Amnesty calls for inclusion of human rights protection in candidates agenda By: Recthie T. Paculba
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – With the almost 80,000 applications for compensation from victims of Martial Law as tallied by the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board and the recurring threat to human rights in Mindanao, the Amnesty International (AI) urges solons and local candidates to politically support and fully fund systems that exist to protect people’s rights.
AI Chairperson Ritz Lee Santos III said in a press launch held here that “with the impunity often entrenched and widespread in this part of the country, victims are denied justice while human rights violations go unchecked. The presence of armed conflicts continue to fuel suffering, with failure to ensure reparations for age old conflicts resulting to more suffering, the cycle never stops.” In the upcoming elections, Santos hopes that the vulnerable civilian communities be given a good weight of law enforcement resources to shield them from more volatile
situations due to armed insurgencies and increased militarization. Thus, the chairperson encourages communities to raise concerns about abuses of their rights so the candidates will have an idea on what to include in the government’s development agenda. “Amnesty International Philippines is challenging the local government in Mindanao and aspiring candidates, especially in areas where rights are undermined by business bullies- do what is right for the people,” Santos concluded.
Mindanao peace process a priority measure for CDO Congressional bets CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Solving the Mindanao armed conflict through the enactment of a law that addresses the grievances of the Bangsamoro people is among the main agenda of local Congressional candidates in Cagayab de Oro city. “Congress with its powers shall always be mindful of the injustices to the Bangsamoro people. We support any measure for peace in Mindanao to be achieved. [It] will be [our] priority,” said Cagayan de Oro 2nd District congressional candidate Maximo Rodriguez Jr. during a forum on candidates’ positions on the Bangsamoro peace process held April
5 at the Limketkai Center. The forum, dubbed Usapang Kapayapaan: A Forum for Congressional Candidates, is part of a series envisioned by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) with the cooperation of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP). With the 16th Congress’ collective failure to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law
(BBL) last February, the forum aims to determine the stand of congressional hopefuls with regard the stalled bill and the Bangsamoro peace process in general. In one of the telling moments of the forum, Rodriguez expressed his intention to re-file the stalled BBL if he wins in the May elections. “The [BBL] is still the best option for peace in Mindanao.” “Subject to a new process [and with] our experiences in the past, we have the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) to be implemented and become a law,” he added. “The CAB has to be implemented within the framework of the Constitution.” Rodriguez is the younger brother of House Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law chair and incumbent Cagayan de Oro 2nd Dist. Rep. Rufus Rodriguez. Meanwhile, another Cagayan de Oro 2nd District representative candidate, Atty. Edgar Cabanlas, maintained that the Congress should provide legislation in accordance with the signed agreements between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). “There is no alternative but to negotiate for peace in Mindanao. It is imperative that we should have this peace agreement,” Cabanlas said. “Perhaps there are issues that should be addressed [but let us give] peace a chance. Let us have a law on the Bangsamoro people.”
Atty. Evangeline Carrasco, also a 2nd Dist. Rep. Candidate, pointed out that it is a duty of lawmakers to enact a law that would establish institutional reform in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as a way to resolving the Moro insurgency. “The role of a legislator is neither to build roads nor make basketball courts, but to make laws for the people and not only for the few. They should work for everlasting peace [in the country],” Carrasco said in the vernacular. “We cannot prevent economic progress; however, we need to ensure that progress reaches marginal sectors of society. There is no reason for people to become rebels if basic social services are addressed,” she added in the local dialect. Similarly, congressional candidate and CDO City councilor Ramon G. Tabor commented that all Filipinos should work together to achieve a just and lasting peace in Mindanao. “I stand here as a peace advocate. We must have an open mind for any law with the purpose to address peace in Mindanao. Let’s not have a close mind to the defects of BBL.” He added that, if elected, he would revisit specific laws pertaining to peace and order to ensure that the gains of the peace process were continued. Candidate Celso Balat echoed Tabor’s message, adding that he was aiming for not only peace in Mindanao but for the whole country. “People
are poor because they are afraid to complain; there is no unity. We need national unity.” GPH peace panel chair Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and panel members Senen Bacani attended the forum with MILF peace panel member Bobby Alonto and Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) Commissioner Melanio Ulama. They served as reactants during the forum. “We want to be able to count on your vote on the passage of the BBL. We will stay in the course of peace
[and we] hope that you will be able to continue with this process,” Ferrer said. “What we are asking for is merely implementation of the agreement. Peace for us is justice. There can be no peace without justice,” added Alonto. Usapang Kapayapaan is expected to be held in other parts of the country leading to the national election on 9 May with the next stops in Legazpi City on 19 April, Davao City on 22 April, Dagupan City on 26 April and Cebu City on 28 April. (OPAPP/PIA10)