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Number 13 gives many goose bumps and anxious feelings. Many believe that the year 2013 was an unlucky year, especially looking through the events that transpired during the last quarter of this year – the Yolanda storm surge in November, the Bohol earthquake in October, and the Zamboanga stand-off in September. Not to mention the feeling of insecurity due to the continuing territorial disputes with China, fearing that a war may break-out anytime if government bungles the crisis.

For a time, I shared the same feeling of despair. Thinking that the year was really disastrous I prayed that the year will end soonest to get rid of the 13. And, yet particularly after Yolanda, I also wished that November and December 2013 lasted a bit longer so we can do all the necessary emergency response for the many communities needing help. Twenty-four hours in a day seem too short as Christmas was just around the bend and I worried that Christmas will come with people not finding a reason to celebrate the coming of Christ. The good news must be made evident. Relief works and solidarity efforts seem to be our only means to keep peoples’ hope alive. I have to search for resources so my spirit would not bend and succumb to the belief that 2013 was an unlucky year. I have to tell myself that despite the series of events something good must have happened or is happening at that very moment. I scanned through my mind.

I remembered that I have been to the park with my husband attending the Luneta Million People March against Priority Development Assistance Fund scam. I felt the euphoria like EDSA again. The spontaneous swelling of people as a sign of protest proved that many Filipinos will still stand up for truth and justice and are still concerned about the good of this country. I felt the same for the One Million Rising event.

I recalled the courage of Ira, the cluster point person of Central Visayas, while the Bohol earthquake is happening, and how her deep trust in God was being articulated via text messages she sent during our exchanges. It was strange. I felt like I was in Bohol with them yet felt helpless that I can only sent words of encouragement. I felt more admiration for her and the cluster members when they quickly responded to the requirements to inform the network on their situation and to access funds from Misereor. The same regards goes to Alvin, cluster point person of ZAMBASULI and Sr. Cel of SAC Zamboanga and several of its members who until now continue to extend help to the victims of the Zamboanga crisis.

I found grace when the Panay cluster took-up the challenge to conduct relief works, despite its lack of experience. The mode is to try and learn in the process. Navigating it was not easy for Georie, who is the cluster point person. Tensions seep in from time to time but the desire to serve is stronger than the little misunderstandings taking place.

I acquired strength in Billy and among the members of HERO and SAMAMO, our partner people’s organizations in Manicani and Homonhon. That, despite being victims and survivors, they still manage to rise above their needs and help their communities.

I drew-out inspiration from the Secretariat members who went all out to extend and perform tasks not outlined in their Terms of Reference, the Misereor team who journeyed and supported the network efforts and Baby and Sr Cres who despite age would travel with us during the solidarity mission cum rapid appraisal two days after Yolanda.

Recalling all these, I told myself that 2013 is after all not as bad as it seemed to be. It is a year which demonstrated courage, commitment and compassion of people within the network. And I believe the same experience is true for many other communities and the nation in general. The peoples’ outrage against graft and corruption is resounding. The outpouring of charity, help and service abound wherever you go. The unlucky 13 is fading in my mind. We are good. We can be better in the future despite 2013.

Twenty ThirteenBy Yoly Esguerra

Point of View

The Partnership Editorial Board

and StaffYolanda Esguerra

Editor-in-Chief

Oliver Castor Candy HidalgoPrimo Morillo

Associate Editors

George Oribiana Managing Editor

Danyalyn LazaraCirculation Manager

The Partnership

is published by the Philippine Misereor

Partnership, Inc. with office at

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3 National NewsA year after:Justice for Capion Massacre victims still elusiveTWELVE months had passed since the brutal mining-related massacre that left a mother and her two sons dead in Kiblawan, Davao del Sur and, still, their relatives and allies are crying for justice. “A lot of things happened after the massacre, evidences and testimonies that point to the proper authorities who are the perpetrators of this heinous crime. However, we cannot find any positive development on the case and we cannot understand what is keeping the government from acting decisively,” Fr. Oliver Castor of the Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc. (PMPI) said. It could be remembered that the so-called “Capion Massacre” happened last 2012 during a raid conducted by the 27th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and, up to now, the military is claiming that it was a legitimate military operation. “What adds insult to injury

is the fact that after the massacre, two other incidents of killings happened; the murder of Kitari Capion last January and the Freay Massacre just two months ago,” Castor, who visited the anti-mining communities around Tampakan last October, added. Castor also informed the media that the leaders and elders of about 23 indigenous people’s territories organized an Interterritorial Conference last October 18 where they would present their agenda, including their call for the shutdown of the Tampakan mining operations, to the representatives of regional offices of government agencies. The attendees came from two major Lumad tribes (Blaan and T’boli) from the

territories of Kiamba and Alabel of Saranggani, CADC 033 Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat, Bong Mal Bong Banwe, Polomolok, and other IP communities. “The Blaan tribe will also have their own ritual on the conference to highlight the issue of human rights violations surrounding the Tampakan mining project especially the Capion case,” Castor also mentioned. “We fervently hope that the government will listen to the voice of the indigenous people of Southern Mindanao. Mahirap na kung ang maisip nilang lahat ay karahasan ang isagot sa tumitinding karahasan ng minahan at ng mga ahente ng estado sa kanilang mga katutubo,“ he concluded. /TP

PMPI joins CSOs call to extend ceasefire PMPI launches its new websitePMPI officially launched last De-cember 10, coinciding the Interna-tional Human Rights Day, its new website. The new website, which can now be visited at www.pmpi.org.ph, replaced the old PMPI website that has been offline for several months already. The new website will pro-vide updates on four thematic con-cerns, latest news within the net-work and downloadable resources. The new website which is in magazine format is more appropri-ate now for campaigns. /TP

(CPP) declared a 10-day unilateral ceasefire that expired on November 24.The appeal also demanded that all areas severely hit by Typhoon Yolanda be publicly declared as “humanitarian peace zones”, particularly the provinces of Leyte, Samar, Panay Island, Cebu, Palawan, Bohol and Negros Occidental. It further stipulated that all stakeholders, including the non-armed actors, be obligated to prevent all forms of violence, especially against the internally-displaced people. /TP

PHILIPPINE MISEREOR Partnership Inc. participated with other peace and humanitarian organizations in the country to call for ceasefire extension on Typhoon Yolanda-affected areas. The appeal, which was initiated by the convenors of Mindanao Peace Weavers (MPV), asked all armed actors for a reciprocal 60-day ceasefire in typhoon-affected areas to give way to all rescue, relief, rehabilitation and recovery operations. Earlier last November, the Communist Party of the Philippines

4 National News Partners respond to two other disastersBEFORE Typhoon Yolanda struck Visayas last November, two PMPI clusters responded first to the needs of their communities after being hit by two major calamities. ZAMBASULI and Central Visayas clusters provided relief as-sistance to their constituents at the wake of Zamboanga standoff and a strong earthquake. It can be remembered that members of Moro National Lib-eration Front occupied one of the barangays in Zamboanga City last September and held hostages as human barriers against military at-tacks where thousands of families flee from their homes during this

month-long siege in the city. Meanwhile, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Bohol and Cebu last October which left hundreds of casualties and injured individuals, damage to properties and thousands of homeless or displaced families. The relief efforts were both facilitated by their respective cluster point persons, Albert Valerio and Maria Ira Pamat, in ZAMBASULI and Central Visayas, respectively. /TP

PMPI opens video making contest on relief worksON THE OCCASION of Human Rights Day last December, PMPI introduces a competition on mu-sic video making about the current relief works undertaken by differ-ent groups and organizations. The contest is open to all groups – friends, family or orga-nization – who initiated their own ways to help the victims and survi-vors of Typhoon Yolanda. Using the song “Sandugo”, participants must use their own video footages, photographs, an-imations and other open-source materials which demonstrate their solidarity with affected people of ca-lamity last November. The deadline for submission of entries is until March 10, 2014. All entries, which will be posted online, will be judged ac-cording to the following criteria: substance (40%), creativity (40%), number of views of your entry in Youtube (10%) and number of likes in Facebook (10%). Top three entries, which will be announced on Araw ng Kagitin-gan, April 9, win recognition tokens and P10,000 each. Sandugo, the official anthem of the network on the ongoing relief and rehabilitation initiatives, is writ-ten by renowned composer Gary Granada and sang by Chickoy Pura, Bayang Barrios, Lolita Carbon, and Cookie Chua. /TP

PMPI hires two new staff for relief works

TWO additional staffs were al-ready on board at Secretariat of-fice since November for the relief and rehabilitation projects of the network. Melody Asia and Gladys Faith Cortez are designated as the emergency response coordinator and finance/administrative assistant for #ProjectPagbangon, the current relief and rehabilitation undertak-

MELODY GLADYS

ing of PMPI for selected communities in Visayas affected by Typhoon Yolanda. Asia is a staff loaned from Pilipina – Ang Kilusan ng Ka-babaihang Pilipino (PIL-IPINA Inc.), a member

of National Capital Region (NCR) – National cluster. Meanwhile, Cortez is a fresh graduate who took up Bachelor of Science in Accountancy at Philip-pine School of Business Adminis-tration (PSBA). Both of them are responsible for coordinating and managing all activities pertaining to the disaster response efforts. /TP

5 Anti-Mining CampaignGroups troop to SC, Mendiola to demand stop mining, plea justice for mining casualtiesSEVERAL anti-mining groups marched last September 12 towards the Supreme Court and Mendiola to de-nounce mining in the country by asserting to the High Court magistrates that certain provisions of the Min-ing Act of 1995 are unconstitutionality and urging President Benigno Aquino III to review the current min-ing policies of his administration. These groups also demanded to the government that justice must be served to the casualties of mining-related violence and emphasized that the recent environmental tragedies and human rights violations within the mining site are sufficient proofs to put a halt on mining in the Philippines. “Against the backdrop of economic progress the mining companies bannered lies a persistent reality that the mining history is painted by bloodsheds and human rights violations,” said Fr. Oliver Castor, project officer of Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc (PMPI), a faith-based network of 300 organizations. Castor also recalled that most victims of these mining-related incidences were either

staunch opposition of mining in their locality or their relatives. “For a period of two years, 2011 to 2012, there were 18 victims attributed to mining activities. Of this number, 7 were recorded in 2011; while 11 were reported in 2012. For 2013 alone, there were already four casualties; but notably the victims were residing within the similar area,” Castor stressed. He took note that the recent killings of a tribal leader and his son last August 2013 were mining-related because the said leader opposed the proposed mining project in their area. Castor concluded, “The death tolls relative to mining are clear indications that mining companies value more their profit than human lives. If these companies seek for

sustainable development, then, they must first be stewards of protecting human lives and their rights.” Earlier that week, series of rallies were also held in front of Sof-itel Hotel where this year’s mining conference was conducted and in the House of Representatives. The said demonstrations were part of a weeklong series of ac-tivities against mining in the coun-try, which was held annually par-alleled to the International Mining Conference facilitated by the Cham-ber of Mines of the Philippines. /TP

code; while Rene Pamplona, advo-cacy officer of Social Action Center of Marbel, presented their struggle on the enactment of the said code in South Cotabato. Environmental rules were also explored. Representative Terry Ridon tackled the Writ of Kalikasan; while lawyer Ryan Quan of the Ate-neo Human Rights Center talked about the Ruggie framework. A legal clinic, facilitated by Atty. Ipat Luna of Tanggol Ka-likasan, was conducted and used the mining issues in Homonhon as a lens in looking the legal issues. /TP Local campaign plans of all pilot SOS and national campaign plan were presented during the con-ference. /TP

PMPI-AMC unit conducts SOS confabTO STRENGTHEN the coordina-tion between the focal organiza-tions, the pilot sites of struggles (SOS), and the network stakehold-ers, the anti-mining campaign (AMC) unit of PMPI held its sec-ond SOS Conference for 2013 last September 18 to 20. The conference focused on the importance of local policy change advocacy within the areas of the SOS and understanding the con-

cepts of new environmental rules in the country and the Ruggie frame-work. Two discussions were inte-grated to engage the participants to pursue local environmental policy change, aside from building their anti-mining constituents. Rodne Galicha, a former Alyansa Tigil Mina organizer, shared the experi-ence of Romblon in their struggle to craft a provincial environmental

6 Thematic ConcernsA lesson after Yolanda:

Formation of DQRT is a needTHE recent destruction brought about by Typhoon Yolanda in the Eastern Visayas not only revealed how vulnerable the Philippines to disasters, but it also presented the most disheartening fact that there was this obvious absence of government’s effective mechanism for response to this type and magnitude of disaster. What happened in Tacloban where all the gov-ernment’s line agencies were affected, hence, had no ca-pacity to respond, service utilities were cut, and ma-jor thoroughfares were de-stroyed could happen any-time again and anywhere in the country as we face extreme and undeniable im-pact of climate change. As number of stud-ies including the recent In-tergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report identified human-in-duced activities as the ma-jor contributor to climate change, increasing number

with increasing magnitude. The establishment of the “di-saster quick response team (DQRT)” within the clusters is hoped to pro-vide the members a mechanism of coordination in time of disasters. The DQRT shall provide direction for the relief efforts. It shall facili-tate support and access to resources from national and local government organizations within and outside the region. To operationalize the DQRT, it shall be composed of volunteers from partner organizations who are able and willing to share their ex-pertise, time, and their lives even to

rescue partners in need. Team mem-bers will undergo extensive training on preparedness and response who will in turn train their partner com-munities for the same coordinated action. The DQRT is expected to organize themselves into sub-teams that will focus of the following: pre-paredness, prevention, and mitiga-tion; response; and rehabilitation and recovery. The Secretariat and CC-DRRtask force members will comprise the technical support for the cluster DQRT including link-ages to national and international agencies for further support. /TP

Proposed DQRT Process Flow

and magnitude of weather distur-bances is perceived to happen in the future. Given this scenario, more Tacloban and Guiuan-like disaster may take place one after the other as we note that the Philippines is being visited by typhoons at an average of 19 typhoons per year. Such chaos is unimaginable and incomprehensi-ble. The Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI), with its huge network of partner organiza-tions all over the country, recog-nized the need to prepare its mem-bers in responding to calamities

7 Thematic ConcernsThree clusters to conduct FAB consultationsTO BE ABLE to contribute on the process of crafting the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), three PMPI clusters in Mindanao located within the Bangsamoro geographic jurisdiction will conduct public consultations to orient the constituents about the basics of the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro (FAB) roadmap. The activity, which will be participated by DOPIM, ZAMBA-SULI and KIDMACO clusters, also hopes to gather information on the concerns of the public on FAB that might be useful to the Bangsam-oro Transition Commission (BTC)

MCSOPP, which formalized the participation of civil society or-ganizations (CSOs) in conducting public consultations from the draft-ing of Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to its enactment. The public consultations

Likewise, many of them ex-pressed apprehension on the im-pending changes that the new Bang-samoro government will bring in the socio-economic and political landscape of their communities. Thirty-five orientations

and the Min-danao Civil Society Orga-nizations Plat-form for Peace (MCSOPP) in finalizing the BBL. Specif-ically, it aims to understand the Moro struggles for self-determi-nation, gen-erate people’s definition of the “Bangsamoro autonomy”, and create mechanism for stakeholders to work together to promote trans-parency, inclusiveness and active participation through area consul-tations with the end in view of gen-erating massive public support and ownership of the Bangsamoro gov-ernment. Previously, PMPI, represent-ed by Fr. Albert Mendez (DOPIM), participated last October 17 on the signing of memorandum of under-standing (MOU) between the BTC and the 120-member organization

aim to generate inputs, proposal, and recommendations from constit-uents on the details of the FAB An-nexes that will be operationalized by the BBL. In meetings of Task Force on Peace, it has been reported that results of focus group discussions (FGDs) on women and other vul-nerable groups conducted by part-ner organizations revealed that a significant number of members of their partner communities do not know about the FAB roadmap and the content of the annexes.

are proposed to be conducted in these three clusters simultaneous to the conduct of MCSOPP and the BTC of the public consultations and validation of the consultation results [See Table for the details of PMPI public consultation]. These will not intend to cover all the issues and concerns on FAB, rather it will provide a venue for learning and understanding and its implication to the people. The said activity is project-ed to commence in February until March 2014 and the DOPIM cluster will act as the coordinator. /TP

Cover Story

About the CoverA resident of Barangay Cudionan, San Dionisio, Iloilo happily receives a relief pack from the relief operations of PMPI partners in Panay.

#ProjectPagbangon:

PMPI partners lend help to Yolanda survivorsTHE ONSLAUGHT of Typhoon Yolanda last November, which left unimaginable damage to lives and properties of communities in Visayas, uphold a network ready to offer its helping hand to the ty-phoon survivors. Philippine Misereor Part-nership Inc. (PMPI), partners in Panay and Eastern Visayas clusters, and Misereor band together and led the network to give assistance to the communities affected by the wrath of a super typhoon. #ProjectPagbangon, the di-saster response initiative of PMPI, provided relief goods to 10,848 fam-ilies in 83 barangays in four prov-inces of Panay and 1,927 families in 12 barangays of Homonhon and Manicani Islands in Eastern Samar. These goods contained food items, such as five kilos of rice, canned sardines, one-half kilo of sugar, one-fourth kilo of salt and monggo beans, cooking oil and dis-tilled water, and non-food items, such as detergent bar soap and sani-tary napkin. Relief distribution opera-tions in Panay were conducted be-tween November 18 to December 21; while in Eastern Samar, it was done from December 6 to 7. Aside from the relief distri-bution in Samar, PMPI installed ra-

dio communication equipment and two sets of solar panels in Manicani and Homonhon Islands with the as-sistance of radio group, REACT. A medical mission and a psycho-social session in two baran-gays of Homonhon were simultane-ously conducted by the Franciscan Health Care – Crossing Borders, a partner from Northern Samar. Previously, two solidarity missions, with the primary tasks to check on the situation of partners, find out who among the members are still “able” to help undertake di-saster response, conduct an initial rapid assessment of target areas, and help the re-grouping of affected clusters, were created days after Ty-phoon Yolanda struck in Visayas. T The first team was com-posed of PMPI Anti-Mining Cam-

paign (AMC) unit, Fr. Oliver Castor and Primo Morillo, went to Eastern Samar. The second team – which included Yoly Esguerra, PMPI na-tional coordinator, Candy Hidalgo, PMPI project officer, Sr. Crescencia Lucero, co-convenor for Luzon, El-mar Noe and Brigitte Manderlatz, Philippine desk officers of Misere-or – proceeded to Iloilo to meet the Panay-based partners Meanwhile, a follow-up vis-it in Tacloban and Samar was also conducted after the solidariy mis-sion. The team was composed of Esguerra and Noe and they were accompanied by Samar-based part-ners Fr. Dondon Irinco and Fr. Ce-sar Aculan. /TP