By KATHLEEN T. OKUBO
www.nordis.net

Before representatives and delegates of the NL summit’s organization of Amianan Salakniban, the book, “William ‘Billy’ Funa-ay Claver, Selected speeches and statements,” was formally launched. At that time, knowing he has been greatly weakened by his bout with the amoeba, there was a common fear he may choose to go. He did, with beer in hand, made his last cheers! And went on his way to the great beyond at noontime the next day.

That evening – before the participants, friends and guests at the NL summit on mining and human rights; and with fervent prayer for Billy’s recovery – we launched his book. It was most special because its launching was with representatives of the people and organizations he identified his visions with, the people with whom and for whom he authored his oral arguments and ideas.

The collection of his speeches and statements that has been put together in this book reflects his deep respect and trust in his people. He believed they too had the right as a people, to self-determination as much as the greater Filipino masses. He believed and listened to them and dedicated most of his life to translate their hopes and aspirations into the legal field where he chose to lead the battle for indigenous peoples rights.

The book picks up when Billy brought the struggle to the constitional convention as a delegate in 1971 in the Halls of Congress under Martial Law! His speeches also reflected his experiences of how he grew up to realize the truth in the peoples’ voice and concretely grasp their visions and aspirations which must have hardened his commitment to serve them even against the the cruel Martial Law regime.

He openly waged the campaign to unite the Cordillera provinces not only on the basis of physical location or mountain ranges, on the diversity but also commonalities of their ancestral domain, culture and spirituality and also on the basis of the peoples’ common aspirations. He wresltled and tussled with his audience as he delivered the theory and practice of the right to self determination, of the right to ancestral domain, of the minority against the majority, of indigenous peoples rights. He campaigned to a house of legislators and other politicians when these ideas would have otherwise been considered subversive. He discussed with the village elders to hone articulation of their rights and to further open their minds. He proded the youth and students to study more about their history and their community issues.

He helped many comprehend how regional autonomy was the expression of the Cordillera peoples right to self-determination. One other speech I consider sigificant was his keynote address to the Tabuk High School in 1990 entitled “Campus Journalism and the youth in times of crisis.” I specially believe every Cordillera journalist worth his salt should read and study this. Though I do not believe there is such a thing as “advocacy journalism” because I know there are just the facts and that journalism serves the people.

Billy said, “ I believe that the writer, besides having his facts right must not be prevented from taking a particular stand in favor of the people’s interest. I strongly favor advocacy journalism which I would like to define as ‘writing the facts, writing without fear, writing in favor of freedom.’ What in particular, are the issues about peace that the journalist must write about…?”

He continues, “What are the actual conditions which would make for a situation of peace? By this, I refer to material and non-material conditions including the eradication of poverty, hunger and disease; just and equitable labor practices; redistribution of social assets among those who have none in life and who contribute to social wealth through their labor such as landless peasants, eradication of illiteracy, free access to all levels of education especially to the underprivileged….”

William ‘Billy’ Funa-ay Claver’s remains was layed to rest on the 21st of December 2011 in Tabuk. Cheers, apo! # nordis.net

By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

“Only a fool expects to be happy all the time.” ― Robertson Davies

On December 20 of this year, the number of Filipinos killed in the wrath of Typhoon Sendong (international name, Washi) is now reaching 957 and reported missing are around 49 according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). The number of casualties was approximated as the total number of victims of Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009.

That was on Saturday, this must be the saddest experience for fellow Filipinos in Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan and other parts of Northern Mindanao. The nation is in mourning. It is a sad Christmas season. Some may not celebrate this expensive time of the year in sympathy with the stricken, the victims and their families and friends.

Then that Sunday evening, an actress tweeted that she will be singing two songs for the members of the Presidential Security Group who were having a Christmas Party that time. Then the actress updated her tweet saying the president was there laughing at her jokes and enjoying her songs. @#*$@!

The president earned the ire of the Filipinos sympathizing with their kababayans after the tweet became viral. Many of them said that the “wangwangless” president is so insensitive for going to party while the people in North Mindanao were in pain. Some said that he could have postponed the Christmas party as what he did before when he did not attend one day of the meeting with the Association of Southeast Asian countries in Indonesia because of some problems at home then.

In a desperate attempt to save the presidential image his companions in his ‘daang matuwid” fantasy said he just stayed there for 30 minutes, and he went there to express his gratitude to the soldiers who saved his life 365 days earlier. As expected, his sisters were there too. It is normal to defend their dear brother. They said that for him going to the party does not mean he was not concerned for the victims, He did not want to be in the way of the rescue operations and the Christmas party he went to is tradition and it was the time for the president to thank the PSG for being there with him.

The issue that Aquino did not go to the area is not a big deal, the point is the Filipinos are crying and it is hard to go merry making especially if you are a public servant moreover that you are a president. Being the head of the land, you have the power to say that “we can celebrate your party anytime but please not now, because our grieving kababayans are the priority this time” to the PSG.

The workers of the different government agencies and non government organizations and volunteers and individuals who are busy extending their hand to the victims are heroes. They were there not just because it is their work but for their love for their countrymen who at the time needed them most. There can be no stronger relief than the unity and concerted actions of the people, together with the families of the workers and the rest of the Filipinos who were killed during the onslaught of “Sendong” and past weather disturbances in the country, we can do it.

As the famous phrase goes: KAYA NATIN ITO! # nordis.net

By REV. LUNA DINGAYAN
www.nordis.net

“Where is the baby born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we have come to worship him.” ― Mathew 2:2

Questions of Christology

Let me invite you to reflect with me on the question raised by the Wise Men from the East, who were searching for the newborn King of the Jews as recorded by Matthew the Gospel writer. “Where is he?” they asked. “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him” (Mt. 2:2).

This searching question of the Wise Men is an appropriate and relevant question to also ask ourselves this Advent and Christmas Season; For it is very much possible for us to have gone through all the motions of traditional Advent and Christmas celebrations, and yet we have not really encountered the One who has been born King of the Jews.

Perhaps, like the Wise Men, we have also seen his star, the sign of his coming, but probably we are yet to have a personal encounter with the newborn King. The star we have seen this Advent and Christmas Season may not be the kind of star seen by the Wise Men from the East.

The star we have seen might have come to us in the form of lanterns hanging in our homes, or in the form of blinking lights that have adorned private homes, public buildings, and commercial establishments, or it might have come to us in the form of Christmas carols played in the air, or in the form of children caroling on the streets or of people exchanging Christmas text messages, Christmas cards, or Christmas gifts.

All these things might have served as our star, the sign that the King has been born! But the question is: where is he? Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? Where can we possibly find him today?

In the Medieval Period, theologians had debated endlessly on the nature of the Christ. The question they were raising was the question as to what is the Christ? Is the Christ human or divine? Some insisted that he is human, while others claimed that he is divine. But the church affirmed officially that Christ is both human and divine. That however did not resolve the Christological issue, because it did not seriously take into consideration the work of the Christ.

The meaning and significance of the Christ could only be found in the work of the Christ. Jesus was called the Christ simply because he “did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people” (Mk.10:45). In fact, the divinity and humanity of the Christ were shown concretely in the work of the Christ. Hence, the question “Where is the Christ?” is a relevant question to ask in our attempts to understand Christ’s presence in our world today.

Where to find Christ today

To answer the Christological question “Where is the Christ today?” we have to start looking into where he was born, where he grew up, and where he gave his life to redeem many people. This is where our Biblical story of Jesus’ birth recorded by Matthew would be of great help to us.

The Wise Men from the East who visited Jesus when he was born were believed to be influential men of learning and of authority. They were the so-called skilled scientists of their day: skilled in the field of philosophy, of science, of medicine, and astrology. They were also believed to be the priestly order of Persia, the ministers and advisers to the Persian rulers. But what is most important to emphasize about the Wise Men is the fact that they were serious seekers for the truth. No wonder they had traveled all the way to Jerusalem searching for the newborn King!

In those ancient days, people believed that they could foretell the future from the stars, and they believed that a person’s destiny was settled by the star under which he was born. It is not difficult to see how that belief arose. The stars pursue their unvarying courses; they represent the order of the universe. Then, if suddenly there appeared some brilliant star, if the unvarying order of the heavens was broken by some special phenomenon, it did look as if God was breaking into His own order, and announcing some special event.

Of course, we can not really tell what star the Wise Men saw. But nevertheless, it was their professional task to watch the heavens, and some heavenly brilliance spoke to them about the entry of a king into the world. And so, from the East they arrived in Jerusalem searching for the newborn king, desperately asking, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?”

Perhaps, this is the same question we are asking today. Where is he who has been born, not only king of the Jews, but King of kings and Lord of lords? Where is he who has been born the Savior of the world, the One who will bring light to our darkened lives? Where is he in our life as a nation and as God’s people? Where is he today?

Star in the East

Reflecting on the Biblical story of Jesus’ birth written by Matthew, we could glean some answers to this question (Mt.2:1-12). First of all, the story is telling us that the newborn King could not be found in the star itself, although the star guided the Wise Men to the newborn King.

Nature religions claim that the natural world is God Himself. Hence, their adherents worship nature: the moon, the sun, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the stones. We may say this is the religion of the ancient past. Yet wittingly or unwittingly this somehow still finds expressions in the way we practice our faith today. It is concretely shown, for instance, in the way materialism has infected our Christmas celebrations.

As one writer rightly puts it, “Christmas has come a long way from Bethlehem, where the idea first originated. Today, Christmas trees come from Taiwan, ornaments from Hong Kong, and the lights from Japan.” The material world may guide us to the newborn King, but it should not take the place of our worship and adoration that is reserved only for the King of kings. Indeed, the newborn King could not be found in the star itself. He could be found somewhere else.

City of Jerusalem

Moreover, the Biblical story is also telling us that the newborn King could not be found in the City of Jerusalem, the so-called center of religious, economic, and political powers in those days.

The Wise Men thought that they could find the newborn King in the City of Jerusalem. But to their own dismay, he was nowhere to be found at the very center of religious, economic, and political powers. What they got was just a word, a word from the chief priests and scribes through King Herod, saying that the newborn King was born somewhere else, not in Jerusalem.

It is important to note that oftentimes, like the Wise Men, we also come to the centers of religious, economic, and political powers of today to search for the Christ, for the newborn King. Say, for instance, we come to the church to find the newborn King. But sometimes also to our own dismay, the Christ the newborn King is nowhere to be found. Sometimes what we only get is the faith and the assurance from the preacher that the newborn King is born indeed! That he is alive! But that he is to be found somewhere else; that he is to be born somewhere else, not inside the church.

Little town of Bethlehem

And so, finally, the Biblical story is also telling us that the newborn King was found in the little town of Bethlehem.

He was born to a poor, ordinary couple by the name of Mary and Joseph, who, according to the Lukan account, had been struggling to pay the taxes imposed upon them by a powerful imperial decree. This couple gave birth to their own son in a lowly manger, because they had no place in the inn (Lk.2). And if we would continue reading Matthew’s Gospel, we would discover that Mary and Joseph had to escape to Egypt and lived the life of a refugee or evacuee, constantly fearing for their own lives and that of their own son, all because of King Herod’s lust for power.

I don’t think it is just a coincidence that the newborn king was born this way. I do believe God had intended it to be this way. And God seems to be saying to us that if we want to encounter Christ the newborn King, we have to discover him among the poor and the lowly in the Bethlehems of today.

We can not find the new born King in the comfortable palatial homes of the Herods and Pilates of our time, not even in the sacred confines of today’s Annas and Caiaphas, the so-called guardians of religion and morality. Perhaps, not even in beautiful resorts, where people on Christmas holidays would enjoy themselves.

God is saying to us that we can find the new born King in today’s little towns of Bethlehem – among the poor people of our day, who, like Mary and Joseph, are also victims of unjust taxation; we can find the Christ among the many refugees or evacuees in our own time who are also desperately struggling for their own survival, because of a senseless war going on not of their own making, or because of a devastating typhoon that ravaged their communities.

Yes, we can find the new born King among the victims of political harassment, victims of corporate greed in our time; who are in constant fear for their lives and their future.

I do believe that the new born King is there present with them, giving them hope in the midst of hopelessness, giving them life in the midst of death.

And so, if we are seriously searching today for the newborn King, then we have to go where he can be found. And like the Wise Men from the East, let us also bow down before him and truly worship him, offering unto him the best of what we are and what we have for his glory and for his sake. Amen. Merry Christmas to everyone! # nordis.net

By INNABUYOG-GABRIELA
www.nordis.net

It was one of the most attended side events with the room nearly filled up by a variety of more than 90 delegates attending the COP17/UNFCCC from civil society organizations, Parties and UN agencies. It was one of the side events on 1 December 2011, the 4th day of COP 17 in Durban, South Africa that was meant to include the voices of rural and indigenous women to the negotiations being in the rightful position to demand from the principal polluters and plunderers of the Earth to unconditionally fulfil their obligations as articulated in the UNFCCC. It was equally meant to impress upon the climate leaders and dealers as well as the civil society how rural and indigenous women are responding to climate change despite the fact that they have contributed the least to climate change.

The event was organized by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) along with Gender CC, two international women’s organizations who are working actively to enable the women’s perspective in the climate change discourse with 5 women presenters from grassroots organizations, one of them this writer to speak on indigenous women’s responsiveness to climate change. From the APWLD team was Roshanti Fernando of NAFSO, a national organization of fisherfolks in Sri Lanka whose livelihood, health and safety are adversely affected by rising sea level. Fernando and I were partners in the panel on Gender and climate change with Elizabeth Letlhaku of South Africa, Uriano Aretaake and Ulamila Wragg from the Pacific.

Emphasized on the greater food insecurity of indigenous communities in the Cordillera who stand to be adversely affected by climate change as shown in the research findings in Lenneng of Abra Province and in Pasdong and Naguey of Benguet Province. Community potentials and initiatives of indigenous peasant women on subsistence agriculture cultivating limited and steep slopes of mountains into rice paddies, swidden farm and gardens and done in a synchronized manner, community pooling of labour, effective indigenous practices of pest control and soil fertility maintenance, local fishing and forest management practices are truly significant in enabling continued survival of indigenous women farmers and their communities in the light of the climate crisis. These potentials and initiatives give more reasons for government to deliver its duties and responsibilities to support the adaptive and survival capacity of indigenous women and their communities.

The women presenters confirmed that awareness raising, information sharing and capacity building with regards to policies related to climate change and women’s human rights are the areas which urgently need to be strengthened. Access to financial resources by rural women’s groups and community organisations was equally identified as one of the key areas that rural and indigenous women need to strategise. Pointing out that while rural and indigenous women have  always adapted in their own ways, their initiatives in reducing non-carbon dioxide gases through traditional practices of crop, livestock and agro-forestry management, enhanced soil carbon sequestration in agricultural soils via reduced tillage and soil biomass restoration, hardly get support from government. The APWLD presenters urged that experiences of rural and indigenous women should be resonated in climate negotiations and global movements to claim justice for environmental plunder particularly from governments of developed or capitalist countries especially the US and their corporations.

A lot of the climate activists agree that Durban will be the burial ground of the Kyoto Protocol, the legally binding document for Parties to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The world’s greatest polluter and plunderer, the US, from the start is making no commitment at all in reducing its green house gas emissions and to the Green Climate Fund. Other industrialized countries are expecting bigger contributions from the private sector than the public sector, which would allow “more business than usual” for corporations. The strong presence of well oiled delegations of corporations camouflaged as NGOs (business NGOs) and the World Bank in the negotiation meetings is a clear indication that any negotiation must amass more profit for them and they will remain scot-free from being the world’s worst climate criminals. A huge mural of Anglo-American mining corporation welcomed the delegates of COP17 at Johannesburg’s airport.

In another side event organized by the People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty to discuss on the intersection of agriculture and climate change, Mariam Mayet of the African Center for Biosafety exclaimed that corporations do not even have to come to Durban as everything is already in place for them.

While there is not much to expect from the official talks in the COP17 particularly on the sensitive issue of climate financing, the APWLD women presenters are demanding that every option―financial and technological including research and development― should be provided to developing countries free from any conditionality. These options or measures should trickle as direct support to local initiatives of indigenous and peasant women and their communities as a step in achieving environmental and economic justice. Government programs to address and mitigate climate change should uphold sustainable practices of natural resources utilization, and adopt appropriate technologies as determined by the actual development needs of indigenous and peasant women and their communities. Extractive and pollutive industries like mining, energy and commercial agriculture should already be stopped much more if these are resisted by local communities. # nordis.net

This was contributed by Vernie Yocogan-Diano, Executive Director of Cordillera Women’s Education Action Research Center (CWEARC)