I have recently received an email inviting me to a Bishops-Legislators Forum on Environmental Concerns. This forum, organized by the office of the Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro, is in response to the recent flash floods that affected various parts of Northern Mindanao. The forum will include environmental partners from the executive and legislative branch of government, NGO’s and Church leaders.

The Forum aims to understand the general environmental situation of Northern Mindanao through presentations of case studies. It also aims to identify and discuss key environmental issues, concerns and their possible solutions and get commitments from the Legislators to support strategic policy solutions.

The forum will be held on February 12th, Thursday, at 2:00 – 6:00 p.m., at the Archbishop Cronin Hall, Cathedral Compound, Cagayan de Oro City.

2010 Philippine Presidential elections is fast approaching

Political ads are already shown in our television sets. Politicians are gearing up for the electoral contest, big political parties are merging in order to be stronger in the hope of capturing a big portion of the political pie.

But what’s in it for the ordinary folks. Elections after elections s/he listens to the same old promises, the same thing over and over again. There are a growing number of people, the youth especially, who are already apathetic about elections, saying whoever wins nothing will change, so why vote?

Elections after elections, recycled politicians addicted to power and corruption, run for office in the hope of holding on to it. When their term ends, this just run for another position for a term and then run back again to the position they so desire. While Political dynasty is forbidden in the constitution, it is practiced anyway with no enabling law to back it up and give it some teeth. It is not surprising to see a municipality or province which is run by a family or clan.

For the “Trapos” (Traditional Politicians) the criteria for a candidate are popularity, money, and machinery. It does not matter whether the person has integrity or not. He or she just need those three. When the name of Chief Justice Puno came up as a possible presidential candidate, these trapos said that he has a dim chance of winning because he has no money and machinery.

While there are really good and progressive politicians there are only a handful of them. These few are constantly harassed for being good and honest with their job. Take for example Governor Ed Panlilio, as a result of his expose that a palace staff distributed envelopes containing Php 200,000.00 Php 500,000.00 after the meeting of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with 200 officers of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, he now faces a recall of elections on the ground of loss of confidence. The recall makes no sense at all. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cheated in 2007 election, and yet she got away with it.

The House of Representatives showed its true colors when they passed a resolution extending the life of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) for the second time and without compulsory mode of land acquisition which is the life and soul of CARP. These landlords get elected because they have the money to win it and when they get elected, they bring hell just to protect their own interest.

However inspite of all these, Elections is also a time to hope. A hope that somehow things will change and new, progressive, honest politicians and with integrity will somehow get elected and be thorn among the traditional corrupt and recycled politicians. A hope that gives a man the passion to volunteer for a clean and honest elections and that somehow our democracy will work. Though that hope have been frustrated many times before, it still persist. A light amidst the encroaching darkness.

The sun has already shone here in Cagayan de Oro city. After that gloomy week, 16,104 families or 83,321 individuals jampacked in various evacuation centers in 47 barangays or more than half of the city's 80 barangays have been displaced. Cagayan de Oro Disaster Coordinating Council have placed the initial damages to crops and livestocks at P250 million.

What happened last week has never happened in the city for decades. A historian said that the last big flood in the city happened during the 1960’s, but the recent one is probably way bigger. I think this is caused by mining, quarrying and an almost depleted forest.

Mayor Constantino Jaraula suspended all quarrying and mining operations, an act which should have been done years ago. Different sectors have been calling for it to stop for a long time. But as we all know, government needs to be poked in the head in order for it to act. Farmers have to hunger strike and walk the miles and miles in order to be heard. In this case, mother nature has to have landslide and floods in order for her to be heard.

But it is not government responsibility alone. It is everyone’s responsibility to take care of the earth. It transcends boundaries political or geographical.

People are going back to what’s left of their homes, trying to rebuild their lives. Its like starting back to zero for those whose house and crops are completely destroyed. Relief goods are pouring out from individuals to organizations. I think the United Nations World Food Program is giving 600 tons of rice.

I am glad that the sun is up and the rains, floods and landslides are gone.

Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification again

Ultimately we choose our own path, or else, others will choose it for us.

Choosing to become a social development worker has not been an easy one. There were a lot of realities, both personal and social, that I had to confront, face and settle. About a year ago, I decided to join the Year of Service Volunteer Program with much enthusiasm and a thirst to learn things outside the sheltered environment of the university. After almost a year, I got more than I expected and was never disappointed.

I was assigned at Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. and was given the opportunity to explore different communities and also to explore myself in terms of my character and the determination to pursue development work. It was not clear to me at first what the task of a SIADO is, but as events unfolded, things began to crystallize as I moved along throughout the whole experience. I realized that while I was engaging social realities, I was also engaging myself. Facing the realities in the communities I work with also meant facing the realities of the self.

I was amazed at seeing and witnessing how the Barangay Development Council works. How it gave people the venue, the mechanism to discuss, debate and decide on things that matter and affect their barangay. It is through this venue that you see ordinary people articulate and expound ideas in order to lobby and engage local government units. Personally, it was an eye opener. I realized that there are still unexplored democratic spaces that need to be maximized and taken before we think of other means of effecting change in society.

During my first month, I was brought to the municipality of Siayan, Zamboanga del Norte for a local peace consultation. I had only a very little idea what a local peace consultation was. Not until I saw how it was being done did I realize its majesty and how it gives hope to the current peace talks. It is popularly known as the "the other peace process." This entirely unique peace process between the GRP and RPMM, which is mediated by BMFI, has at its core community participation and involvement as integral part the peace talks. Through the local peace consultations, I have come face to face with people who are longing to be heard, who have been waiting all the time for a long time, for basic services to reach their barangays. These are things that are unaccounted for when economists, technocrats and bureaucrats are saying the economy has grown to this and this percent because the GDP and GNP has increased to this percent therefore everything is going well.

These are but some of the highlights that have given me profound realizations and reflections throughout the year. Parallel with my external experience with the community is internal experience with the self. Both goes hand in hand. Personally as a volunteer, right at the very start, people were asking where is the wisdom behind my choice. Having just graduated and passed the board exams, people, especially relatives and family, expected "more" out of me. More meaning a high paying job. When I decided to be a volunteer and live on "modest allowance," expectations were overturned and disappointments over my decision poured in.

Then again, it has always been good to follow your heart's desire. They say it's where your treasure is. For me, it has been a source of joy and satisfaction seeing people win their own fight. Be it in accomplishing bit by bit their priority projects in their Barangay Development Plans, or be it in the efforts of the indigenous peoples' efforts to secure their ancestral domain. There is no debate whether or not to help the family; it is on the how of it. I believe that as long as I am contributing in the efforts to build a better society, I am in the long run helping my family. The experience has also taught me the value of financial management. Being a volunteer, I have always made it sure that I set aside a portion of my allowance as contribution to the family income. They say it's not the amount that matters; it is how it is given.

There would be times when the internal conflict would be so overwhelming that you would think it would tear you apart. Throughout the latter part of my volunteer year, the pressure of whether to continue in this line of work constantly hammered me, creating confusions. Those were the times when it seemed everything is stagnant and devoid of movement. The doubts cloud up the reason why I have chosen to be a volunteer in the first place. It's like forgetting the forest for the tree.

Looking back to those gloomy and confusing moments, I realized that those were just the deep breaths before the plunge. The plunge towards a deeper journey of the self, a journey towards creating a more meaningful and peaceful society. Those were the moments wherein you get wounded and broken so that more of you can be shared. The times when your intentions are purified and you will begin to see more clearly the reasons and directions of where you are heading.