippine Constitution.

We worked with Shari’a court judges, community stakeholders and policymakers and one of the resulting shapes was the creation of a government search committee that appointed judges to the vacancies in the Shari’a courts and the appointment of women judges which is a showcase to the rest of the Muslim world which still believe that women cannot be judges. 

The Code of Muslim Personal Laws (CMPL) remains as law for all Muslims in the Philippines although it is deemed outdated and contradictory to some 1987 Constitutional provisions, the current organic act (R.A. 9054) for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and international laws. Earlier, former Congressman Michael Mastura, one of the authors of the current CMPL suggested test litigation as an alternative track to the process of legal reform that we were advocating. 

Since legal reform proved difficult, our alternative strategy was engagement with the Sharia court judges on current standards under the UN CEDAW.
We published a Benchbook within the framework of UN CEDAW which may guide Shari’a judges in resolving cases involving Muslim women.

When norms and standards are legislated, these become sources of specific rights that are accessible, enforceable and demandable. Thus, human made legislations such as the Code of Muslim Personal Laws need to be revisited and interfaced with current standards, which have universal mandates such as the UN CEDAW. 
That a community of nations shares this standard is an indication that the promotion of equality between women and men cannot be compromised by making reference to an ever-changing culture or human made religious interpretations and practices. 

The UN CEDAW is now thirty years old and have been ratified by one hundred eighty-six (186) states, which is a great majority of all countries in the world. Gender equality and non-discrimination are now principles of international customary law.

The Philippines, to date, has yet NO official policy on reproductive health and family planning and these are parts of our treaty obligation to the UN CEDAW. As was reported recently by Rappler, “the Philippines is one of the best places to be a woman, based on the latest World Economic Forum (WEF) survey released on October 24. In the 2012 Global Gender Gap Index (GGI), the Philippines maintained its ranking in the top ten gender-friendly nations.”

But, to the extent that women have no control over their own bodies, this gender equality index is meaningless for us, women. But, yes, the Bangsamoro community has a fatwa ( or a decree made by an Islamic authority) on family planning.  
So, with some ustajes from the academe and with some members of the Technical Working Group of the Darul Ifta, we worked for the promotion of the fatwa as part of our reproductive rights program.

A Sacred Agreement

The ink color that was used by GPH peace panel Chair Marvic Leonen to sign the Framework Agreement was red – much like a reference to historic blood compacts of our ancestors.  For the Muslims, too, contracts are sacred. Thus, the event ushers us to a new era of peace – so full of hope. That peace loving Filipinos want to see a renaissance in the centuries old Bangsamoro homeland was so palpable in the outpouring of support and ownership of the peace deal. 

What has gone before? Let’s look back in time.

Historically, the Moro sultanates (a governance structure having all the elements of a state) in Mindanao are older than the Philippine Republic by about five centuries.

Independence movement in Muslim parts of Mindanao emerges in 1967, achieving autonomy for Muslims in five provinces & a city in Mindanao after an Organic Act was enacted by the Philippine legislature. This autonomous area is called the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. In 1977, in an attempt to appease Muslim separatists, a Code of Muslim Personal Laws was enacted as a presidential decree during the martial law regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos.  The enactment was also in keeping with the 1976 Tripoli agreement between the Philippines & the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which provided, among others, that Muslims should have courts to hear Shari’a law cases. This was also about the time that Moro became a popular word to denote Muslim Filipinos & Bangsamoro to mean a nation or a community of people espousing the right to self determination. 

Twenty years after the 1976 Tripoli agreement, a 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Philippine government and the MNLF was forged.  In spite of the 1996 peace agreement, war erupted with another MNLF splinter group called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and government peace talks were initiated anew.

A failed 2008 agreement between the Philippine government & the MILF outlined geographical areas which are beyond the current ARMM.  This Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) was decreed by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Now, after two years on the negotiating table, a framework agreement has been signed.

The mechanism of plebiscite is the track to ultimately determine the areas of autonomy.

The Organic Act (Republic Act No. 9054) which created the ARMM already provided that the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region In Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), “in consultation with the Supreme Court and consistent with the Constitution may formulate a Shari’a legal system including criminal cases which shall be applicable in the region, only to Muslims or those who profess the Islamic faith.”  And as Islam is a complete code of life for the Muslims, it is expected that Sharia law will inform the basic law for the new Bangsamoro political entity.

The population of Mindanao as of the 2010 government census   by the National Statistics Office is 21,582, 540 & Mindanao is home to about 6.5 million Muslims, which is approximately 30% of the total population of Mindanao.

Many of the poorest provinces in the Philippines are found in Mindanao. All the provinces in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are among the poorest provinces. As expected, this situation is more difficult for Muslim women. 

The Mindanao conflict was one of the longest running problems in the world.  Which was why, calls and proposals for new political configurations and political projects have come and go and the right to self determination was always at the heart of the discourse. 

Meeting of  Sharia women judges & lawyers in a PILIPINA Legal Resources Center workshop  

The Language Map of the GPH-MILF Peace Talks on Wealth Sharing

Isabelita Solamo Antonio

 The ultimate vision or goal is peace and of course, development of the Bangsamoro region and the Philippines as  well.  One of the main methods is the creation of a new political subdivision with more powers than that which local government units or regions like the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM are holding now. All political subdivisions such as cities,provinces, and autonomous regions are Congress created.

 The current Constitution provides for autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao. And as well the same Constitution provides that an organic act of an autonomous region shall provide for creation of sources of revenues. This was spelled out in the just concluded annex on revenue generation & wealth sharing. The language in the annex on revenue generation & wealth sharing will guide the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) in drafting the proposed Basic Law. 

Meantime, because time is of the essence, it would be ideal if both the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) & Congress can now start to look at the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro and the annex on wealth sharing and how all these can be translated into a legislative language towards a Bangsamoro basic law, while waiting for the rest of the annexes on power sharing and normalization.

 As to the annex on the power sharing which still has to be finished, the emerging language and the reported talking points are also found in the Constitution and the Local Government Code: reserved powers, concurrent powers and devolved powers. Reserved powers are not given to the autonomous regions such as national defense, foreign affairs, tariff and customs, citizenship, etc

 The Constitution provides that the Organic Act shall define the basic structure of government for the region consisting of the executive and legislative which shall be elective and representative. And as to the judicial matters: for now just personal and civil law.  Judicial matters are both national and regional in Muslim areas ~~ according to the current constitution.

 The CSO statement for the peace panels just before the recent peace talks in Kuala Lumpur was silent on the track of amending the Constitution and used the word “legalization.”  The CSO statement also said that the seeming “delay has already stymied the substantive work of the Transition Commission (BTC) in drafting the Bangsamoro Basic Law and identifying possible processes for the legalization of the upcoming political settlement.”

 The revenue and wealth sharing annex of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement outlined how the Bangsamoro can have more resources through sharing in taxes, revenues, fund sourcing and sharing of natural resources.

The Bangsamoro’s share of the national taxes collected in the  region shall be three fourths and the national government retains one fourth. The annex on wealth sharing provides that this  is without prejudice to the future Bangsamoro Basic Law remitting the 25% national share to  the region for a “limited period of time.”

 Another breakthrough is the sharing of natural resources: non metallic such as sand and gravel shall pertain to the Bangsamoro, as to metallic, three fourths to the Bangsamoro and as to fossil fuels such as natural gas, the sharing is equal.

 The  Bangsamoro government  will have  the power to contract loans in its name except for loans which require sovereign guarantee,  in which case, the central government shall help facilitate the process.

 There will be automatic budget appropriation and this block grant aside from the Special Development Fund shall not be less than the current budget of the ARMM and both national and Bangsamoro governments  shall review this after a decade based  on revenues generated in the Bangsamoro region.

 It will be all to our interests that there will be peace, so that all these talk about wealth sharing will happen for Mindanao and the Philippines.  ~ written in July 17, 2013

Bangsamoro

Nobody wants war. It will be for all our benefit if there is peace & as we have always said, the way to peace is peace. So, after two years hard work, we have a frame & method to peace for Mindanao. This peace deal or framework to be called a comprehensive agreement & to be signed soon by the government of the Philippines (GPH) & the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is a political document which writes the mechanism & paves the way for the creation of legal instruments for its implementation.

What are the issues or problems that our government is trying to address? What is wrong with the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARRM)? Over the years, the ARMM which was enacted as an entity in 1990 (during the President Cory administration) has not been the answer to the historical marginalization of our Bangsamoro in all spheres: political, economic & social. So, the method towards this new structure & function of the Bangsamoro political entity is spelled out in this political agreement between the GPH & MILF.

Autonomous regions as political subdivisions are written in our constitution. The current enabling law for the ARMM is an Organic Act passed by Congress. As any law can be repealed or amended, this peace deal proposes to replace ARMM with a new political entity called Bangsamoro through a new law still to be passed by Congress. According to GPH peace panel Chair Marvic Leonen, the political commitments of the peace deal ensures a process under the auspices of a Transition Commission which will be created by the President of the Philippines through an executive order; the transition commission of 15 members to be appointed by PNoy will take charge of drafting & engaging with all stakeholders towards the passage of a new law (Bangsamoro Basic Law) for the Bangsamoro political entity. The administration of PNoy will shepherd the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law by certifying the bill as urgent. Once passed, this Basic law will be ratified by the qualified voters within the territory. When ratified, the created Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) takes the place of ARMM.

In turn, the peace deal maintains that the central government retains the powers of “defense & external security, foreign policy, common market & global trade….coinage & monetary policy, citizenship & naturalization, & postal service.”

The peace panel says that this peace deal builds on the old Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA- AD) during the Arroyo administration which was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Some of the lessons of that entire process leading to the non signing of the MOA-AD were a deficiency in tactical planning; the MOA-AD as a peace instrument should have been forged as an iconic event and putting as conditions the eventual passage of the legal and constitutional requirements, at some point. Anyway, one of the contentious issues then in the MOA-AD was territory which was deemed expanded. This time, the framework agreement lists the core territory as the current ARMM areas (five province & two cities) plus the areas which voted for inclusion in the autonomous region in the plebiscite of 2001. These areas are 6 towns of Lanao del Norte, towns of North Cotabato, Cotabato City & Isabela City.

What is the proposed governance structure for the Bangsamoro political entity? First, all vested rights of political subdivisions & officials covered by the Local Government Code (RA 7160) will be in effect even after the Bangsamoro law is passed for as long as RA 1760 is not repealed. This means all functions of all governors of all provinces, all mayors & barangay captains of all LGUs under the autonomous region will still be in effect. The peace deal proposes a ministerial form of government for the Bangsamoro. Already, there is a debate now whether the proposed political entity requires charter change. Atty. Marvic Leonen, head of the government peace panel says there is nothing in the article on local government in our Constitution that prohibits a ministerial form of government for the Bangsamoro entity & that anyway, any group of citizens can pursue amendments to the constitution. Still, even if charter amendments are not necessary, one of the functions of the transition commission as written in the peace deal is to be ready to “work on proposals to amend the Phil. Constitution....whenever necessary….”

Who is a Bangsamoro by identity? The framework agreement says all those descendants of the original inhabitants of Mindanao & all those who “identify themselves as Bangsamoro by ascription or self ascription….(but) that the freedom of choice of indigenous peoples shall be respected.”  

One of the important powers listed in the framework agreement pertains to judicial institutions. While the framework agreement recognizes parallel justice institutions such as alternative dispute resolution systems & civil courts, the peace deal writes the “supremacy of the Shari’ah & (that) its application shall only be to Muslims.”  

Bangsamoro women & fellows from PILIPINA Legal Resources Center during a workshop on Gender & Development ( GAD) Programs in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM): A skills building workshop 

.

Portrait of Marawi : The Islamic City of the Philippines

Marawi City as a beautiful symbol of our common Malay heritage can be harnessed & promoted as part of Philippine cultural “branding.”  But, it is not certain if this is important for the Maranao themselves. Certainly, war or terrorism & tourism do not go together. And this is such a pity because our sultanates are older than the Philippine republic. For now, Marawi is one of two cities in the whole of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).  

One incisive analysis which must be heeded comes from former Mayor Omar ‘Solitario’ Ali who said that Marawi City suffers from the effect of neighboring “instabilities” and conflict situation. Like all parts of Mindanao & the entire country, Marawi city stands to benefit from a peaceful Mindanao. So, it is indicated that Marawi city as a local government agency  must be one of those working with ARMM to  take a leadership in investing & embarking on a Mindanao wide peace programs.

Ms. Melot Balisalisa, whose network is a member of MINCODE ( Mindanao Coalition of Development Network), says that “for as long as there is war in Mindanao & the root causes are not addressed, poverty persists. There was a study conducted in the nineties during the time of President Ramos & after the passage of the Organic Act & the signing of the Final Peace Agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front,Mindanao’s economy dramatically grew. And during Martial Law, it was the Mindanao agriculture that helped the country’s economy afloat.” This is relevant, too, because much of Marawi is into agroforestry.

Anyway, the whole of Marawi City & Lanao del Sur are watershed areas.Lake Lanao which is considered to be the deepest lake in the country & one of 15 ancient lakes in the world supply ¾ of Mindanao’s total power requirement. The outlet of Lake Lanaois the Agus River. Therefore, the watersheds are important and as such our government should seriously embark on a renewable energy program now. Part of the process is creating a social infrastructure towards a land use policy.

Our government offices are seldom able to hire the best & the brightest because government wages are low. Still, Marawi Cityis home to a big academe & so its local government could invest in developing a successor generation employing the skills of young graduates from the university to join government. And it would be beneficial, too, if governance as practices are linked to theory & research in this state university in Mindanao & thus produce the next leaders of this island. But, first to lure the young, the Marawi City LGU must be electronically wired to the rest of the Philippines & the world. There are no telephone land line systems in the city, too and so communications are done through mobile phones & hand held radio.

One icon of hope one finds in Marawi is the mushrooming of greetings of congratulations of recent achievements bannered across roads like it is a positive articulation of personal pride and maratabat.  

About urbanization - which is defined as concentration of people in places called urban - in the ARMM, I agree with the analysis of Professor Ernesto Serote, that there are two aspects of urbanization in the ARMM that is worth looking into in future studies in order to see the bigger picture (a) The status of the evacuees in the receiving communities, and (b) The effect of the evacuation on the communities of origin & to find out the character & slow or low level of urbanization pertaining to communities of origin.Davao City and Manila, for example, are now teeming with fellow Mindanaons from Marawi City & Lanao del Sur areas who are into trade & commerce.  This means the area of destination is now beyond the Autonomous Areas in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). And as recommended by Professor Serote, “policies dealing with both origin and destination of evacuees are proper items on the Executive-Legislative agenda of the ARMM. And if the origin-destination areas extend to the other regions, then policy making may be on Mindanao-wide basis.” 


Finally, we need to have a redefinition of progress & development. Our consciousness about human ecology must be allowed to inform urbanization. And for this let me quote, Ms. Agnes Miclat, a feminist educator who said, “Small is beautiful & sustainable, because "big" means having to build mining plants & the like to feed the greed of the country’s elite few, & the consumerist values they peddle to the so-called backward economies and of course resources of poor provinces they themselves exploit to maintain their wasteful lifestyles, and their economic & cultural hegemony.”  

Forests, Farms, Fruits, & Flowers Forests, Farms, Fruits, & Flowers

I spent the eve of the Chinese New Year in the beautiful Garden by the Bay near our home here in Davao City and my thoughts were all about forests & farms & fruits. I was alarmed that the high tide of the new lunar moon covered to the brim the jetty for boats to a nearby beach across the Davao Gulf. Certainly, it is not due to the mythical water dragon of the lunar New Year but for sure it is another evidence of climate change. 

I am grappling about forests because my next advocacy is about reforestation. Anything that relates to policy, laws & development & disadvantaged communities are within my area of interests. Also during the week, I met with women informal settlers from the downtown coastal area of Davao City; they were women who have made homes in a sandbar in Isla Verde which grew out of siltation and mud from the denuded mountains of Davao City. I was so touched by their tale during Southwest monsoons ( Habagat). They said their belongings are always packed for quick evacuations in the event of strong storm surge. So, their dream is to be relocated to a safe place to be able to sleep soundly.

Oceans & mountains are so intimately related. In the case of resort islands with beaches, much of the garden is under the sea in its coral reef. The siltation and mud which flows during floods through its riverways to the sea will destroy the marine coral reefs and various marine fishes. Various communities will have to be taught the concept of Agro Forestry for their own sustainability and to preserve the tourism industry of the island cities. Also, since forests constitute a very small percentage of total land use in many of our islands, our water systems will not be sustainable.   

Can our farmers still have income if their farms are planted to forests? I recall now a line or so from P-NOY’s 2011 State of the Nation Address (SONA). The two words for environment were about trees and floods. A stipend program was proposed for the safeguarding of trees while farmers are waiting for the harvest of coffee and cacao and will be offered to informal settlers. For now, most farmers are very poor and they use few purchased inputs and adopt cultivation techniques which maximize current incomes. The agricultural practices of planting corn, vegetables, & other cash crops tend to be neglectful or destructive of the environment in particular and of soil cover in particular. There is convincing evidence, verifiable by ocular inspection that the long term implications are potentially very serious. They include both the direct loss of productive potential and thus the impoverishment of the already poor farmers who are dependent for their livelihood on farming in slopes.

I have seen one environment conservation technology worth replicating on a large scale in Mindanao : A Sloping Agricultural Land Technology ( SALT) to prevent soil erosion and siltation of marine corals, flooding, and gullying in water worn ravine. SALT has been a project of the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center, whose former director, Harold Ray Watson was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award (“Asia’s Nobel “ ) for peace & international understanding and promoting this farm forestry project here and abroad. 

Slopeland areas, officially classified as those of a slope between 18% and 40% contain a third of all farmers in Mindanao. These slopeland areas are also exempt from agrarian reform.

This agro forest technology as practiced in a few pilot areas in Mindanao ( i.e. Bansalan, Davao del Sur, ) includes combinations of land shaping, terracing, contour ploughing, mulching or use of crop residues ; management of cropping patterns to increase soil cover; changes in tillage practices (especially reductions in tillage frequency); and especially introduction of forest species which reduce tillage requirements and help stabilize soil. The forest cover will preserve the water resources found in many parts of Mindanao. 

I recently passed by Bukidnon & Malaybalay on my way to Cagayan de Oro & I find again that many parts of Bukidnon are rockies and so trees will not grow on them. But, also, many parts of Malaybalay just before Cagayan de Oro are planted with cash crops such as pineapple and grains. Should we not also convert these to agro forests? Also alarming is that Marawi City, source of hydro- electric power supplying energy for Mindanao is already in need of serious reforestation. We found out that the landscape artist who developed Baguio City, a hill station, is the same landscape artist who designed another hill station that is Marawi City, during the colonial period. Both cities are now denuded, with Baguio much worst as a mall mania threatens the cutting of precious pine trees.

A decade and a half ago, I literally planted with my own hands almost a hundred trees and now it is a beautiful orchard & a forest: my legacy to the next generation.   

photo credits :
a) MSU Marawi City by Kim Loraine Castillo
b) Hagimit Waterfall and Forest by Leah Marie Moral

UN Cedaw, the Muslim Code & Shari'a Courts

We are examining the interface between the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
(UN Cedaw) and the Code of Muslim Personal Laws ( Muslim Code). The Philippines has obligations to CEDAW. In turn, the Muslim Code was enacted in 1977 or before the gender equality provision was enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.

Of course, the proposals in this interface and examination which we have compiled in a Thematic Guide Book on CEDAW for Shari’a Court Courts are linked to a network of Muslim women and men partners, Shari’a court judges and lawyers, volunteer Shari’a court monitoring teams and various multisectoral stakeholders in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Muslim communities outside of the ARMM.

Even as we adhere to the notion that not everything done by Muslims are Islamic and that what is Islam is always being reinterpreted and debated, we believe that Quranic teachings are ultimately about justice and equality.

When norms and standards are legislated, these become sources of specific rights that are accessible, enforceable and demandable. Thus, man made legislations such as the Code of Muslim Personal Laws need to be revisited and interfaced with current standards, which have universal mandates such as the UN CEDAW. That a community of nations shares this standard is an indication that the promotion of equality between women and men cannot be compromised by making reference to an ever-changing culture or human made religious interpretations and practices. The UN CEDAW is now thirty years old and have been ratified by one hundred eighty-six (186) states, which is a great majority of all countries in the world. Gender equality and non-discrimination are now principles of international customary law.

Our center, the PILIPINA Legal Resources Center (PLRC) has been working in Muslim communities for more than two decades now or since 1987. Our first ever survey, “The Implications of the Code of Muslim Personal Laws (PD 1083) on the Muslim Women of Regions IX & XII “ was done in 1988 and published a year after. Then the next years were spent on (a) legal literacy work popularizing the Code of Muslim Personal Laws and promoting an alternative formulation in keeping with the gender equality provision of the Philippine Constitution; (b) monitoring the Shari’a courts through a Shari’a Court Watch project with judges, community stakeholders and policymakers. A resulting shape was the creation of a government search committee that appointed judges to the vacancies in the Shari’a courts. And as well, two more women judges have been appointed since then, increasing the total number of women judges in our courts and such is a showcase to the rest of the Muslim world which still believe that women cannot be judges.

So, after twenty-two (22) years, this current project with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) allowed us to take note of both the constant things as well as the myriad things that have changed in the justice system structures in Muslim communities. In this sense, the framework of this CEDAW benchbook is informed by an extensive exposure (much like in a longitudinal study) to various structures and perceived changes in Muslim communities in the Philippines over a long period of time. As such, we were able to focus on particular themes, which to us have been the sites of gender inequality and discrimination.

We took note of customs and traditions legislated in the Muslim Code such as child marriage. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has defined a child as every human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. Our survey of various ages of marriage in twenty Muslim countries reveals that states do not, in fact, consider every one below 18 as a child. Cases in point are Muslim family laws and as our network Women Living Under Muslim Laws published, “courts in Bangladesh, Cameroon, and the Philippines which may grant permission for marriages involving spouses younger than 15 but not younger than 12, while courts in Algeria, Tunisia, Malaysia, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Sudan & Morocco grant permission for marriages involving spouses younger than marriageable age, but family laws are either silent regarding an absolute minimum age or specify a low absolute minimum age or specify a low absolute minimum age.”

One track of reform, which is not yet popular, is to work for the reform of the UN Child Rights Convention and argue that, in fact, not everyone below 18 is a child. Some psychologists call this phenomenon : evolving sexuality.

We are also very happy that there is an Islamic Official Ruling or Fatwa on Reproductive Health and Family Planning issued by the Assembly of Darul-Ifta of the Philippines in November 2003. This is a very relevant document now and a model of sorts since there is an indication that Malacanang is set to prioritize the Reproductive Health bill as urgent.


Gender Justice in the Shari’a Courts


The Sharia ( Muslim Law) is one of the constant themes in the ongoing peace talks, various peace agreements ( 1976 Tripoli Agreement & 1996 Jakarta Accord, etc) and other developments in Mindanao that are participated in by our government, the Organization of Islamic Countries, both the MNLF and MILF and Muslim communities.

The Philippines is one of few countries in the world that have women Shari’a judges as some parts of the Muslim world still think that women cannot be judges. The Code of Muslim Personal Laws (CMPL or Muslim Code) is a “man made law” by virtue of a Presidential Decree in 1977 by former President Marcos or before the gender equality provision was enshrined in our 1987 Constitution. One of the authors of the Muslim Code, Atty. Michael Mastura has maintained that test litigation is an alternative track to a legal reform project of revising the current CMPL. Aside from test litigation and legislation, the other track is dialogue and engagement with the judges of the Sharia courts because as can be seen from court decisions, the Sharia’a judges exercise wide discretion. But, any custom or ada (customary law) that violates women’s rights cannot be justified by any provision of the Code of Muslim Personal Law (CMPL), as this safeguard is written in the Muslim Code itself: “No ada which is contrary to the Constitution of the Philippines, this Code, Muslim law, public order, public policy or public interest shall be given any legal effect.”

A few months back, we interviewed various Sharia court judges as well as examined their ponencia or court decisions and these are some of the recent positive developments:

Ÿ Whereas before, decisions were made ordering women to go back to the conjugal home in cases of restitution of marital rights, now there is a realization that such kinds of orders violates a woman’s autonomy. It is now held by judges that such an order is only persuasive and not mandatory because as marriage is itself a contract, it is based on mutual agreement of the parties.
Ÿ In the past decade, one hardly reads of Shari’a court decisions describing cruelty or violence committed against women in the ponencia. Now, cruelty as a ground for termination of marriage is already described and no longer absent in written decisions.
Ÿ We are now able to read in actual court decisions, divorce by tafwid where the husband delegated to the wife the right to orally divorce him. (SCC C No. 2006-1074, Jolo, Sulu). Oral divorce is still in recent years traditionally the preserve of men.

One positive thing that sets the Philippine Muslim Code from other Muslim countries is the required registration of oral divorce. Also, the Philippine National Statistics Office ( NSO) requires a court decree as proof of divorce.
Yes, we have divorce in the Philippines in Muslim communities since time immemorial.

Both the community and courts have taken cognizance that the following are continuing practices:

Ÿ The four male witness rule in cases in sex related offenses but in the absence of witnesses an oath before the Qur’an ( yamin) is a sacred practice;
Ÿ The marriage of a Muslim woman with a non-Muslim male is still culturally not allowed;
Ÿ The consent in marriage of a minor is given through the marriage guardian (wali) and her consent is presumed as the marriage guardian is deemed to represent the best interests of the child.

The UN CEDAW COMMITTEE made comments about early marriage among Muslim women in the Philippines :

“The Committee expresses its concern about the precarious situation of rural and indigenous women, as well as the Muslim women in the autonomous region of Muslim Mindanao, who lack access to adequate health services, education, clean water and sanitation services and credit facilities. The Committee is also concerned about women’s limited access to justice in cases of violence, especially in the conflict zones, and the lack of sanctions against the perpetrators of such violence. The Committee is furthermore concerned that the practice of early marriage is persistent among Muslim women.”

In the comment above, the UN Cedaw Committee clearly recognizes that there is “a practice of early marriage persistent among Muslim women.” This is in consonance with Article 16 (2) of the CEDAW that states “The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory.”

The comments concluded with a request from the UN CEDAW Committee to the Philippine government to address the concerns expressed in the concluding comments as well as a request to submit the eighth and ninth report that was due last September 2010.

2010 : My Personal Notes

The biggest event of the year is, of course, the changing of guards in the political palace that is Malacanang and the ascension to power of P- Noy, the scion of Cory and Ninoy on the wings of the political platform to address corruption and changes in our social, economic and political landscape.

One year passed and the victims of the Maguindanao massacre are still wailing and wanting for justice. There is still no let up in our national pain, grief and anger over this election related crime where journalists were among the 58 innocent women and men who died doing a civic duty to country.

Climate change was so palpable in the floods that hit our Philippines and Pakistan and many other countries. Thousands of travelers were stranded in London, Frankfurt, Schipol and other airports in Europe as hundreds of flights were cancelled in mid winter due to snow and this makes 2010 Christmas memorable but not comfortable.

The release by WikiLeaks of classified, confidential cables of the U.S. State Department stunned the diplomatic and international community. There is no knowing now as to the impact and result of this release of diplomatic documents but, for sure, there will be a redefinition of the legal landscape of confidentiality and communication technology in the conduct of foreign affairs towards security and world peace.

The whole wired world was aghast at the tragic hostage drama that happened in our premier park involving Chinese tourists and Rolando Mendoza, a decorated policeman turned hostage taker. We landed in the New York Times; ordinary citizens here and Filipinos abroad were tweeting and connecting through social media how inept we were. After the fact, our lessons learned pertains to prevention and management of crisis, who is coordinating and in charge, the importance of negotiation skills, the human resources skills of our women and men in uniform and the effectiveness of our justice system.

After fifteen years in prison, Hubert Webb, et. al were acquitted due to failure of prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Webb et all were the perpetrators. As to opinion on this Visconde massacre, the country is divided. Belatedly, the social media were used in this case for public awareness to counter the “ danger of a single story.” But, the pillars of our justice system are on trial here by the court of public opinion. We hear there is a move to re-open the case. Time left is six months before the prescriptive period of 20 years set in.

The whole nation was glued to the big show of Congressman Manny Pacquio in the world boxing ring. Charice Pempengco under the initial boost by Oprah became one of the stars of Glee, an American television show.

Our economic refugees abroad continue to send dollars to families here and thus children are able to have university education. The four (4) billion conditional cash transfer to the poorest families sounds promising given that it will be presided over by our dear Dinky Soliman, a colleague in PILIPINA, the Filipino national feminist movement. We have faith in the peace process as we have faith in our Ging Deles, another PILIPINA founder, and Dean Marvic in much the same way that we have faith in the negotiators on the MILF side.

So, happy holidays to all. Let me repost my signature Christmas wish : My wish is to be able to feel Christmas through the eyes and heart of the child in me and to believe in the magic of Christmas : faith in a Santa Claus from the heavens, giving gifts of love and all the works. Faith is a lot like love and hope and invoking that warms my heart !

For Women To Be Taken Seriously

How does one measure a decade of women’s work? That was the tone and more of the Kamindanawan 2010: The Mindanao Women’s Congress organized by Irene “Inday” Santiago of the Mindanao Commission on Women (MCW). That celebratory meeting was a fitting climax to end the year 2010 and an inspiration to begin the next years ahead. The next years, are particularly, the next five years ahead, since 2015 is the end of the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The MCW goal is for women to be taken seriously as we are capable of influencing changes in policy and public opinion on all issues. What are these issues? For Inday Santiago, these are “harnessing the collective energies and passion of women in Mindanao for good, for the much yearned for peace, for respite from poverty and want, for fair access to decision-making, nothing short of acceptance of a better world not for an amorphous “all” but for women, men, and children.”

During the evening socials by the poolside of the Waterfront Insular Hotel, I was asked by Ms. Marie Jeanne Javelosa, a museum curator, what the MCW achieved for almost a decade and right off as one of those who worked with the MCW during its big moments since the start, I sort of summarized these achievements into two main areas and these pertain to the economic, social and political initiatives and the social structures of human resources built around Mindanao which are to me very sustainable. Some of the social and political initiatives are the peace initiatives & these include, among many others, the Mothers for Peace campaign and the bringing of the women’s peace agenda to the negotiating table and the engagement with the various stakeholders and policymakers, both at the national and international,i.e. at the level of the UN and international community. The economic initiatives pertain to, among many others, such initiatives as “the campaign to stop the privatization of the Agus Pulangui hydro power complex, the facility that supplies more than 50 percent of the power in Mindanao. It was started by the Lanao Power Consumers Federation and adopted by many other groups including MCW.”

The social structures of human resources or the social capital that are spread geographically around Mindanao is about democratization of power at the community level. Up to almost a decade ago, there was no Mindanao wide structure of women and so this kind of initiative is very strategic in the scheme of things for development in Mindanao. These women from all over multicultural Mindanao who have their own local groups are the bearers of both old and new traditions that which promote human rights as opposed to discrimination, inequality, violence, war and all things we want to change. In short, we have a human right to development as enshrined in a UN declaration. And so, it is fitting that the MCW meeting was held to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the UN – sponsored Human Rights Day.

Not only that these social infrastructure of human resources are in place, but most importantly, a successor generation is in place, as well. Inday Santiago, our leader and mentor is stepping down as the political head of MCW but staying on as “Chair Emerita” And taking over the reins is Ms Margie Moran Floirendo, as Chair of the Board of Trustees. As Inday ( as we fondly call her) steps down, she thanks her executive team led by her deputy and former Congresswoman Patricia Sarenas.

For the next five years, the tasks are clear and, among others, these are to monitor and develop indicators - in partnership with government and the business community - towards the achievement of the eight (8) UN Millennium Development Goals: eradication of extreme poverty & hunger, achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality & empowerment of women, reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, & other diseases, environmental sustainability and a global partnership for development.

So, I say to myself, life is great as we all look forward to the challenges of the next five years.

On Writing ( Part 2 )

Mi unica hija is poised to go into serious writing and so I am passing on some tools of the trade like I am sharing a simple gift to my beloved scion.
For some parts of the weekend, I had to find time to go back to reading my favorite great writers.
I have focused on Stephen King and his memoirs of the craft and so this sharing is also inspired by his experience.

On top of our writing kit is mastery of language: wide vocabulary and correct grammar.
This is the reason why they say that you cannot be a writer if you are not a voracious reader.
Grammar is, of course, learned like anything.
It is said that to write we start with writing one true sentence.
And a sentence is composed of the subject noun and the predicate verb.
To be able to express what we mean, we group the sentences into a coherent paragraph.
We call this messaging as in text messaging. See, it is very simple, really.

I guess, the magic of writing is in the style. Style can be learned as well.
And again, that is why it is best to read and read or go to school for it.
I like the style of Ernest Hemingway.
There is brilliance in his simple sentences.
Of contemporary writers and political pundits in the Philippines, we see original and refreshing styles in the writings of Marites Danguilan Vitug, Conrado de Quiros, Rina Jimenez- David and Randy David.

We write what we know. In this sense, writing is authoritative.
I am able to write about issues and concerns of women because I have spent half my life working with women.
I am able to pepper my writing with sociology and law because I went to various universities for it, here and abroad.
But, I am much pleased that we have developed a technology to make possible citizen journalism through social media ( Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, etc).
This has really democratized communication for everyone. As well, we have developed Knowledge Management (KM) as a scientific tool for communication and making information useful.

Is there money in writing? Yes and No.
There is money of course, if you get to be like J.K.Rowling of the Harry Potter fame or Stephen King or John Grisham or Thomas Harris or Philip Roth or any one of the bestsellers.
Our local daily papers have been thriving more on advertising placements and if the circulation is not that wide, there is not much income here.
And so, for columnists, writing will be more like a vocation or a mission.
Therefore, marketing is crucial for a newspaper to survive.

For example, in most universities, I find only one copy each of the local dailies for hundreds of students who are paying for library products and services.
Universities have more than one library so these schools should have several copies.
One of my banks has cut costs by unsubscribing from a local newspaper subscription.
I found the decision pathetic and I do not wish to be in account with a bank that is not interested in the local current daily composition so I closed my account there, among other reasons.

We have just finished writing the draft of an 80 page or so Guidebook on the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) for Shari’a court judges.

To be able to write it, we had to study this United Nations convention by heart and we had to travel all over Mindanao and talk to many women and men plus some experts as part of the research and collection of data.

This kind of writing can be categorized under technical writing for a specific audience.
Still, making the writing interesting to capture the attention of the readers is a constant challenge.
 
The challenge was to capture into words or prose significant human experiences and material cultural practices and emotions in a distinctive style.
In this sense, one must have the inclination or interest to listen to stories of women and men from all kinds of persuasions and political affiliations and social classes.
Most important, one must like the topic or theme because the gestation and composition could be long and drawn out across time.

Writing is an art through prose or magical language; a distillation of our thoughts through words and a representation of reality as we perceive it.
But, I believe that some are really gifted with a love for words more than the others.
For these people, the development of this craft is fun and free and by choice.

We & The Others : Towards Multiculturalism

I spent most days last week in this season of Ramadan talking to Shari’a court judges and learned scholars and ordinary folks in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and I have come out from that experience renewed with my long standing personal resolve that we should not be afraid of a separate juridical entity or another state for Muslim Mindanao. 

I say this also in reaction to a recent opinion by Amando Doronila in the Philippine Daily Inquirer ( PDI, Aug 23, 2010) saying that the Dean Marvic Leonen remark about being open to the option of charter change if needed for a new peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is reviving the controversial issue of Philippine national territory partition. This remark by Doronila has been perceived to be not promoting “self determination.” In this sense, media should look at the issues with good judgment. For example, to implement some of the 1976 provisions of the Tripoli agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the required constitutional amendment happened in 1987 and the Final Peace Agreement happened in 1996. Not that the decade long interregnum should be the rule but rather the exception. Suffice it to say that whatever political configuration is arrived at, the legal requirements and constitutional processes can be worked out and given a timetable.

Anyone afraid of partition needs to be educated about history and about multiculturalism. The Moro sultanates in Mindanao are older than the Philippine Republic. Given that the Mindanao problem is one of the longest running problems in the world, we should at the least, be open to new political configurations, partnerships and political projects. We can have parallel governments. Since time immemorial, the strategy is assimilation and integration of minority groups while the dominant groups are holding social, economic and political power. This has resulted to minoritization and subordination. We, women identify with what feminists call the “ othering process” because for centuries now we have come to be subordinate to men. Now, our ideals are multiculturalism, appreciation of cultural diversity, peace, equality and development. We want everything.

We can certainly learn from one of the oldest cultures in the world that has withstood time. We can enrich our differing cultures. We will share standards of human rights but we are also different in many ways.

Who is afraid of partition? Where is the fear coming from? Are we afraid of the Muslim culture? Are we afraid that we will be subjected to Muslim laws? Personal laws and status follow a person wherever he or she goes. Non Muslims will never be subjected to Muslim laws. We have freedom of religion. What we should be afraid of is when our church or umma will define for us how we should practice our religious freedom guarantee. We should be afraid of political projects of local kingpins for domination, control and hegemony through the misuse of religious symbols. Then, too, local kingpins can be in cahoots with a corrupt center of power. We are hoping that all these are in the past now and we have learned our lessons. We are not wanting in formulas for peace. What is needed is the political will to change the structures that do not work.

First SONA of President Noy : Flaming & Blazing Volley of Sordid Facts

The sound bite of President Noy’s ( P-Noy) first State of the Nation Address (SONA) was certainly as vernacular as could be as he spoke in a lingua franca close to the heart of millions of Filipinos. It dawned on me, though, that as one of those “miseducated” in the English language, I was more comfortable reviewing the SONA in the English version. Pundits and politicians described the first P-Noy SONA as: Flamboyant, very inductive, all about facts but no vision, consistently anti-corrupt, very much like his father Senator Ninoy, confident and exuberant, direct, devoid of rhetoric, conversational, simple and meaningful, description of our problems in clear language, etc.

Some were quick to enumerate what were missing in the SONA like the welfare of our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) which are found in close to two hundred countries in the world, Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) funds issues, agrarian reform, debt servicing, no mention of Freedom of Information Bill, and that there was no new creative articulation of the nuance and framing of the peace issues in Mindanao. But, I agree with what Senator Pia Cayatano said that we should respect the presidential style and prerogative for now, at least.   

Yes, it was inductive because the speech started out with very controversial facts about the way some of our agencies have handled funds & programs and then the SONA ends with proposed solutions. Many think, though, that the proposed solutions are puny and simplistic compared to the grave problems presented. Anyway, these agencies that were put on the spot for alleged mismanagement were the Metropolitan Water & Sewerage System (MWSS), National Power Corporation (Napocor), Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and the National Food Authority (NFA). Manila was waterless for days and so I am sure that the revelations that top honchos of MWSS received bonuses allegedly worth about thirty (30) months were not lost on the urban poor of Manila. Or that these MWSS officials have allegedly awarded themselves with hefty bonuses while being in arrears for the pensions of their own retired employees. If this is true, this is a case of perceived deprivation of due benefits and entitlements. Others feared that because top honchos know the law all these could be justified legally. Well, as we always say, what is legal is not always moral. One thing sure, all these will help in crafting new legislations and in the creation of new oversight functions by Congress for these agencies. 

P-Noy hinted to please not give his cabinet policy team a rough time at the Commission on Appointments so that as he says “the best of us will not hesitate to be public servants.” The Commission on Appointments is an administrative body composed of legislators and is a mechanism for checks and balances and thus it is a powerful limitation on the presidential prerogative. 

P- Noy has outlined to Congress his priority policies and bills, namely: zero based approach to budget to open up all items in the budget to question, Fiscal Responsibility bill to limit legislations to bills with sources of funding since we have many existing legislations which cannot be implemented for lack of funds, Anti-Trust Law for integrity in our corporate businesses.

My favorite which our Alternative Law Group (ALG) network is promoting and that is the National Land Use plan, amendment of the archaic National Defense Act, protection of the witnesses under both the Whistleblower bill and the Witness Protection Program. 

To sum up in a few words the SONA which is very consistent with P-Noy’s election platform and promises wishes to promote integrity and good governance in the bureaucracy towards a good life and abundance for the Filipino. And so, the Filipino is exhorted by P-Noy to dream again.

P Noy Presidency: A Few Weeks After

It feels like déjà vu, much like 1986 again with so much democratic space and goodwill to work for changes in our country. In Mindanao, the task at hand is to complete the reconstitution of the government (GRP) peace panel towards the finalization of the long overdue peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). We were consulted on prospective candidates for members of the government peace panel. We said why not get someone from academe again? The prospective person must be able to articulate the issues in the negotiating table, and as well represent and update the national administration. Because the peace panel negotiator is representing the government, it would be ideal that the person is still open to all possible futures. The person must be open to not only the possibility of a future similar to the one outlined in the recent failed Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain ( MOA-AD) but also other futures. Dean Marvic Leonen, as the newly appointed chief government negotiator is all of these and much more. He is a founding member of our Alternative Law Group (ALG) Network and, thus, deeply immersed and involved in Mindanao issues.

According to P.Noy himself, one of the first steps towards the peace negotiation with the MILF is for this administration to craft a policy framework. Perhaps, all the centuries old issues cannot be crafted in a single frame all at once but a policy framework can be the basis of the talking points.

To increase the income of the farmer in the countryside, three heads of big bureaucracies or departments ( Departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform and of the Environment & Natural Resources) have constituted themselves into a convergent body for a more coordinated collaboration.

The issues of farmer’s entitlements to land as well as the promotion of farmer’s productivity for food security need to be revisited. Current funded programs for farmers need to be evaluated and audited amidst issues of “leakage” and alleged fertilizer scams.

Cabinet members are attending a media seminar by batch. Persons who have been appointed to the communications department are media persons who are very skilled and good in what we call “messaging.” They are my favorites: Manolo Quezon a pedigreed journalist who writes editorials for a major daily and is a prominent blogger and Ricky Carandang, a savvy television journalist. The two have to blend into an institution with old hands.

Some government departments are now headed by former undersecretaries and so these career officials will retire as cabinet secretaries. Some of them have agreed to be “seat warmers” as some of these cabinet posts are reserved for very qualified and fit candidates who cannot take over some these posts now due to the one year ban on candidates to assume government posts after being defeated in the last elections.

P.Noy succeeded a very controversial leadership mired with issues of legitimacy, a country whose economy is in crisis, a country whose social institutions are weak, and a citizenry with low national morale. So, the new P.Noy administration is a breath of fresh air. Today is P. Noy's first State of the Nation Address (SONA). The SONA is the government’s articulation of its major policies and programs for the year and it is addressed to the lawmakers during today's opening of regular session of Congress. Of course, the SONA is also addressed to the entire nation. P.Noy needs the support of not only both houses of Congress in the gigantic tasks at hand but also of the entire citizenry. More on the SONA next time around.

Today is about P-Noy & Kris Aquino

Today, June 30, 2010, marks the beginning of the next six years of P-Noy, the most powerful man in the Philippines, politically. As the son of a former president, his ascendancy to the highest post is much like a royal ascribed status. But, he won on a largely symbolic journey to a new road towards our dreams as a nation. What are our dreams as a nation? I tell our successor generation that we cannot study society without looking back at the past. Our past and present are filled with so much injustice and poverty. The past is important so that we do not repeat our mistakes, especially in Mindanao. We cannot study the past without a theory of society and where we wish to journey as a nation. So, today is a rebirth, a renaissance filled with much hope that the next six years will be positively different. It is so heartwarming that many in the policy team of P-Noy comes from our ranks in civil society. Butch Abad, LP campaign manager, who is poised to take the Department of Budget and Management portfolio was my co-director at BATAS, one of the first alternative law groups (ALG) in the Philippines working for the poor and the disadvantaged groups. His wife Dina Abad worked with us in Mindanao twenty years ago on a capacity building projects for NGOs when I was chair of the CIDA Phil Canadian Joint Committee ( PCJC) project in Mindanao. Later, Dina became a member of Congress. Ging Deles, who will be the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process is a founding member of our feminist movement PILIPINA or Pinay. Dinky Soliman, another sister in the PILIPINA women’s movement started her activism as a student at the University of the Philippines. Dinky’s first assignments as a social development manager was in Mindanao and that is why her knowledge of Mindanao issues is excellent. Before Hyatt 10 and just after she finished a degree in Harvard, she headed CODE-NGO, the largest NGO network in the country. Another friend who studied night school at U.P Law because he had to work during the day to earn his tuition and who was being considered to head the Department of Labor & Employment is Joel Cadiz, former Integrated Bar of the Philippines ( IBP ) president. When he was IBP president, he was one of my consultants when I wrote a book on the Shari’a courts. The latest report, though, says another fellow got the DOLE portfolio. So, I grew up working with these kindred spirits who are oozing with so much passion and spunk for our country and so in this sense, I feel so much a part of the center of power towards achieving our goals as a nation. What is the narrative of our poverty? The roots go back to the colonial times and continue to this day because the social structures that reinforce social inequality are still so very well entrenched in our system. The last election was largely funded by the oligarchy. P-Noy comes from that class and that is why he is well advised to betray that class if he is serious about what ails our nation. What of Kris Aquino, the presidential sister who is in pain at about the same time that her brother is ascending to power? Kris went on national television to say that her marriage is over. Is her timing to go public about her private troubles ideal? Firstly, marriage is a social institution and therefore is a social concern. Secondly, the time to work on the relationships between women and men is anytime and all the time. One of the objections to the old ways of working in social movements was when leaders said that we should be working for national liberation first and women’s liberation later. No, we work on both national liberation and women’s liberation all at once. So, it is kind of symbolic and an iconic message to all women that the presidential sister understands very well that yes, annulment is a solution to a marriage that is not working. Annulment as a remedy for troubled marriages is allowed in both the Catholic church and Muslim umma and, as well, in our secular legal system. My wish is for this remedy to be made accessible to all social classes.

Christmas

We all need to feel the spirit and magic of Christmas amidst all the mayhem we are experiencing in Mindanao.

This is not to downplay nor forget the monstrosity of the Maguindanao heinous massacre and the Agusan del Sur and the Basilan tragic events that followed but an invitation to reflect on the meaning and significance of Christmas.

If the goal of warlordism is wealth, fame and power, it would do us well to remember that the great Jesus was born very humbly in a stable among farm animals.

Of course, we agree that the Jesus Christ who said that we should love one another is our model of how one should be famous and powerful. Wealth, fame and power can be harnessed to serve humanity and therefore are not evil per se; the evils are its misuses to harm humanity. Harming others is an act of harming ourselves.

For many years now, we in the local feminist scene have been contemplating on what we call the “ Alternative Christmas.”

It is a growing concept so it is continually evolving. For example, in advocating that child care is a family and social concern, we promote Christmas cards that has the father St Joseph holding the baby Jesus.

In this sense, we still need to promote The Nativity image that will promote breastfeeding as I imagine there was no commercial cow’s milk formula nor television advertisements to undermine breastfeeding in Bethlehem at that time.

We like to imagine The Belen, or the Nativity scenes to be set in a barn or stable and include Mary, Joseph, the child Jesus, angels, shepherds BUT the Three Wise bearers of gifts are “WOMEN: Balthazara, Melchiora, and Caspara,” who are said to have followed a star, known as the Star of Bethlehem, and arrive after His birth.

We are not anti – men, but we wish to be allowed to imagine a world where women can be “ Three Queens” and find time to leave the domesticity of home to be able to travel and be as gracious and magnanimous as the Three Kings.

While we welcome the economic activity during the Christmas season and particularly, in these times of recession, it is prudent to be austere amidst all the hunger around us.

Don’t we feel violated when others spend millions on lavish Christmas parties while others are hungry? A recent Philippine Human Development Report published by the United Nations Development Program ( UNDP) has determined that “ massive and abject poverty and economic inequity, particularly in the distribution of wealth and control over the resource base for livelihood” is one of the root causes of internal conflicts and rebellion in the Philippines.

This kind of rebellion is perhaps not seen in Maguindanao, a province in Central Mindanao, among the high and mighty enough to have declared a state of martial law.

Our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are not able to go home for Christmas are missing their loved ones in a very big way. I have read their entries in social networking sites and they are missing our “simbang gabi, puto bongbong, caroling, office parties, etc.”

Our fellow countrymen abroad will assuage these feelings by remitting funds and Christmas presents galore. This is why some mothers think they wish to be “MRDs” ( mothers receiving dollars).

My wish is to be able to feel Christmas through the eyes and heart of the child in me and to believe in the magic of Christmas: faith in a Santa Claus from the heavens, giving gifts of love and all the works.

Faith is a lot like love and hope and invoking that warms my heart !