Empowerment and Protection - Stories of Human Security Oct. 2014 | Seite 80

Philippines

Conclusion
and recommendations
The perspectives shared show just a fraction of the genuine
efforts to protect and empower the populations at risk, however
they continue to lack a comprehensive and cohesive approach.
This is evident in the examples of NGOs introducing specific
technologies into IP communities for agricultural production
without matching these to community capacities, agrarian reform
that is too focused on land redistribution and not production, and
the vagueness of ongoing peace talks with regards to the state of
non-Islamised IPs and their territories.
Failure of governance and its mechanisms remains a
pressing problem. The incapacity of government to
provide the stable superstructure and mechanisms
for
=10.000.000good governance is sounded repeatedly in
the discussions from all three perspectives. The
prevailing politics of patronage, power and favour,
the inefficiency of the justice system in providing
accessible redress measures, the inability to ensure
stable peace and order and even the cases of security
forces committing human rights violations are
failures in governance.
The marked inequality between the rich and poor
is both a result and cause of the marginalisation
of IPs, women, and the poor, and contributes to a
perception of an imbalance in how human security
is addressed. The proportion of the population in
poverty continues to grow but there are diminishing
resources to address the needs of the poor. Without
active advocacy and actions for their rights and
entitlements, these same peoples and sectors are
further marginalised. This is linked to the state’s
perceived incapacity to respond comprehensively
to issues, particularly safeguarding the welfare of
the most disadvantaged.

EVELOPMENT
3

High-level legislative advocacy is only successful if
new laws are effectively implemented. Legislative
advocacy has proven to be only part of resolving
security issues. The marked success of introducing
landmark legislation such as the IPRA or the AntiTrafficking in Persons Act of 2003 is seen as a
positive yet incomplete step. Guaranteeing effective
implementation mechanisms of such mandates
remains necessary. Some laws remain constrained
by mechanisms that are ineffective, inappropriate
or incapable of delivering on their mandate.
Successful governance systems and mechanisms
require access and familiarity with their operation.
Implementation mechanisms that involve the
affected communities have greater chances of
being accepted, effective and sustainable. Local

80 stories of Human Security | The Philippines

▪ 
Engage the younger generation. Help youth
to develop their advocacy for shared as well as
emerging issues. Utilise appropriate media – micro,
mass, social – to engage and inform them. Aim for
goals that span generations, not just years.

communities appreciate mechanisms that they
themselves engage, understand, and are linked to
existing or traditional practices. Such mechanisms are
effective and convey respect for local communities.

Recommendations

▪  evelop comprehensive, globally oriented and
D
forward-looking advocacy programs. Advocacy
programs must emphasise the interconnected
nature of human security concerns and engage
the global dimension of issues such as human
trafficking and economic parity.

On engaging traditional communities

▪  rioritise traditional and community-based
P
practices, such as traditional governance
mechanisms, which promote human security as
effective solutions. The best-crafted laws must fit
the local context. Include affected communities
as a critical partner in the implementation
mechanisms crafted. Communitarian processes
and decision-making, oftentimes based on
traditional and/or existing practices, continue
to resonate strongly with local communities, in
turn making their adoption and practice realistic,
participative, representative and sustainable.

On government engagement

▪  uarantee and deliver essential rights, services
G
and entitlements, and consistently pursue a
foreign policy based on beneficial support and
development rather than competitive advantage.
Government consistency and constancy to these
tenets allows communities to realise their growth
and development potentials more fully.

B
▪  e attuned and sensitive to local realities and
sensibilities. When seeking to assist IPs, respect
traditional leadership customs and lineages and
cultural values.

▪  ationalise and harmonise legislation and
R
policy. Consistency and coherence of socioeconomic-political agendas is necessary to ensure
no overlap or marginalisation of interests. Legal
instruments such as laws, orders and promulgations
need to be rationalised and made consistent with
other laws. This reduces occasions of conflict and
insecurity due to varying or conflicting levels of
appreciation and interpretation of such laws.

On developing successful advocacy

▪ 
Hold governments accountable and
responsible for implementing laws that
protect local communities, such as IPRA. Hold
governments to the higher standard of ensuring
human rights.

▪  efer to history and the past in plotting a
R
direction for the future. A clear understanding of
the history, sources and relationships of the roots
of prevailing insecurity issues is necessary to craft
an effective response.

E
▪  nsure transparency of policymaking through
representative participation and multistakeholder engagement. By building trust-based
relationships and engaging a broad spectrum
and number of stakeholders, there is a greater
appreciation of the message and less doubts about
its desired outcomes. Reducing suspicions and
doubts through transparency encourages greater
participation and involvement.

▪ 
Sustain education as the cornerstone of all
advocacy efforts. Advocacy must incorporate an
education component to build awareness that leads
to popular action. Later stages of advocacy should
ultimately be aimed at enabling and empowering
people to act as their own advocates.

Recommendations from Datus on IPs and the
Ongoing Peace Process

Our most pressing security issue as IPs is how
our territories will be administered as part of the
identified Bangsamoro territory. This has ramifications
for our identity, our governance, our territory and our
opportunity to develop as a distinct people.
There are several actions that we might take to
ensure that IP interests are safeguarded in the
Bangsamoro delineation processes. We have several
recommendations to make this happen:

Engage women as change agents in traditional
▪ 
and non-traditional roles. Support the
development of women in both traditional roles
as healers, educators, and leaders and in expanded
roles as peace-builders, negotiators, and political
leaders.

Menu

The author works for Initiatives for International
Dialogue - IID, a Philippines-based advocacy
institution promoting human security,
democratisation and people-to-people solidarity.
IID conducts policy advocacy and campaign
programs on Burma, Mindanao, Southern
Thailand, West Papua, and East Timor. In 2000,
it established the Mindanao Peoples Caucus
(MPC) – a platform and network of grassroots
organisations, communities and NGOs affected
and engaged in the conflict in Mindanao.
Together with other peace networks, IID led the
establishment of the Mindanao Peaceweavers
(MPW), the broadest peace network for
Mindanao in the country, and currently serves
as its secretariat. IID coordinates the Southeast
Asia network of the Global Partnership for
the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC).

▪  ush the call for federalism. Ensure that this
P
call sustains the identity and recognition of IPs
under the law. This initiative can make use of
the IPRA because this is already a nationally and
internationally recognised law and ratified for full
implementation.
U
▪  tilise the United Nations’ recognition of the
universal rights of IPs that in turn acknowledges
how IPs predate Christianity and Islam. Given
that the Philippines is a signatory to the UN
declaration on IP rights and has promulgated the
IPRA, this can be used to bolster the IP position for
recognition.
T
▪  he National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
(NCIP) should take up the cause for IPs and ensure
their best interests are protected at every level
of the negotiations and preparation towards the
establishment of the Bangsamoro.
T
▪  he integration of the IPRA provisions into
the BBL should be ensured. It may be easier to
incorporate the IPRA law into the BBL rather than
the BBL developing its own expression of its IPRA
elements. IPRA is already a law whereas the BBL
will still need to go through the legislative process.
P
▪  roponents may pursue recognition of certificates
of ancestral domain titles of IPs within the BBL as
well as the proposed territory. Proponents could
file a mandatory injunction with the Supreme
Court calling for the full implementation of the
IPRA, national and international laws pertaining to
IP rights, including domain, territory and identity,
before the BBL is ratified.
▪  s a fallback, efforts should ensure that the
A
BBL provisions for equal rights applies to all,
particularly those who have expressed their desire
to not be a part of the Bangsamoro territory.
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