Peacebuilders
The Philippines: Troupled times ahead? A report by Paul Clifford
24 August 2009
I last visited Manila four years ago - not much has changed. The streets still jammed with too many cars and the papers still full of the latest political scandal and rumour-mongering. Top of the bill are the Presidential elections due next year. Under the constitution, formed in 1897, a President is not permitted to stand for office for two consecutive terms and there are now rumours that this might be about to change. Some papers speak about attempts to change the constitution to allow for a second term, that a state of emergency will be declared, the constitution suspended and the elections cancelled; that there will be a military coup; and others, that ‘people power' will rise up and overthrow the President. Choose your conspiracy theory!
During my visit, there were in fact ongoing discussions about amending the constitution, alongside denials from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that she wants to stand again as President or for the potentially created role of Prime Minister. There was a small popular protest in Manila against the proposed constitutional change but on nothing like the scale of previous ‘people power' protests. There was weariness amongst some activists who could not envisage people power working this time around.
I was in the Philippines to undertake a Peace, Conflict and Development Analysis for AusAID in five provinces in Northern Mindanaw and two provinces in The Visayas where AusAID is about to begin a road maintenance and improvement programme. The aim of the conflict analysis was to help AusAID understand the likely impact of the programme on the conflict and the conflict on the programme. My role was to carry out the analysis in Misamis Occidental and lead the team.
I also had the chance to re-visit Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental, where I worked in 2003 and 2005 with Balay Mindanaw, a local Peace and Development NGO, as Peace Adviser to the Peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and one of the revolutionary communist groups, RPM-M (Revolutionary Workers Party of Mindanaw).
The peace talks have played a key role in reducing violence in the area and have led to an increase in opportunities for development. Improved relations between the two groups have meant that a more coordinated approach to development is possible, one that listens to the people most affected. Now, using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), communities are enabled and empowered to decide their own development priorities, to get them funded and to get them delivered on the ground.
The Peace Talks and their implementation still continue six years after they began. Peoples' commitment and perseverance is truly astonishing and this is testament to the long-term commitment needed for successful peacebuilding and the impact peace has on development. Staying at the Balay Mindanaw Peace Centre, it was as though I had not been away, it is a place where I feel truly at home and a place where I am warmly welcomed.
So, not a lot had changed - though the possibility of political turmoil around the proposed constitutional change and next year's elections is very real. I will continue to stay in touch with good friends and colleagues in Mindanaw.
Paul Clifford, August 2009
Find out more about Balay Mindanaw and the GRP - RPM-M Peace Process