Empowerment and Protection - Stories of Human Security Oct. 2014 | Page 74

Philippines

Three Mindanao Perspectives
on Human Security
The Moro Peacebuilder
Ismael G. Kulat
Ismael “Mike” G. Kulat was a self-described child combatant
during the early years of the MNLF and later of the MILF. He
became a peace advocate and works with various nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs).
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He is currently the Administration Officer of the Consortium of
Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS), the largest network of Moro
CSOs engaged in peace and development in the Bangsamoro. One
of CBCS’s flagship efforts over the last decade is their kinship
reaffirmation project that seeks to end clan war between and among
Moro and IP communities through rekindling and strengthening lost
and fragmented ties with the Moro’s non-Islamised ‘brothers.’

Living with intertribal violence

The culture of war has been our norm. You could
say that over the past forty years, our normal
life has actually been quite abnormal, with guns
always an option for settling conflicts. So the Moro
rido (clan war) response prevails; it has become
the quickest and accepted response to perceived
wrongs and injustice.
But the notion of ridos as exclusively localised also
needs to be corrected. True ridos are sudden and
short-term in nature. A long-running rido would
require a stable support base, which makes it likely
that there are backers to these pseudo-wars, usually
either politicians or as part of the pacification efforts
of the government.

”The core to resolving
these conflicts has
been the common
EVELOPMENT roots we share.”
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The consultations we have done across the 11
barangays (villages), the smallest units of local
governance, have shown that the government may
also perpetuate conflicts. In its drive to counter
the Moro insurrection, the military has been
known to arm settlers and IPs as paramilitary
forces in Moro territory. With the state’s apparent
stamp of approval, paramilitary forces such
as the Barangay Self Defense Units continued
human rights violations and helped perpetuate
the conflict between peoples. This has caused
bad relationships to fester and propagated the
conflict for decades. When strategic MILF and
IP areas have overlapped and escalated, pulling
in the MILF and government forces, these small
clashes oftentimes turned into ideological conflicts
between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and
the Moro fronts.

of Moro and IP territorial claims over Muslim
Mindanao. The proposed plebiscite on the
Bangsamoro – to ratify the BBL after it is passed
in Congress – is an opportunity for both sides to
decide on the final delineation of the Bangsamoro,
and whether a joining of the people will take place.
At the same time, it shows us that we are all living
in the same house. The history and changing of it is
now in our hands.

Traditional conflict resolution and governance

We found value and merit in community
mechanisms like having a council of elders, where
we are all linked by a common tradition and history,
working together to resolve conflicts peacefully.
We advocated joining these together into common
mechanisms, and now into common support for the
peace process through joint statements.
With the revival of traditional methods of conflict
resolution, the cases of violence have dropped.
We are now lobbying for barangay officials of the
Local Government Units (LGUs) to recognise the
councils that have proven themselves capable so
they can become part of local governance systems
and structures.

Identity and rediscovering bonds

Even now, there is a continuing debate on the
perceived problem of identity. Is there a clear
definition of the ‘Moro’? In defining the Moro, do
we go with the 13 ethno-linguistic groups where,
historically, even IPs participated in the conflict
against the Spaniards, earning them the moniker
of ‘Moro’ as well? Through time, the definition of
Moro as Islamised has become divisive.

By emplacing simpler and accessible systems we
actually show that there is no need for complicated
and diverse structures or mechanisms.
We’ve also realised that frameworks introduced
from the outside usually don’t work, since conflicts
and realities are context-specific and localised.
The respect for culture, traditions and beliefs,
particularly for community people, should be
observed, as this has time and again proven to be
effective.

The core to resolving these conflicts has been
the common roots we share. Despite some of us
having been Islamised, we stress the common IP
roots and blood we all shared at some point in our
common history. The Dyandi kinship reaffirmation
ceremony we have been working towards is a
traditional renewal of relationships between major
groupings of IPs in Mindanao, both Islamised and
non-Islamised, who trace their lineage to a common
Manobo ancestry. Through consultations, summits
and ceremonies with key leaders, this effort has
establishe