It is sad that DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima is being perceived as a ‘purveyor’ of a weird and dangerous legal thinking. In the first place she is NO ordinary person but the Secretary of Justice, no less. The Secretary of Justice is the FIRST person to uphold the Rule of Law that is the very foundation of our justice system.

The whole crisis began with her assertion that DOJ Circular 41 that authorizes her to put people on the so-called ‘watch order list’ results also to a de facto ‘hold order’ list that impinges on the citizens’ constitutional right of freedom of movement guaranteed by Section 6 of the 1987 Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

TV commentator, Teddy Boy Locsin, has said it very cogently in his TV editorial that DOJ’s directive is simply a watch order list and ‘WATCH and ‘LIST” it can do as long as DOJ desires so. But to prevent people to travel or to impinge on the Constitutional Right to free movement is NOT DOJ’s competence or power. That power belongs to the court and the court can only do so on the basis of three specific provisions of the Constitutions – (a.) threat to national security; (b.) public safety; and (c.) public health; (d.) as may be provided by law.

For Teddy Boy Locsin, Rep. Gloria Arroyo or any citizen for that matter, whether appearing in the so called watch over list or not NEED NO permission from government to travel! They simply go and travel and if so detained by government should sue government for the violation of their constitutional rights.

In a similar vein, foremost Constitutionalist, Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ, concludes in his Inquirer piece, Puzzling Circular, that DOJ Circular Order 41 “is humorous were it not for the fact that it plays around with an important constitutional right”. The Supreme Court ‘clearly states that ‘hold departure order’ shall be issued ONLY in criminal cases within the exclusive jurisdiction of the regional Trial Courts.” He says that DOJ ‘by an act of supreme creativity authorizes itself’ to do so on the basis of a ‘whereas clause’ where the SC is silent with ‘respect to cases falling within the jurisdiction of courts below the RTC as well as those pending determination by government prosecution offices’.

The whole issue has reached the apex of ‘absurdity’ by pitting the Supreme Court and the DOJ Secretary de Lima with the issuance of TRO of the Supreme Court granting relief to the petition to travel by Rep. Gloria Arroyo and the former first gentleman.

Notwithstanding the SC’s TRO, DOJ Secretary de Lima in a ‘weird and dangerous legal logic’ has chosen to defy the SC’s TRO. The first basis, she claimed was the fact that the DOJ ‘had not received’ the TOR and the same office was ready to file a Motion for Reconsideration and until the SC acted on the MR, the hold order for the travel of Rep. Arroyo and the former first gentleman stay.

The SC spokesman in repeated interviews has, constantly, said that the Supreme Court has already spoken and granted relief to the petition of the former first couple. All government offices have to comply with the Court order or face a direct contempt of the court. All legal luminaries are in the same view that the TRO is effective upon the issuance by the SC and NOT by the receipt of DOJ, especially when the mass media organizations already had copies of the said TRO.

If DOJ Secretary is committed to the Rule of Law, especially when all media people already cite the said TRO, she should have restrained herself and complied. But if she has NO intention of complying, she can invent all reasons not do so. The real issue here is compliance or non-compliance with the rule of law and NOT some legalese thinking bordering to putting oneself above the Supreme Court.

When it comes to Constitutional Rights or Rule of Law, the matter is not resolved by popular feelings or sentiments. The way Secretary de Lima is acting and behaving, I can only surmise that she is not only being stubborn but also being ‘arrogant’ in her display of power. This behavior is, definitely, NOT in accordance with PNoy’s avowed ‘matuwid na daan’. The way she is going about the whole case, she appears as the ‘epitome of vindictiveness’.

The Supreme Court should nip in the bud, ASAP, this de Lima doctrine that is truly a weird and dangerous legal thinking, else we put our constitutional rights in ‘clear and present danger’!

For days, the sound bytes for all-out war, all-out justice and all-out peace have captivated every Juan and Abdul with frenetic fever following the debacle of the so-called ‘test mission’ in al Barka, Basilan by special forces training for scuba diving.

It was a very costly ‘test mission’ not only in terms of human lives but also in terms of ‘re-igniting’ the hormonal imbalance of every Juan and Abdul in a contest for a raw display of testosterone.

But what is truly amazing is the fact that those distant and armchair wannabe ‘warriors’ have the farthest reach in a ‘pissing’ contest of war sound bytes. Metro Manila and other big urban centers far from the areas of conflict have the loudest call for the all-out war.

It is not surprising that the people far from conflict are the ‘boldest’ in calling for war so long as the desired war to paraphrase the old Mindanao song would take place in ‘the far - far Mindanao’.

Would the ‘brave’ armchair ‘warriors’ and the ‘war mongers’ change their tune if the war they desire would take place right at their very door steps?

Most people in these enchanted islands have experiences of war only in movies or through war reportage via cable news or through telenovelas. They are romantic experiences to say the least.

Prior to the 70’s, the only war experiences I had were through the stories of the 2nd World War narrated by my folks as they lived the Japanese ‘times’. To my folks, it was an experience that made them declare: ‘War, NEVER AGAIN!

The other experience of war was the TV series ‘Combat’. But it was a very romantic and one sided war, where the American GIs were always the victors and the German soldiers appearing so foolish.

Yet, to my big surprise while watching the first Papal Visit to the United Nations television coverage, on the 4th of October 1965, on the occasion of the UN 25th foundation anniversary, that slogan was the exact message of Pope Paul VI: ‘jamais plus la guerre, jamais plus la guerre! C'est la paix, la paix, qui doit guider le destin des peuples et de toute l'humanité!’ (never again, war, never again, war! It is peace, peace that should guide the destiny of people and the whole humanity!)

I began to understand its meaning during the war in the 70’s in Mindanao. The senseless blood letting and the victims were mostly the civilians and the young fighters on both sides.

War brings out the worst in humanity. The pillages, killings, massacres and mutilations of the fallen were no longer sound bytes or some romantic stories but real things that made you puke in revulsion!

We lived in fear and endless prayers when we traveled through ambush sites. We jumped and laid flat on the ground every time shootings began. People were taught not to trust the enemies and they learned to fight them with all they had!

We knew no peace and we had mastered the types of calibers by their sounds. We became familiar to the booming of the 105 howitzers and mortal shells.

They were evacuees everywhere (now, they are called internally displaced persons or IDPs). Informal settlements began to mushrooms in cities like Campo Muslim in Cotabato City, Campo Muslim in Zamboanga City. Farmlands abandoned and remained fallow for years! Houses burned and people learned to live in make shift evacuation centers.

The Estrada War of the year 2000 was a very costly one and for what? For war fetish and the flag-raising rituals that were only good for photo ops and that was it! Then the ‘fall’ of Camp Abubakar came and behold the actor Estrada appeared in a fatigue uniform like in his old movies and led the pack in feasting on lechons.

It was truly amazing that he acted and believed that he won the war in 2000. Yet what he won was a simple and fleeting battle. No doubt, that the Estrada’s of this world and their likes would always have their wars and most likely win their battles. It is after all a way of ‘prolonging’ their ‘favorite’ adolescent war games. Only this time, it was for real and other people paid for these ‘war games’ with their lives!

They know or pretend NOT to know that they will never win the war! War is never won by arms or by simple superiority of armaments.

There are enough lessons worldwide to tell us how war can be won! NOT by armaments but political settlements with dignity and justice to all!

In the era of globalization and the great wonders of technology and science, NO nation and NO people, today, stands alone, both in war or in peace. Either we stand together and survive or stand alone and perish! We need one another not as enemies but as partners. Unless we learn this basic fact of life, we have shall have NO future!

‘PEACE and NOT WAR should be the guide that shapes the destiny of peoples, nations and the whole humanity!’

The month of November is set aside for the remembrance of those who had passed away. November 1st of each year is the celebration of All Saints Day and the 2nd of November is devoted to the remembrance of the dead.

In many places in the Philippines, people go to the cemetery on the 1st of November. For the first two days of November, the cemeteries are transformed into major hubs where people meet their kinfolks, former classmates and friends heard and seen a year ago.

In many ways, the remembrance of the dead has become also a powerful and continuing ‘glue’ to the ever growing family. It recognizes a common ancestry to growing family branches that have multiplied through the years and have gone far and wide.

In years past, the remembrance of the dead was solemn and very religious. People offer Masses and prayers for their beloved dead. Later in the afternoon until evening they visit the cemeteries to light candles and place flowers in the tombs of their beloved.

As the world has become more secular, the religious rituals have become more subdued and the cemeteries have practically become carnivals complete with shows and all sorts of games. The remembrance of the dead has become a big commercial enterprise with the trappings of showbiz!

There is no ‘turning the clock back’, except for some nostalgic reminiscences of the bygone times and ages!

There is the joyful celebration of the All Saints Day, November 1st, and All Souls Day, Nov. 2nd. The more religious members of the family reserve the whole month of November to offer prayers and Masses for the departed.

It is rightly so that the remembering the dead is not all sad and sorrowful! The remembrance of the departed is not simply a ‘look back’ into the bygone days. The remembrance of the ancestors is as much as a ‘look forward’. People in a friendly and hospitable environment update themselves on the development of their hometown and kinfolks. The visit to the graves make them feel anew, in a more physical way, the beliefs and values on which their forebears stood ground with dignity and pride.

We are four children plus one (there is a first cousin who was adopted by my mother from birth until she was 21) that were early orphaned by a father in a plane crash. The presence of our father was kept alive not only through photos and stories that our mother never tired telling and re-telling, but also by our weekly visit to the grave after the Sunday Mass.

Through the stories, he became very alive and we were taught and formed to live by his belief and values, particularly friendship with common folks, hospitality to those in need thus our home had practically become akin to ‘DSWD’.

As my father was a great provider, my mother became practically the ‘mother’ of perpetual help to all who knocked at our door.

Now that both are gone… we (5), their sons and daughters, continue to live by their beliefs and values. They continue to measure us not only by their hard work and generosity but also by their devotion to the Almighty and to her Blessed Mother.

The two towering icons that have become the living legacy to us are the Jesus of Nazarene at the Quiapo Shrine and the Mother of Perpetual Help at the Baclaran Shrine.

My saintly mom became widow at a young age of 26 years old. The tragedy of my father’s plane crash coupled with five young mouths to feed and educate was the cross she bore. Her unwavering faith in Jesus of Nazarene at Quiapo gave her that strength to carry the weight and the burden of her cross. She, too, bravely bore her cross to the end and gave life and good future to all her kids - the five of us.

She would, also, constantly call on the Mother of Perpetual Help in her times of needs which was ‘always’! And the Blessed Mother had never failed to come to her side both in times of joys and adversities. The Mother of Perpetual Help had truly become the perpetual help to her. She was literally her and our own ‘life line’ in the years of our growing up.

All Saints Day and All Souls Day celebrations are always special to me. They provide the occasion to come back ‘home’ to Obando, Bulacan, my first hometown (Dulawan in Maguindanao is my second). It is not only to fulfill my filial devotion to my mom and dad by lighting candles and saying prayers in their graves but it is also a precious moment to ‘re-connect’ to my kinfolks and classmates and townmates.

November is an occasion I always look forward to celebrate with kinfolks and friends as I reminisce the bygone years with all the members of the tribe – living and dead!

Many were caught by a big surprise when the Social Weather Station came out with its latest publication released on 10 October 2011 celebrating the 20th anniversary of the local government Code or RA 7160.

The special focus on the ARMM is per request of DILG. Believe it or not, within the ARMM, the residents are contented with the performance of the present incumbents; 63 percent are satisfied and 18 percent as dissatisfied, for a net rating of +45.

The good performance in the ARMM (first time since 1989) is, definitely, something to celebrate. The positive mark is mostly credited to the indefatigable Executive Secretary, Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo. His energy and youthful enthusiasm are akin to a virus that spreads itself to the whole ARMM structure since the incumbents have taken over the helm of ARMM government in December 2009 following the tragic Maguindanao massacre on 23rd November 2009.

The mark of good performance in the ARMM governance for the last two years sets a new benchmark that is hard to follow. The present incumbents will soon leave their posts with a sole distinction of good and satisfactory performance in office. They have shown to the world and the nation that with a few good men in office who are committed and devoted to real public service, ARMM regional government can pick of the pieces and rise from the shame brought about by long years of bad governance and impunity of which the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre is the ignominious symbol.

The Supreme Court has, finally, decided on the constitutionality of RA 10153 or the law synchronizing the ARMM elections with the mid-term national elections on the 2nd Monday of May 2013. And now the ball is in PNoy’s court, that is, to consolidate the good performance of the past two years by way of appointing GOOD PUBLIC SERVANTS as OICs in the ARMM.

The premise often cited for the appointments of OICs is to carry out the much needed reforms in the ARMM. They are identified as:
(1) improving access and delivery of basic services, particularly in the areas of health and basic education;
(2) doing away with clan and dynastic politics that have held the ARMM politics hostage;
(3) good governance and accountability of regional allocation and expenditures; and
(4) exorcising the ghosts not only in government bureaucracy but also in notorious electoral system that is well known for the100% voting average and 100% delivery of votes in favor of the pre-selected candidates.

The selection process for the OICs had been completed. The short list is now submitted to the Office of the President for PNoy’s lucky and ‘magic’ anointment.

The actual selection process engendered a consultation process not known in the ‘culture’ of ARMM since its creation in 1989. The short listed nominees presented their platform of governance in public and they were all subjected to panel interviews and public scrutiny. This was a novel process in the ARMM long used to the feudal leaders dictating to their constituency.

With the good satisfaction rating of the present incumbents, the incoming OICs are challenged to work harder and to perform better. At stake is not only their own reputation as good public servants but the President himself who has worked hard to lobby in Congress for the passage of the controversial law that provides not only for the cancellation of the scheduled August 8th, 2011 ARMM elections but also for the appointment of OICs until their successors are duly elected and qualified in 2013 mid-term elections.

The PNoy administration is now poised to unravel a reform road map that includes among others a sort of mini ‘Marshall Plan’ to put on solid footing the desired long-term stability of the ARMM. The ‘extra-ordinary’ intervention or assistance would be taken from the budget of the select national agencies as their concrete contribution to actual reforms in the ARMM. It is NOT ‘business as usual’ but a call for harder work and greater commitment to good governance and peace and development in the region.

No doubt, the reforms and rehabilitation work would entail cost! But with the President’s men and women who shall be in charge as OICs, the necessary wherewithal to effect real change and development in the ARMM would, hopefully, not be wanting.

In the same vein, partnership would remain the ‘by word’ in the reform road map. It would require a solid partnership particularly with the private sector and donor communities. The public and private investments in the autonomous region would provide the needed assistance as the new OICs embark in the path of reforming the ARMM.

The incoming OICs in the ARMM should know that they have actually NO CHOICE! They are NOT allowed to fail! They are all the personal choices of the President and as such they are directly accountable to him who shall actively exercise supervision over the ARMM governance. The OICs’ failure and success would also be the President’s! CUIDATE!

With the peace negotiations entering a sort of ‘winter’ season due to colliding positions on the terms of possible political settlement, International Alert in partnership with UK Embassy invited the Rt. Honorable Paul Murphy, Member of the British Parliament and former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Wales.

MP Paul Murphy belongs to the Labor Government of both PM Tony Blair and PM Gordon Brown. It was this popular Labor government under Mr. Blair that negotiated the Good Friday Agreement that has laid the peace formula not only between the warring Unionist party (Protestant) and the Sein Fein (Catholic) but also shaping the relations between and among Great Britain, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The case of Northern Ireland rings a familiar chord for the peoples of Southern Philippines albeit the differences in ‘color’, ‘shape’, religions, ideology and cultures. The many similarities touch on the relations of minority and majority cum the controversial wealth and opportunity sharing, and compounded by religious identities that are more tied to cultural ideologies and their popular expressions, including the use of violence.

Mr. Murphy’s short visit is simply to share with us – stakeholders to peace in Mindanao both in the national and regional levels - a model of peace negotiation that has proven successful not only in terms of signing a peace agreement but also implementing it with political will on the ground as workable formula for wealth and power sharing.

I cannot help but observe that the man who provided the environment and the ‘push’ is an ardent Catholic who received a papal knighthood for his peace work in Northern Ireland.

Some of the similarities between Northern Ireland and Southern Philippines are on issues touching the relations not only between minority (Catholics) and majority (Protestants) but also between the national government (the British Parliament) and the six counties (four Protestants and two Catholics) that formed Northern Ireland.

The above relationship in the recent past was marred by conflict and injustice of varying shades of colors of injustices and ideologies translated and expressed in more familiar concepts like political power, economic development and cultural identities (British Crown for the Unionists and the Republic for Sein Fein).

The other noteworthy similarity in the Northern Ireland conflict was the fact that for decades the conflict in the Northern Ireland remained distant not only to the Government of Great Britain but also to the British Constituency. It actually communicated a subtle message to the effect saying that so long as the killings, the carnage and the violations of basic rights remained in Belfast or Londonderry or in any part of Northern Ireland, the peoples of Great Britain continued with ‘business as usual’.

Things changed when the Irish Republican Army or IRA brought the conflict to London itself. The US was also brought to the picture, not only because of the historical and cultural ties to Ireland and Great Britain but more so because of the many Irish Americans’ support for the struggle of their kin and kith in the North.

What is noteworthy in the making of the Good Friday Agreement is the political will of the two governments (United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland). The two leaders, UK PM Mr. Blair and Republic of Ireland PM Mr. Beartie, were on board all the way as the full time and elected peace negotiators ironed out the formula of wealth and power sharing between the warring Protestant and Catholic groups. The US sent a powerful mediator in the person of Senator George Mitchell, with the full backing and support not only of the sitting US President (both President Clinton and later President G. W. Bush) but also by the entire US Congress. The role and support of the entire European Union were also much felt for the simple reason that the two major protagonists, the UK and the Republic of Ireland, are members of the same EU.

The equally important ingredient that went into the making of the Good Friday Agreement was the TRUST and the RESPECT accorded to one and all by the full time and elected negotiators, mediators, Governments and all stakeholders with few exceptions.

What is crucial is the fact that the Good Friday agreement is “HOMEGROWN”. NO IMPOSED peace agreement anywhere and at anytime is sustainable! The Good Friday Agreement is shaped by the stakeholders themselves through their elected negotiators (with real constituencies on the ground) and facilitated by a powerful US mediator and fully supported by the two major protagonists.

The Good Friday Agreement gives HOPE to our own peace process now experiencing some difficulties. Mr. Murphy’s sharing is a successful PEACE Story. Though we are not ‘copy cats’ of Northern Ireland, no doubt, we can draw concrete lessons from it if we are looking for a fresh wind blowing our own peace story... else we freeze in the winter of the peace talks!

There is now an unfolding saga in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. With the Supreme Court issuing a temporary restraining order or TRO, the implementation of the newly concocted law, RA 10153, synchronizing the ARMM elections with the national mid-term election on the 2nd Monday of May 2013 is now put hold.

It is not the first time that the ARMM elections were postponed. They were about eight cases of postponement in the past. But in previous cases, no one questioned the wisdom or the legality of postponing the elections.

This time, the postponement of the ARMM elections right from the beginning spawned great debates between the pro elections side and the pro postponement side.

On the one hand, the premise of the pro election is the fact that election in the ARMM is at the very core of autonomy and self-determination. The national government for whatever motive or reason cannot override the people’s highest expression of the popular will through elections albeit flawed.

On the other hand, the pro postponement would like to effect, first, a set of reforms before conducting yet another election in the ARMM. Moreover, the people behind the reform ARMM movement are adverse to elections given the ‘reputation’ of the ARMM for electoral frauds.

The real crux of the matter is the issue of the ‘constitutionality’ of RA 10153 that cancels the scheduled ARMM elections. The law also gives power to the president to appoint officers in charge in the ARMM when the term of office of the incumbents expires on September 30th, 2011.

By the virtue of the Supreme Court’s TRO, the implementation of RA 10153 is temporarily enjoined, thus the President is PROHIBITED from appointing OICs unless and until the TRO is lifted. Meanwhile, the provision of RA 9054 on ‘holdover’ capacity shall apply if the TRO is NOT lifted on or before September 30th, 2011. The TRO also names the ‘INCUMBENTS’ thus leaving no ambiguity who shall enjoy the privilege of ‘holdover’ capacity.

The issue is crystal clear for people who wish to understand the present ruling with the Supreme Court justices voting 8-4 in favor of the TRO. The SC TRO has NO ‘expiry date’. In fact, a restraining order issued by the Supreme Court shall be effective until further orders by the same court.

Clearly, the present incumbents shall continue to hold office until the TRO is lifted or the issue before the SC is resolved. ‘In the event that the subject cases are not decided by September 30, 2011, the following incumbent ARMM officials shall continue to perform their functions on a holdover capacity pursuant to Section 2, Article VIII of RA 9054’.

Now we have two groups on the ground – the holdovers and the OIC wannabes. There are times that the exchanges between two groups are no longer civil and friendly. The “holdovers’ are called ‘kapit tuko’ to mean holding to the positions beyond their mandates while the OIC wannabes are called ‘tulo laway’ meaning that they are salivating to assume the jobs.

The real issue, beyond names and adjectives is the question of ‘autonomy’ or self-determination already granted to the ARMM. The Basic Charter of the ARMM or the Organic Act merely gives to the President a general supervision over the autonomous region and this supervision is exercised through the ARMM Regional Governor. The Basic Charter grants autonomy to the ARMM in local affairs and in all the enumerated powers specified in RA 9054. While everybody (both holdovers and OIC wannabes) agrees to the needed reforms in the ARMM, the issue is whether the new law RA 10153 is a violation of the Constitution and the Basic Charter of the ARMM.

There will be no vacuum of power in the ARMM beyond September 30, 2011, since the Supreme Court has already decided on the matter, that is, ‘holdover’ for the incumbents pursuant to RA 9054. There is no ambiguity either who are the incumbents, because the Supreme Court enumerates them by names.

Thus while we wait for the final decision on the issue, the reforms in the ARMM cannot wait. In fact, the incumbents, with few exceptions, have been doing their utmost to change the image of the ARMM since they were named in December 2009.

In Southern Philippines, the security sector reform (SSR) story begins from a concrete context of conflict. The SSR is an attempt to re-define the role of soldiers not simply in terms of warriors but also in terms of peace-building as communities emerge from conflict situation.

The journey would never have taken off the ground without the active partnership of two officers and gentlemen of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. They are LtGen. Moh. Benjamin Dolorfino (now retired) and LtGen. Raymundo Ferrer of the Western Mindanao Command

The concept of the security sector reforms is still very young in the history of the AFP. It is inevitable that during the initial discussions, some senior military officers have expressed their reservation on training workshops that include among others the history of Mindanao, the peace process and bridging leadership for officers of the AFP.

The engagement in SSR has become more urgent with the resumption of the peace talks following the debacle of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) in 2008 and with the Philippine government’s official declaration of the priority of the peace process policy.

The Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG), a regional think tank based in Cotabato City, has developed two phases in the Security Sector Reforms. There are four major themes that underpin the SSR training programs. The first theme is a brief study of the history of Mindanao with special focus on the struggles of the two Moro Fronts (MNLF and MILF) and the NDF. This is an attempt to contextualize the emerging role of the AFP as peace-builders in the midst of conflict situation in the Southern Philippines.

The second theme situates the said role within the framework of the basic human rights as enshrined in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights and in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. The module includes also a brief presentation of the International Humanitarian Law. These rights are inalienable and no matter the situation on the ground, the basic rights of people have to be recognized and respected, especially so by the security sector.

The third theme deals on the many and various peace-building attempts and concrete praxis on the ground where the AFP, particularly the Philippine Marines, interface as they shape their new emerging role as peace-builders. The actual module includes also conflict analysis and mediation, particularly in rural areas that involve the participation of local leaders.

The fourth theme shows the need of soldiers’ involvement and active participation in the concrete imperatives in the communities where they are. These are the following: (1) Sustainable Community development; (2) the urgent call for action to become environmental stewards; (3) the need for effective social marketing for peace; and (4) Soldiers as ‘Bridging Leaders’ in the communities they are ‘planted’.

The whole SSR story tells a different message as it shapes a new paradigm for soldiers, particularly in situation of conflicts and post conflict. The classic understanding of the Armed Forces as ‘protectors’ under the narrow the so-called National Security Doctrine is no longer sustainable. The old paradigm may be ‘successful’ in the short term, but both in the medium and long terms, military might does no put an end to conflicts, specifically internal conflicts. The old military operations have always been saddled by accusations of human rights abuse, lack of sensitivity (ethnic and religious), and devoid of any understanding of the deep root causes of conflicts.

No doubt, there is an urgent need for a new paradigm that spells concretely the new emerging roles of soldiers in times of conflict as well as post conflict. The SSR, though often labeled by ‘left activists’ as sophisticated counter-insurgency program, are attempts to re-define the role of the security sectors as protectors of the people and ‘keepers of peace’ in nation building.

Last September 20th, on the eve of the remembrance of the fatal declaration of Martial Law rule in the Philippines 39 years ago, IAG launched the SSR Story and the Training Manual at Camp Aguinaldo’s Officers Club. SND Voltaire Gazmin and the top brass of the AFP and friends from the civil society came together for the occasion to highlight the importance of the security sectors reform as the 4th pillar of President Noynoy Aquino’s peace and security framework in the coming years.

IAG also cited the AUSAID for being generous partner in this important endeavor. AusAid Minister Chancellor, the Honorable Titon Mitra, and other officials from the Australian Embassy honored the occasion not only by their active participation but also with the commitment for continued support.

The three-letter word stands for temporary restraining order usually issued by the court of law to give immediate relief to petitioner/s. For whatever purpose it may serve, TRO now spells disaster for the Bangsamoro people.

The first time the word became ‘famous’ or ‘infamous’ was in 2008 when the same Supreme Court issued a TRO restraining the Philippine Government in signing the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the GPH and the MILF. The said TRO led to the ‘rampage’ of the two MILF commanders Bravo and Kato that subsequently triggered running battles between elements of the MILF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Hundreds of thousands were displaced from their homes.

The second TRO of note that was issued by the Supreme Court touching on the Bangsamoro issue was in 2010 restraining the new Aquino government in its attempt to remove from office what it considers ‘midnight appointments’ in the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos. This TRO has, more or less, led to the ‘marginalization’ of the whole commission vis-à-vis its articulated function as the lead agency in pursuing the general welfare of the Muslim Filipinos.

Now comes yet another TRO issued on September 13, 2011 by the Supreme Court restraining for the nth time the PNoy government from implementing RA 10153 synchronizing the ARMM Elections with the mid term National Elections in May 2013. The same TRO puts a halt to the whole process of the reform ARMM agenda of the PNoy government.

Since the passage of the new law in June 2011, a government team with civil society participation has been formed to chart the road map for the ‘Reform ARMM’. Several consultations had been called to put the road map together. And with the issuance of EO 51, the nomination and application for the OIC positions in the ARMM had commenced. A five-member Selection Committee began screening the more than 400 applicants and the same committee came out with a short list for the 26 OIC positions of Regional Governor, Vice Regional Governor and 24 members of the Regional Legislative Assembly. The nominees in the short list were presented to the constituency of the ARMM for public scrutiny.

The selection process for the leadership of the ARMM has introduced something very novel that has caught the imagination of the ARMM constituency. No doubt, the ‘reform ARMM train’ has engendered a process that promotes not only public scrutiny of the nominees’ respective platform vis-à-vis reforms in the ARMM but also for the first time a popular demand for ‘accountability’ and transparency both of leadership and the funds.

The public forums in the town centers of the ARMM five component provinces put to task the nominees for the regional legislative assembly. Never has this been done in the region known for a culture of silence and a culture of impunity. The lively exchanges in the forums that were also aired live created a refreshing new environment for a new type of democratic participation of the constituency of the entire ARMM.

The various groups from the civil society, academe, business, religious sector, youth and women were present as well as the LGUs. For the first time, their voices were heard and they avidly scrutinized the platforms of the OIC wannabes. In many ways, the reform ARMM train has given birth to something new that can be compared to a ‘spring’ in the ARMM creating a new political situation or political reality beyond the purview of the law.

There is something very unique of the ARMM that is taking shape… something very dynamic, an expression of the traditional community debates and consultation – truly elements of a Bangsamoro ‘spring’ that is beyond matters for the court. This is what the present TRO has restrained, NOT simply the President’s appointment of OICs and the implementation of RA 10153.

I thought the TRO, though legally constructed, was utterly wrong and void of any MORAL authority. What is unfolding in the ARMM is truly very unique and it is rightly so that it is unfolding in the ARMM, after all, it is the ONLY AUTONOMOUS Region in the country – a sort of ‘sui generis’. For this reason, the process, I truly believe, is a unique democratic process proper for a region seeking expression of its right to self-determination.

The process has become a political question beyond the justiciable ‘res’ by the courts with hardly any jurisprudence on issues of autonomy and self-determination outside the Local Government Code. It is high time, that our courts, including the Supreme Court, should disabuse their usual legal training and begin considering new expressions of Regional Autonomy on the basis of the right for self-determination of minority nationalities. The ARMM is not a local government unit in the same league as province or municipality. The ARMM is a ‘sui generis’ (a kind of its own)!

With all the wild talks about the ARMM, from ghost employees to corruption, I thought that few would be interested in vying for the OIC posts during the 21- month transition period. The reform agenda is very daunting and the time frame is so short and it would require a miracle to clean the proverbial Augean stable that is the ARMM.

I am dead wrong! The list of ‘wannabes’ seeking OIC posts is, indeed, very long! For the positions of OIC ARMM Governor, there are 74 applicants and nominees; for the position of Vice Governor – 27 and for the Regional Assembly with 24 members representing 8 congressional districts, there are 366 applicants and nominees! WOW!

The President established a Selection Committee composed of the DILG Secretary, DND Secretary, Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs, a representative of ARMM Provincial Governors and City mayor, and one civil society organization. The task of the said committee is to short-list the applicants and nominees and then present them to the general public in Cotabato City, Zamboanga City, Jolo and Marawi. And from the short list of nominees, the President shall appoint OIC who would take charge of the ARMM during the transition period of 21 months to implement the much needed reforms.

The paramount reforms needed in the ARMM are the following:

1. To expand greater access to basic social services within the whole ARMM, specifically health and basic education;
2. To jump start economic development in the region, particularly in the component provinces that make up the ARMM;
3. To vivify and strengthen internal governance capacity in the regional as well as in the local government units within the ARMM;
4. To undertake concrete steps towards the total overhaul of the electoral system in the ARMM beginning with the setting aside of the voter’ lists and undertake new registration with the use of biometrics and modern technology; and
5. To be innovative and bold in instituting transitional institutional arrangements on the delivery of investment support programs to the ARMM (a sort of mini Marshall Plan) during the 21-month transition.

The so-called 366 wannabes come in different ages, faces, sizes and backgrounds both famous and notorious! The re-cycled ARMM politicians are aplenty. The old guards in the ARMM politics equally match the number of re-cycled ones.

There are also two sets of ‘revolutionaries’ (MNLF and MILF) in the list of wannabes. There are also new players in the list – they are young and untainted by dirty politics in the ARMM.

The million dollar question to you and I is who would gain prominence both in the short list as well as in the actual appointments? Would the new players have any chance at all to make it to the governance structure associated with failure (courtesy of the re-cycled ARMM leaders and the old guards)?

In the coming two or three weeks, we shall know if the Aquino government is truly serious in reforming the ARMM. The appointment of OICs would, in many ways, be the acid test of PNoy’s much taunted reforms. In fact, the appointment of OICs would signal the seriousness of the national government in effecting real changes in the ARMM besides the usual sound bytes associated with government pronouncements.

Re-cycled ARMM politicians and old guards as OICs would simply dissipate the hope and the dreams of a fresh wind blowing the ARMM. One way of removing the ‘tradpols’ and the re-cycled ones is to reduce the age limit for the ARMM OICs. In fact, I would strongly recommend NOT to appoint anyone above 45 years old as OICs both in the Executive and Legislative branches of the ARMM government.

There are new and young blood, and competent nominees in the list. The ARMM belongs to them! It is time for the ‘seniors’ to take the ‘back seats’ and simply act as ‘mentors’ to the new generation seeking to shape their own destiny. I do counsel the re-cycled politicians and the old guards to steer away from the drivers’ seat.

Let this new generation shape the present and the future of the ARMM.

Former President Ramon Magsaysay’s birthday falls on August 31. Since 1958, an integral part of the celebration has been the recognition of outstanding Asians and organizations that have shown in their lives Magsaysay’s “greatness of spirit” with their service to the people of Asia. To date, there have been 272 individuals and 18 organizations in 22 Asian countries and territories that have received what most people in Asia refer to as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize.

For 2011, five individuals and one organization have been so honored to receive the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award. They are the following:

The Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc. or AIDFI has been chosen to receive the 2011 RM Award for spreading the benefit of alternative technologies to upland rural folks. The RM Award is given to AIDFI in recognition of its “collective vision, technological innovations, and partnership practices to make appropriate technologies improve the lives and livelihoods of the rural poor in upland Philippine communities and elsewhere in Asia.”

Engr. Harish Hande of India receives the 2011 RM Award for making solar power work for the poor. His “passionate and pragmatic efforts to put solar power technology in the hands of the poor has not only made possible affordable and sustainable electricity to India’s vast rural populace but also has encouraged them to become asset creators.”

Pah Hasanain Juaini of Indonesia receives the 2011 RM Award for his passionate and dedicated commitment to nurturing women and communities through inclusive education. The Ramon Magsaysay Foundation “recognizes his holistic and community-based approach to pesantren (Islamic boarding school) education in Indonesia, creatively promoting values of gender equality, religious harmony, environmental preservation and civic engagement among young students and their communities.”

Koul Panha of Cambodia receives the 2011 RM Award for “his determined and courageous leadership of the sustained campaign to build an enlightened, organized and vigilant citizenry who will ensure fair and free elections, as well as demand accountable governance in Cambodia’s nascent democracy.” He helped organize the Committee for Free and Fair Elections (COMFREL) and since 1997, COMFREL has become the country’s leading independent organization on electoral issues. Beyond elections, COMFREL lobbies for government reforms through its Parliamentary Watch that monitors government performance.

Tri Mumpuni of Indonesia receives the 2011 RM Award for “harnessing micro hydropower to empower the poor. She has dedicated her life and work to promote micro hydropower technology in bringing electricity and social development to rural Indonesia.”

Nileema Mishra of India receives the 2011 RM Award for her purpose-driven zeal to work tirelessly with villagers in Maharashtra, India. She has organized the village poor to address both their aspirations and their adversities through collective action and heightened confidence in their potential to improve their lives.

The RM Foundation has invited me to be a member of the panel for the lecture of Pah Hasanain Juaini, founder and director of Nurul Haramain Islamic Boarding School for Girls in West Lombok, Indonesia.

Pah Juaini, the man we honor, has seen the years of discrimination against women and thus felt the urgent call to spread the knowledge so that men and women will achieve unity and equality. His life testimony is an articulate witness to building a community where both men and women have equal rights and obligations.

Pah Juaini’s vision of empowering women is based on his religious beliefs and understanding hewed from his spiritual and life system experiences. He articulates his belief that God does not make laws and rules that would differentiate between men and women. By following closely the religious order, he tries to bridge the relationship gap between men and women. Without integrating religion into the vision, the social structure will fail and there will be a wider gap between men and women.

He takes pride in his two family traditions. The first is the humble service to the community and the second is the calling of community teachers.

Pah Juaini’s family history is a testimony of humble service to the community. He is a descendant of Kings of Selaparang, which for the last hundred years had decided to become ordinary people. The Sasak kings did not build palaces and their families lived among common people, and they had taken off all the titles of nobility.

He is from a family of teachers. His grandparents, parents, uncle and aunts are all teachers. So naturally he wanted to be a teacher since he was a child. He never dreamt of becoming any thing but a teacher. That dream has never changed through the years despite his changing life conditions.

Pah Juaini has also turned his school into an axis for community development by engaging local participation on issues of environmental protection, livelihood enhancement, and good governance.

Recent developments have struck the people of Southern Philippines on what appears to be parallel and confusing tracks in the pursuit of peace and development in Southern Mindanao.

The first is the peace track. It began in full earnest during the first year of the PNoy administration with all the on going three negotiations: the GPH-MILF Peace talks, the GPH-NDF talks and the GH-MNLF talks.

In a much earlier time, the peace track seemed rosy and promising especially with the seeming progress on both the MILF and the NDF fronts. The two GPH Peace Panel Chairs were not only very knowledgeable about the issues involved but the parties on the other side of the negotiating table also held them in high esteem.

Things become awry about three months ago when ‘delivery’ capacity of the negotiating table was put in serious doubt. On the NDF Front, the doubt began when the release of prisoners allegedly covered by the joint agreement on safety and immunity guaranty was found wanting. On the MILF Front, the much awaited GPH Peace proposal turned out to be a ‘dud’ vis-à-vis the ‘sub state’ MILF Proposal.

In short, there was nothing really new appearing on the peace track horizon and the high hopes that greeted the opening of the three peace tables had gone pffft! There is NO new wind blowing the peace track and definitely NO BOLD proposal or BOLD actions. As many observers have opined, the B in the word bold has earlier collapsed and what remains is an OLD proposal and the usual old catch up program that has become the ‘default’ mode since the 1996 Final Peace Accord between the GPH and the MNLF.

The parallel track is the ‘Reform’ ARMM ‘fever’ following the passage of the RA 10153, synchronizing the ARMM elections with the national midterm election in May 2013. PNoy has taken the cudgel to spearhead this reform fever. During the signing of the law in Malacañang, he articulated his desired reforms. PNoy’s wish list contains a wide range of ambitious goals that would take more than a lifetime to achieve.

Number one in the list is putting an end to the rule of political families that have fostered a culture of electoral frauds. Whew! This would be tough for the OICs since the political families and clans are deeply entrenched. The political families are NOT the monopoly of the ARMM. In other regions they are called political dynasties. The ARMM political families are distant cousins of the dynastic rule in other regions and they differ only in degrees of when it comes to political frauds.

The other ambitious goal for the next twenty-two months is the abolition of private armies that are actually closely tied to political families. The call for the abolition of private armies has always been an articulated goal of government since the time of people liberation in EDSA in 1986. The call was acutely felt following the Maguindanao Massacre in November 2009. Many thought that the abolition of these private armies would finally come true during the declaration of Martial Law in Maguindanao and the continuing State of Emergency in the Provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato City. Well, the abolition of private armies has turned out to be wishful thinking on the part of the citizens and a big joke!

In a month’s time, PNoy will appoint the new OICs who would steer the development and the reform track in the ARMM. These OICs are given the ‘road map’ to achieve during their 22 months stint as the leaders of the new ARMM.

As the selection process of the OICs has begun, we can only wish the national government ‘good luck’ in the choice of their ‘anointed’ to do the ‘job’. The job is daunting. In fact, it would be close to a miracle! After all, the OICs are not gods and the time frame is so short.

The real task is to make sure that these two tracks would NOT remain parallel and confusing. They ought to converge sometime and somewhere else they become the proverbial ‘pie in the sky’.

The crucial question is who are we as a people? From my personal experiences I note three prominent characteristics that are typically Pinoy.

The first one is the strong family and clan “connectedness”. Pinoys may find themselves in the remotest part of any continent or in the middle of the ocean; they may live in foreign lands for years and even centuries; yet they always find their way home, the Philippines.

But the Philippines, for most Pinoys, is not the group of islands now called the Republic of the Philippines. It is first and foremost the kin and kith – the ancestors, the clan and the family. Home is in their hearts and blood.

The powerful symbol of this ‘connectedness’ is the world famous “balikbayan boxes for ‘pasalubong’. At airports everywhere, balikbayan boxes are marks of Pinoys ‘coming home’. But these boxes also traveled by all kinds of couriers – accompanied or not - they all go to the Philippines as if the whole world is being “delivered” to the motherland box by box.

The movement is also two-way. Pinoys also “import” their closest kin and kith the very moment they get their legal papers. They begin petitioning them one at a time and soon they build a small barangay or network of kinfolks in their adopted land.

Second to family and clan is, believe it or not, patient work and discipline. You find Pinoys doing all kinds of jobs and odd jobs. They work and they are NOT beggars and they pay their taxes. In many instances, Pinoys have dual jobs and they still work on weekends! They obey rules and they are good citizens notwithstanding the Philippines’ notoriety for “palusot” and "connection".

But the real miracle is the fact that notwithstanding difficulty and hard work, they are happy. There is always a smile on their faces and there is laughter in their lives that they can even make jokes out of their tragedies! Pinoys are a happy people and a happy nation even in moments of passing insanity.

The third is faith and tradition. Pinoys are known for their belief and traditions. The Visayans bring their Santo Niño; the Tagalogs their Nazareno; Bicolanos their Peñafrancia; the Ilocanos their Santa Lucia; the Pampangos their Pedro and Santiago, and Zamboangeños their Nuestra Señora del Pilar, etc. They, too, have their Pasyon, Visita Iglesia and Misa de Gallo. These faith and tradition are uniquely Pinoys and they have become not only the soul but also the bulwark of strength against adversities and challenges, in foreign lands.

Today people admire Mother Theresa or Oscar Romero or Martin Luther King Jr. or Desmond Tutu or Nelson Mandela, or our very own Cory Aquino not because of their achievements but for the values and beliefs they stood for. They believed and lived with integrity and no embarrassment.

In similar vein, Pinoys will endure. And they are recognized by their fidelity to the values and traditions they stand for. These three values are family, joyful hard work and their faith & traditions.

Pinoys, notwithstanding the difficulties they've face, have found a way to successfully write their story line. It is the story of their family, tribe and clan. It is a “kindredness” shaped not only by blood, but also by the “ili” – the community and eco-system. And Pinoys are darn proud of their story and they share it with the world with a smile on their faces and joy in their hearts.

For the past days, the lines are abuzz and speculations are high on the agreement or non-agreement between PNoy and MILF Supremo, Murad Ibrahim, al hajj.

No doubt, the tête-à-tête meeting between the two is a major and daring feat in building peace in Southern Philippines. Post SONA, many people that follow the peace process have been disheartened by the silence of the President about it.

Suddenly, the peace process is back again in the President’s radar screen. This time around, the faces of the peace process are no longer the faces of the two peace panel chairs but of the PRINCIPALS themselves.

The event is mind-boggling, something akin to the historic meeting of President Cory Aquino and MNLF Chair Nur Misuari in 1987. That historic meeting was much objected by diplomats, the military establishment and legal ‘experts’ for the simple reason that it defied protocol and convention.

The issue is the fact that peace making does NOT follow any protocol and convention. There is no protocol or convention in peace making. What is important is the courage to break new ground for peace.

The president’s meeting with MILF Chair Murad Ibrahim is, no doubt, a very brave move to break new ground for peace. That it has taken place at a time when people’s trust in the peace process is diminishing is in itself incredible.

Peace making is not simply about politics and economics. In fact, it is first and foremost about TRUST. And when we speak of trust it refers to actual relationships of people behind government, fronts and institutions. While governments and fronts play very important roles, there is NO substitute to human factors that are crucial in building confidence between and among peoples involved in the peace process.

President Noynoy is the human face of the Philippine government as Chairman Murad is the face of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The face-to-face meeting between the two leaders sends a different vibration and special aura that are NOT measurable in terms of legalese of ‘diplomatese’ nor in terms of weight and numbers. It is the question of feeling and sympathy… a sort of disclosure where the protagonists, through that tête-à-tête meeting, feel and know that ‘they can trust each other’.

The move reminds me (perhaps NOT in equal measure) of the unilateral decision of the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to visit Jerusalem in 1977. President Sadat defied all protocol and convention including the popular sentiment in the whole Islamic and Arabic world to make peace with Israel. It was a visit that paved the way for the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Accord.

In similar vein, the historic meeting between PNoy and Chairman Murad is, indeed, a bold action. This reminds us, time and again, that peace making requires bold actions and for this reason peace making is never the vocation of diplomats and legal ‘experts’. The former thinks about protocol and convention and the latter believes in the letter of the law.

If there is something that the meeting has engendered, it is the trust between the two principals. And with the two talking as friends and lovers of peace, we can dream again of possibility for peace.

With a tête-à-tête meeting the two protagonists get to know the real person on the other side of the table (often demonized in many and varied ways). Neither President Noynoy nor Chairman Murad is the devil incarnate. What you have are two persons in search for the elusive peace in Southern Philippines.

The goodwill engendered by the historic meeting is the much-needed element, at the moment, in the peace process. While the President is dead serious in reforming the ARMM, the gesture is, at times, read as undermining the peace process.

With that meeting, the President gets to know the real face behind the label MILF. Chairman Murad is NO fanatic and definitely he is NO terrorist.

The task ahead is to seize the moment and continue to build trust and confidence among the stakeholders both in Mindanao and in the central government. In the final analysis, we need to constantly remind ourselves that the peace that we seek is not peace of one party at the expense of anyone but lasting peace for all!

In the coming weeks, the President would be selecting the OICs in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. What registers NOW in PNoy’s radar screen is ‘reform the ARMM’. In fact, the ARMM has taken a center stage, albeit negatively, in his ‘State of the Nation Address’.

Taking a cue from the now famous SONA, what the President wants is a ‘GHOSTBUSTER’ to exorcise all the ghosts in the ARMM.

The OIC Governor has to be a “ghostbuster” who will take the lead to bust ghost teachers/employees, ghost schools, ghost towns, ghost bridges, ghost electorates, etc. No if’s and but’s, the new OIC’s litmus test is the courage and the political will to put an end to all that are ghosts and mirages that have made the ARMM notorious for graft and electoral fraud.

The roadmap for reforms in the ARMM need not be convoluted in high polluting economic and development plans that would take a generation to achieve. What is needed in the 22-month stint of the OICs is a daring policy that articulates that it will no longer be “business as usual” in the ARMM. If it would be business as usual and with the same faces or re-cycled ones, you are sending the wrong message. You may as well kiss your reforms good bye!

Borrowing from President Aquino’s use of “wangwang” to describe abuse of power, the OICs should ensure there will be more “no wangwang in governance.” Concretely, it would mean that the OICs must adopt a new work ethic. Leadership must be by stewardship and not by entitlement; that perks of public offices and public representation be done away with; and that the caretakers must focus on improving the human development indicators in the ARMM.

The real challenge for the next 22 months is to improve human development indicators specifically on educational survival cohorts; infant and mortality rates; poverty reduction and access to basis services, particularly education and health.

There are things happening in the ARMM since November 2008. Among the incumbent ARMM officials, I would like to recognize the reforms introduced by Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo who reports to his office by 8:30 or 9 o clock everyday. He does his work and visits projects. ES Naguib Sinarimbo is, presently, the ‘no nonsense’ face of the ARMM.

Simple projects would carry weights and bring new image of local governance. Project like ensuring that farm to market roads are, indeed, farm to market roads and “NOT roads to my farms”.

The OICs must also tend to the peace and security of the citizens, not (just) their security and their peace, referring to the use of policemen as escorts of public officials when they should be doing police work in their communities.

A number of similar things can be done in the first 100 days and they can go very far to change the image of the ARMM, something similar to ‘no more wangwang, no more counterflow.’ This time, there should be “no wangwang in governance” - meaning the end of entitlements in public offices.

But in real terms, when we speak of ARMM, we should refer to the five provinces and one city and NOT simply to the regional set up in the ARMM. It is false and misleading to simply point to the ARMM regional government bureaucracy. After all the real constituents of the ARMM are the people of the five provinces and one city.

In short, the five Governors and one city mayor as well as ALL LGUs in the ARMM must be on board. Good governance, in fact, begin with LGU in the municipality and province levels. The governors and mayors must be held accountable for their stewardships. No doubt, it would be refreshing and mind boggling if financial transactions involving public funds suddenly become above board and transparent. This would be close to a MIRACLE!

I believe in the God of many miracles!

I was at the Batasan last Monday to listen to PNoy’s SONA and I could not help but have mixed feelings about what I was hearing.

As predicted, PNoy spoke in Filipino, his language of choice. This has positive advantages since the greater majority of his ‘BOSS” speak and understand Filipino. The spoken Filipino has a natural flare that the masa loves, including inflection and the one word remark like ‘naman’. PNoy has the mastery of the language and he bring his listeners to linguistic ‘ecstasy’!

I spoke with ‘boldness’ giving the impressions that he was not afraid to call spade a spade with no mincing of words.

He further developed his wang-wang symbolism of arrogance and entitlement in public service to launch a platform of good governance. The sophisticated would NOT enthuse on the idea of wang-wang, but no one should begrudge him for originality, ingenuity and a language and symbolism easily understood by the masa.

I thought PNoy’s wang-wang is a veritable lesson on Good Manners and Right Conduct or GMRC in governance.

We, who are older listeners, continue to moan the big CHANGE in citizens’ behavior in the last fifty years. Often, we call the ‘errancy’ in behavior as lack of GMRC, especially when this was taken off the curriculum.

We always hold the lack of GMRC as the primary source why ‘modern’ and younger citizens no longer know how to cross streets. They dispose their thrash with no care for the environment and neighbors. Public servants have become public masters. Vehicles meant for official use only become for OFFICIALS’ use only.

I, myself, was looking forward to a SONA beyond wang-wang since I was getting bored of a slogan that seems to be short in deeds, especially with the rumored triple Ks (Ka-klase, Kaibigan at Ka-barilan).

PNoy’s new twist in his wang-wang symbolism to hammer on good governance as public service is innovative and ingenious!

PNoy gave us new by-words – coffee and ghost!

PAGCOR’s more than a billion worth of coffee elicited shock as well as derisive humor about graft cover-up under the name of the innocuous brew. It is mind boggling and it tickles one’s imagination on how many cups of coffee a billion pesos could buy! No doubt, a billion-worth coffee can flood more than a football stadium!

The other new by-word is GHOST referring to ghost bridges, ghost schools and ghost teachers in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM. PNoy devoted four long paragraphs on the ARMM albeit all on the negatives. He took the bull by the horn with no mincing of words. He cited the COA reports that speak of 80% of the disbursement of the ARMM budget in the Office of the Regional Governor from 2008 to 2009 with NO proper clearances and explanations.

With this fund, how many pupils could have completed their basic education crossing ghost bridges, going to ghost schools and being taught by ghost teachers! The constituents of ARMM are so helpless that they continue to suffer and there seems to be no chance of any progress whatsoever. In fact, PNoy could have easily added to his enumeration, ghost voters, ghost employees and above all ghost public officials!

There is no doubt, the economic view spelled out in the SONA remains micro with no big plan that would carry the country into the next five years. Economists used to PGMA’s macro-economic plan remain very unsatisfied and knowing full well that PNoy’s macro plan is not forthcoming.

Then, there is a deafening silence on the issue of the peace process. I could only surmise that PNoy would NOT raise expectations on a process that remains intractable. He seems to have aversion on making promises that he cannot deliver. The silence, in fact, spells the big difference with his predecessors. PNoy is NOT easy to make promises and he is NO conjuror of scenarios that would not happen but only increase people’s frustration.

As a Mindanao strong lobbyist and advocate, I am NOT happy that Mindanao appeared simply as a brief ‘blip’ in PNoy’s radar screen. Sadly, it was a negative ‘blip’!

It is good to remind the President, that ARMM is NOT the whole Mindanao! In a similar vein, while I admire PNoy’s boldness, I believe that tact is the better counsel in dealing with the sensitive issues that involve the ARMM.

Definitely, there is more good news in Mindanao! We have charted our macro peace and security plan for the next twenty years dubbed as Mindanao 2020. We have re-activated and pursued with greater zeal the continuing collapse of our quadri-lateral borders in trade and security involving all the nation-members of the BIMP-EAGA Zone (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines). And we have started a security sector reforms on the ground involving the two AFP Commands in Mindanao (Western Mindanao Command and Eastern Mindanao Command).

Though we featured but a ‘blip’ in PNoy’s radar screen, we are NOT daunted! Our hope springs eternal… and we believe that in time PNoy would have a real serious Mindanao 2nd look! By then, we shall not be a simple blip but the ‘centerfold’ in his forthcoming 3rd SONA!