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Philippine-MILF Peace Treaty Signed April 3rd, 2014
President Benigno Aquino meets with rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front leaders before the signing of a peace agreement in Manila on Thursday (photo by Ryan Lim/Malacañang Photo Bureau)
The Philippine government and the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed a peace agreement on March 27th that aims to formally end four decades of war in the southern Philippines region of Mindanao. The conflict killed more than 100,000 people.
The result of 17 years of negotiations, the “Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro” has been described by government peace negotiators as a “partnership” based on “shared aspirations to heal the wounds of conflict, enable meaningful autonomy for the Bangsamoro, and nurture peace and development in Muslim Mindanao.”
The peace agreement foresees the creation of an autonomous region for the Muslim population to be located in the southern Mindanao region. It will have a power-sharing agreement with the central government, allowing its own leadership to control most of its own natural resources and revenues. Elections are to be held there by mid-2016.
Stations of the Forest March 10th, 2014
We would like to thank the Columban Fathers for the powerful Stations of the Forest video. It is a compelling narrative of the destruction of the forest that has ruined ecosystems from the Philippines to Brazil – a destruction that imperils the world.
Following the format of The Stations of the Cross this prayerful resource laments the stages in the death of part of God’s Creation. It incorporates issues related to rainforest destruction: extractive industries, loss of biodiversity and climate change.
A Booklet accompanies the DVD, providing the script, an agenda for meetings, a reflection on the Stations, and prayers. (download booklet here)
Download – The Grace of Forests Lenten resource
Philippine Oblate Archbishop Quevedo Named to the College of Cardinals January 17th, 2014
Pope Francis has named a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato to the College of Cardinals. Cardinal-designate Quevedo represents the large island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, which experiences all the major problems facing the Philippines, including poverty, peace and justice issues and the complex and often difficult relationship between Christians and Muslims.
The rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front said the elevation of the cardinal-designate is a “welcome development”. “It’s good for peace efforts in Mindanao,” said rebel spokesman Mohagher Iqbal. In a 2003 paper titled “Injustice: the Root of Conflict in Mindanao,” Quevedo said the root cause of the Moro rebellion in the southern Philippines was “injustice” to the Moro people’s “identity, political sovereignty, and integral development”.*
He said that as a member of the College of Cardinals he will try to contribute to Pope Francis’ vision of a church of the poor.
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Philippines’ Foreign Debt Payments Dwarf Relief Aid After Typhoon Haiyan December 20th, 2013
More than a month after Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines, the country has paid approximately $900 million in debt repayments—more than twice as much as it’s received in pledged aid from countries around the world to support the recovery effort. The Philippines government will spend a total of $6.7 billion on debt repayments this year alone, some of which originates from the corrupt and abusive regime of Ferdinand Marcos, who was responsible for the deaths of more than 3,000 Filipinos and the torture of 35,000.
Jubilee USA is calling for a major shift in debt policy vis a vis the Philippines. “The World Bank and international lenders have yet to cancel the debts that fueled Marcos regime corruption. While Filipinos were tortured and lived in poverty, we watched Marcos’s wife accumulating one of the world’s largest shoe collections,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network. “If these debts were cancelled they could rebuild the Philippines and safeguard the country from the impacts of climate change.”
The death toll from Typhoon Haiyan is now at more than 6,000 people, while nearly 2,000 people remain unaccounted for. Meanwhile, more than 4 million people have been displaced. ”The World Bank and other international lenders must be subject to an independent debt audit,” said LeCompte. “It’s also critical that lenders offer unconditional grants to the Philippines rather than loans that will further drive the country into poverty.”
Philippine Plea for Action on Climate November 19th, 2013
In the wake of Supertyphoon Haiyan, Yeb Sano, Philippine delegate to the international climate negotiations in Warsaw, made an impassioned plea to take action and “stop the madness” that is climate change. Below is an edited video of his address, with scenes of the devastation in the Philippines alongside. It is a powerful video in this second week of the climate negotiations, a major focus of which is financing for climate friendly investments for developing nations.
