“Building a Culture of Peace: Shaping the Vision, Living the Dream”

Media, Technology and Peace

Carolyn O. Arguillas
MindaNews
Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines
2011 National Convention
22 September 2011
Basics data from www.nscb.gov.ph

Provinces
Philippines Mindanao %
80 26* 31.25

Cities
138 33 23.91

Municipalities
1,496 355 23.72

Barangays
42,025 8,178 19.45
Population (as of Aug 1, 2007)
Philippines Mindanao %
88,542,991 21,582,540 24.37

Registered Voters (as of 2010)

48,275,594 11,365,385 23.54
Catholic Educators Association
of the Philippines (CEAP)

Philippines Mindanao %

1,365 270 19.78

Member-schools
CEAP Mindanao schools are not just in the cities but also in
Moro and Lumad areas

CEAP Mindanao schools have produced governors, mayors,

doctors, nurses, engineers, generals, priests, nuns,
revolutionary leaders, journalists, etc..
How many CEAP member-schools are offering
mass communications courses?
How many journalists* have been produced by
CEAP member-schools?

* Graduates of Mass Comm or other disciplines

Top 15 networking sites
Internet, social networking sites, Youtube, etc. have changed
our lives

We can watch the uprising in Libya right in our own

bedrooms

We can comment on issues anytime

We can connect with friends worldwide

We can correct misconceptions, errors in fact quickly, etc..

The reality is: not everyone has access to the internet and
social networking sites, especially in rural areas in Mindanao
and other rural areas in Luzon and Visayas

But in rural areas, you can be sure that no matter how

limited their access is or how few the copies are, there are
textbooks in schools and they can listen to the radio or
television stations
Internet, Social networking sites, Youtube, Mobile phones,
24/7 news, etc…

But what is the message?

How where these messages shaped by schools, by media?
Keynote address of Fr. Alejo

Textbooks and Posters used

Grade 1 to 6; 1st year to 4th year High School

Based on Social Studies/Sibika textbooks studied
(authors mostly from Metro Manila)

Dominant images of Mindanao:

war zone
land of conflict
predominantly Muslim
Dominant images of Mindanao based on textbooks
studied:
no heroes
no tourist spots
no economic contribution to the country
no contribution to the protest movement under martial
law, etc..

Errors in fact
Taosug in Lanao
Maguindanaons in Davao del Sur
Maranaos in Sulu, Tawi-tawi, etc..
Alejo’s keynote address:

“ Is it possible that in our ordinary school life we are

actually hurting other groups?”

“Is it possible that in the midst of our classrooms, we are

engaged in violence? This textual violence is hurting the
sensibilities of our brothers (and sisters)”
Alejo’s keynote address:

“ How can schools contribute to peace?”

“How can schools contribute to unpeace?”

“Can we admit that we are part of the problem?”

Teachers can pass on their ignorance to at least 40 Grade
school and High School students per schoolyear or about
the same number of college students per semester

Journalists can pass on their ignorance to millions of

people every day, every hour, every second
Wittingly or unwittingly we are part of the problem

But can we be part of the solution, too?

 Mention “Mindanao”
and the word evokes images of
 war
Abu Sayyaf
kidnappings
evacuations
bombings
Massacre
terrorism
militarization

Violence
Mindanao is
- home to more than half of the country’s armed forces;
- home to all Moro liberation fronts (MNLF, MILF)
- home to the largest concentration of communist guerrillas (CPP-NPA-NDF
now referred to by the Aquino administration as C-N-N)*
- home to the Abu Sayyaf
- home to private armies**
- breeding ground for military rebels

* CNN is nationwide
** also nationwide
Mindanao is
- richest in natural resources (vast agricultural lands, mineral resources such as
gold, silver, nickel, copper, uranium…)

- home to so many peace-building initiatives (NGOs and POs, church, media,

academe, military, business, etc..)

- paradise for its 21.5 million residents

Who lived where in Mindanao 1894. Areas shaded in red are rich in gold and
 1898
Through the Treaty of Paris of 1898,
Spain sold what is now the Philippines
(including areas in Mindanao it failed to conquer in its three-century reign)
to America for 20 million dollars .

The Bangsamoro Sultanates in Sulu and Maguindanao

and the Pat a Pangampong ko Ranao (Confederation of the Four Lake- based Emirates)
in Lanao del Sur which had their own governance systems, as well as the Lumads
(indigenous peoples) were taken over by American laws and decrees

Subsequent land laws pushed the Bangsamoro into the margins and as more settlers
came from the Visayas and Luzon islands, the Moro and Lumads were also minoritized
 1968
(founding of the Mindanao Independence Movement
and Moro National Liberation Front)

1898 to 1968 =70 years

Bangsamoro, Lumad marginalized, minoritized
Land laws favored settlers and corporations
Martial Law 1972-1986
( “paper lifting” of martial law in 1981)

newspapers, radio and TV stations closed in 1972;

only government-owned and government-controled
papers and stations operated

Imagine Mindanao in the 1970s?

Telephones as of 1986: easier to drive/commute to
Tagum City (56 kms away) than to call
 1976
Afraid of an oil embargo, Marcos opened peace talks with the Moro National Liberation
Front (MNLF) under chair Nur Misuari n 1974,
culminating in the Tripoli Agreement of 1976.

Despite the MNLF’s protest, Marcos managed to set up two instead of one
autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao.

They were “autonomous” in name only.

Late 1970s, Early 1980s

MNLF vice chair Salamat Hashim break away, forms Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF)
 1986
Marcos ousted; Democracy restored; Corazon Aquino is President
(among the first things she did was to meet with Moro rebel leader Nur Misuari in Jolo,
Sulu, against the wishes of her military;
but no peace agreement was signed under her administration)

Under her term, a Constitutional provision granted “autonomy”

to Muslim Mindanao, purportedly to implement the 1976 Tripoli Agreement

1996 Sept. 2
Final Peace Agreeement between government and MNLF signed (as of June 2011,
implementation is still under review)

1996 November
Bishops-Ulama Forum (now Conference) established; first meeting in Cebu

1997
Peace Process with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) starts
 1988
Workshop on Reporting for Peace in Mindanao
El Corazon Hotel, Cotabato City, September 8-10

National Conference-Workshop on the Role of

Communication in Christian-Muslim Mindanao,
Zamboanga City
 1988 - 2011
23 years of conferences and workshop
on peace reporting …

…and three major wars later

(2000, 2003, 2008)
Why are the problems on
reportage persisting?
“The victims in Pikit were victims of a calamity decided by fellow human
beings. As a man-made calamity, it belongs to humans the decision
whether to stop it or to continue it for the sake of the civilian victims. I
could have wished that the media had played an adversarial role, as it
always claims it (does) in challenging the decision of the government to
break the peace by waging another war while the peace talks were
going on and while the ceasefire was holding.”

- Fr. Roberto C. Layson, OMI

Parish priest, Pikit, 2003
 “The most tragic story of the 2000 and 2003* wars in the southern and
central parts of mainland Mindanao is that both wars, having been
waged in the midst of peace talks, could have been prevented if only the
public were not kept ignorant by media.”
- Carolyn O. Arguillas, 2006

*the same could be said of the 2008 war

The truth is
-most Filipinos, the media included, do not know the history of
the Bangsamoro and the Lumads of Mindanao; that a major
historical injustice was done to them; the history that was passed
on to us was history written by the “victors” who taught us the
Lumads were “uncivilized” and that “a good Moro is a dead
Moro”

-over the decades, the Moro has been referred to as “them” and
the predominantly Catholic majority as “us”

-in the earlier stages of the Moro struggle, vested interest groups
made it appear religion was the cause of the problem; it is not
The truth is
-those who learn the history of the Bangsamoro and the Lumad
understand the need to rectify the historical injustices

- findings from a series of consultations nationwide (Konsult

Mindanaw in 2009 and Dialogue Mindanaw in 2010) showed
people are sick and tired of war and want peace, and are willing
to do their share as stakeholders of peace

- findings also showed that people are interested in learning

more about the peace processes
Challenges (External/outside Mindanao)
1. International wire agencies dictate what IS and what is
NOT news for the rest of the world

Manila, seat of all the national newspapers, radio and

television networks, dictates what IS and what is NOT news
for the rest of the country (although thanks to the internet,
mobile phones, social networking sites, this is slowly
changing)

2. For Manila, Mindanao is just a “defense beat,” the source

of headline or front page stories: war, bombings, terrorism,
kidnapping, etc.
3. When major story in Mindanao breaks out, networks
send over their reporters instead of rely on their Mindanao-
based team

4. Reporters sent, like soldiers deployed to Mindanao, are

generally not briefed on, say, the government-Moro conflict;
no briefing, too, on the peace talks. Some do research but
many don’t.

5. Mindanao gets caught in a crossfire between warring

networks; who gets to put “exclusive” first, not necessarily
who gets it right first; reporters issued memo when rival
network gets “exclusive”
6. Mindanao assignment for Manila media is a much-coveted
assignment. Like military assignments, a Mindanao
assignment can be a source of promotion; more money (read:
“racket” or “sideline”; read: new car, new house, etc..), fame (read: war
correspondents are popular)

7. Majority of the population unaware of what Prof. Rodil,

the expert on Moro and Lumad history, is talking about

8. Majority of the population ignorant of roots of the

government-Moro conflict; biases/prejudices high
[Mindanao’s state u presidents met in early January 2010 in
Penang, Malaysia]

9. Martial law carryover. And more…

In fairness, there have been some changes in the last decade
among the Manila-based media

Glenda M. Gloria cites factors behind these changes:

1.) Intense focus on Mindanao

2.) Opening of the public sphere to diverse views
3.) Global scrutiny of the media
4.) A more discriminating audience
Challenges (Internal)
1. Journalists are not briefed on the roots of the GPH-MNLF,
GPH-MILF conflict. Few bother to research because of
deadlines

2. Media culture in one’s area not conducive

3. Media culture is reflective of the prevailing culture in the

area
4. The issue is too complex

5. No briefing either on the peace processes (GPH-

MNLF, GPH-MILF, GPH-NDF)

6. Very few Mindanao-based media have regular staff

7. Many Mindanao branches of Manila-based media

radio/TV rely on public officials’ “blocktime
programs” for survival
8. Martial law carryover (Mindanao =
military/defense beat)

9. Very few media practitioners are Moro

10.Very few media practitioners are Lumad, etc..

 Mindanao in the
National Media
Who is telling our stories, our narratives,
our pains, our struggles, our triumphs?

From whose perspectives are our stories told?

From whose framing?
so many noble efforts undertaken but..

tired of complaining

we decided to do something
Changing the discourse

Communicating Mindanao
 2001
- A year after Estrada’s “all out war,” at least 15 of us Mindanao
journalists of like mind and heart, mostly from the country’s
largest newspaper, resigned to set up MindaNews, a daily news
service operated by a media cooperative

- as a struggling media cooperative, we knew we couldn’t

afford to come up with a newspaper. Thanks to the internet, we
could share with the rest of the world our stories
Vision
The Mindanao News and Information Cooperative Center (MNICC) is the leading provider of
accurate, timely and comprehensive news and information on Mindanao and its peoples, serving
economically, politically and culturally empowered communities.

Mission
Professionally and responsibly cover Mindanao events, peoples and issues to inform, educate,
inspire and influence communities.

Who are we?

We are a cooperative composed of independent, professional journalists who believe and practice
people empowerment through media. We also believe that Mindanao is not all bad news and that
our responsibility as journalists and information providers is to ensure a mixed balance of reports
beyond the usual fare published in national newspapers or aired on radio and TV.

Statement of Values
Social responsibility is the priority in our undertakings as a cooperative. This involves integrity,
honesty, conscious search for the truth, sensitivity and respect for faiths and cultures, promotion
of peace amidst pluralism, environmental advocacy, and dovetailing our services to the needs of
the peoples of Mindanao, particularly the marginalized sectors. Viable and sustainable enterprise
will enable us to undertake the above.
elucidate, not exacerbate
 2002
- How to influence journalists of like mind and heart but
belonging to other media outfits?

- We convened Mindanao’s community newspaper editors, radio

and TV station managers and news editors (the decision-makers)
for the 1st Mindanao Media Summit where we asked
representatives of the Moro and the Lumad (Indigenous Peoples )
and the Settlers in Mindanao to give us a critique of how we were
covering the conflict and from there, met again to reflect on what
they said and vowed to do something about it.
“We are disseminators and interpreters of news. But
we are also major stakeholders in the quest for peace
in Mindanao.

“We want to re-shape and re-direct the themes on

Mindanao currently dominated by terrorism, war,
criminality, and other forms of violence, to one that
presents a realistic, balanced and truthful reporting
of the lives, initiatives, relationships, issues, pains,
dreams and triumphs of our people.”

-- Our Mindanao Covenant

1st Mindanao Media Summit, May 2002
Mindanao Media Summits 1 to 6
1MMMS 2002: Ito nga ba ang mga pangyayaring nagaganap sa Lupang Ipinangako?
2MMS 2003: Media as Peacebuilders
3MMS 2005: Media as Bridging Leaders
4MMS 2008: Mindanao 2020: The Vision Begins with Us
5MMS 2009: Election 2010: Vote for Change, Vote for Peace
6MMS 2010: Mindanao 2020: Moving Forward

REGIONAL MEDIA CONFERENCES

5 conferences in2010 culminating with
6MMS 2010: Mindanao 2020: Moving Forward (November 5-7, 2010)

2011 regional conferences

Davao region: July 15-16 in Tagum City
Southwestern Mindanao: August 5-6 in General Santos City
Caraga region: October 8-9 in Butuan City, etc…
 REGULAR TRAININGS
YOUTH
GSIS Summer Youth Training Workshops (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)

COMMUNITIES
Grassroots Documentation and Reporting Training (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)

MINDANAO SUMMER INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM

(2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
in cooperation with ATENEO DE DAVAO UNIVERSITY
for journalists and non-journalists, journalism students and teachers and anyone
interested
- basic and advance journalism and photojournalism courses
- specialty courses (e.g. Reporting Indigenous Peoples; Reporting Mindanao (Focus
on the Bangsamoro Peace Processes); Reporting Business; Governance: Beyond City
Hall Reporting)
- language courses such as Conversational/Functional Maguindanao
(speaking/understanding the languages helps make a better journalist)
 In Journalism class, we were taught to ensure
we get answers to the 5 Ws and 1H

In Mindanao, we add 3 Cs
(Teresita Quintos-Deles, then of Gaston Ortigas Peace Center, 1999)

Context

Characters

Consequences
The Armed Conflict
and Its Impact
Source:

 1970-1996 – MNLF vs AFP:

Presentation of Presidential Adviser on the
Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon, former
AFP Chief of Staff , 7 August 2008

 100,000 -120,000 perished,

50% MNLF, 30% AFP, 20%
civilian
 P73B spent by Government on
war materiel

Cost of War
The Armed Conflict
and Its Impact
Source:
Presentation of Presidential Adviser on the

 2000 – “All-out-War” in Mindanao cost

Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon,
former AFP Chief of Staff , 7 August 2008
the government P20 Million per day or a
total of P1.337 Billion during the whole
period.
 AFP personnel losses: 431 KIA and
624 WIA
 Damage to infrastructure: P202M

 Damage to agriculture: P124.76M

Cost of War
The Armed Conflict
and Its Impact
Source:
Presentation of Presidential Adviser on the
Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon,
former AFP Chief of Staff , 7 August 2008

 2003 – “Buliok Offensives”

 P46.8 M worth of damage to

crops, livestock and fisheries;
 P130 M worth of damage to
infrastructure

Cost of War
 AMMO SPENT BY 6TH INF BN
The Armed Conflict DURING BULIOK OFFENSIVE
and Its Impact
Source:
AMMO TYPE ROUNDS COST
Presentation of Presidential Adviser on the
Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon, SPENT
former AFP Chief of Staff , 7 August 2008 5.56 MM (Ball) 212,019 P 2.39M
7.62 MM linked 53667 P 1.15M
7.62 MM (Ball) 26821 P 0.41M
40 MM (M203) TOTAL
2407 P 3.86M
Hand grenade AMMO 126 P 0.08M
Rifle grenade
SPENT356 BY P 0.08M
JUST A
CAL 30 LMG 10348 P 0.59M
SINGLE
CAL 50 HMG (linked) 16967 P 0.10M
BATTALION:
P 20.51M
Cost of War
CAL 50 (Ball) spotting 1200 P 2.96M

81 MM Mortar 799 P 3.71M

90MM RR 448 P 8.71M
25MM 300 P 0.09M
The Cost of War

-Civilians, mostly children and elderly,

killed in crossfire or in evacuation
centers
- mass evacuation
-houses, crops, livelihood abandoned
-disrupted schooling, disrupted lives,
etc..
The Cost of War

- psychological
- trauma, hatred, etc…
- an even greater divide
Video Documentaries

Sana wala nang gyera, Sana wala nang bakwit, 2004

(May there be no war, May there be no more evacuees [
internally displaced persons])

Gyera 2008: Through our Lenses, 2009

(2008 war through photojournalists’ lenses)

The “Presidentiables” and Mindanao:

Presidential candidates air their views on Mindanao issues,
2009
 Books
Mindanao Under Martial Law: Turning Rage into Courage, 2002 (MindaNews
Publications)

Understanding Mindanao Conflict by Patricio P. Diaz, 2003 (MindaNews Publications)

The GRP-MILF Peace Drafts 2010: Analysis and Comments by Patricio P. Diaz
and Rudy Buhay Rodil ,2010 (MindaNews Publications)

LAUNCHED 8 JULY 2011

Fields of Hope: Everyday stories of inter-faith dialogues and peace-building. by Fr.
Roberto C. Layson, OMI

The Troubled Odyssey by Patricio P. Diaz (on the GRP-MILF Peace Process)

Mindanao into the 21st century: A photographic journey

FOR LAUNCHING LATER THIS YEAR

Handbook on Reporting Mindanao (Forcus on the Bangsamoro Peace Processes)
 IGNORANCE OF THE ISSUE EXCUSES NO ONE….

Every January , MindaNews lists books on Mindanao or by Mindanawons published

the previous year

TOTAL: 259 books from 2000 to 2010, mostly on history and peace-building

ONLINE resources are also available

35 more Mindanao books and journals in 2010
total of 259 from 2000 to 2010
Music
Asin Concert for Peace, 2002
Songs for Peace (CD), 2003

Theatre (linked up with an artists’ group)

Salima (concert theatre production on the state of IDPs), 2003

Peace shirts
Peace be upon us
Give Peace in Mindanao a Chance

Photo Exhibits
Tanaw Mindanaw (with Philippine Center for Photojournalism) 2003-2004
Gyera and Fiesta! 2003, 2004, etc…
Fiesta sa Mindanao: Mindanao festivals by Bobby Timonera, Iligan City 2003
Beyond the Sunset, 2004; Sunrise, Sunset, 2005, etc…
Ampatuan Massacre, 2010
JOINT COVERAGE BY MINDANAO AND MANILA JOURNALISTS
co-convened in 2009:

State Of the Bakwits (SOB) 1 and 2

Maguindanao, June 30-1 July

Revisiting the Bakwits

Maguindanao, November 13-15
Monthy news magazine since December 2011
Exhibit of photos from this book, nationwide; will link up with schools
 We are a small media outfit.

The bigger media outfits can do more

Schools can do a lot more

1. Review textbooks used esp. in Elem and HS

2. Use modules that will be produced by the

“Righting History” team

3. Review Mass Comm curriculum

4. Alay Kapwa; Duyog Ramadan–

discontinued; some are doing it again like NDU

5. Language courses
Schools can do a lot more

What language courses are CEAP schools

offering nationwide?

French, Japanese, Chinese, etc…

Who is offering Maguindanaon language?

Taosug? Maranao? Manobo? T’boli? Mandaya?
Schools can do a lot more

6. If there is a UN Day, cannot we have a Luzon

Day, Visayas Day, Mindanao Day in school so
children grow up knowing our country?

7. Make use of technology to get children

interact with children of other faiths and cultures
within the country (e.g. through Skype)

8. Interfaith and Intrafaith dialogues should not

be for adults only but for children as well

9. What else can you do?

Thank you!

Salamat po!

Sukran!/Shukran

Magsukol!

Salamat Karajaw