Pieter's Filipino Blog

Summary of my blog entries

2010-03-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

Using a tool on www.wordle.net, one can make a balloon image of the most frequently used words in one's blog. Check out the link below to see mine! It is no surprise that, having lived in Davao City for a year, the word 'killings' jumps out...

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Cracked Mirrors

2009-08-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

In september zal een groepje voormalige straatkinderen uit de Filipijnen in Leuven een eigen theaterproductie opvoeren. De kinderen vertellen, zingen en dansen hun verhaal, dat van de straat, en de kracht en volharding die hen verandering bracht. De voorstelling is georganiseerd door het Vlaams Internationaal Centrum in samenwerking met de Provincie Vlaams Brabant. Het is een mooi initiatief en het wordt vast een heel interessante voorstelling, dus twijfel niet om langs te gaan! Je steunt er ook projecten in de Filipijnen mee!

Kapwa's 30th Birthday Anniversary :)

2009-08-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

KAPWA UPLIFTMENT Celebrates 30th Founding Anniversary

source: http://www.phildhrra-mindanao.org/2009/07/kapwa-upliftment-celebrates-30th-founding-anniversary/

The KAPWA Upliftment Foundation marked its 30th anniversary celebration on July 3, 2009 at KAPWA Office located at Juna Subdivision, Matina, Davao City. With its theme “Building Partnership for Sustainable Development”, the ocassion was actively participated by former colleagues , development partners, IP leaders of partner communities and friends of KAPWA.

The celebration commenced with a thanksgiving mass celebrated by Fr. Emeterio Barcelon, SJ, the founding Chair of KAPWA Upliftment. A short program followed, with Mr. Ferdinand Marañon, KAPWA Board Chairman, welcomed the guests and visitors to the activity. Fr. Barcelon S.J., inspired the visitors especially KAPWA workers with his inspirational talk encouraging KAPWA workers to be more dedicated and committed in sharing its mission of service to others towards building a better future. A brief presentation on the KAPWA history was shared by Ms. Alma Monica de la Paz, the Executive Director. Central to its celebration was the book launching of KAPWA’s publication entitled “Change and Challenge”. This highlighted KAPWA’s experiences and learnings in their struggles of assisting the Indigenous peoples and upland communities in improving their quality of life while restoring the environment in the uplands.

For the past 30 years, KAPWA has devoted its services to serving the rural poor who live in deforested areas. It has provided services that have enabled them to acquire rights over the land they till, organize start up collective enterprises and enabled them to adapt farming systems appropriate to upland areas.

KAPWA has also trained non-government organizations, community based organizations and church workers on forest tenure and agroforestry technologies. We have worked side by side with local governments and other government and civic groups to protect our natural resources and restore degraded sites.

Founded on July 3, 1979, inspired by Fr. Emeterio J. Barcelon, S.J. as an entity to nurture service to others based on the teachings of the late Fr. Pedro Aruppe, S.J., then Jesuit Father General.

Germans to light candles vs extrajudicial killings in the Philippines

2009-05-22T02:19:00.000-07:00

Written by Dateline Philippines

Wednesday, 20 May 2009 09:33

MANILA, Philippines – Members of Protestant churches in Germany will light more than 1000 candles in the city of Bremen on May 22 to call attention to the continued political killings in the Philippines.

The activity, dubbed “Sumabay Tayo! Walking together – for justice!” is part of the “Kirchentag,” a biennial gathering of German Protestant churches that is based on a theme and draws thousands of people from all faiths, Hannah Wolf, spokeprson for the activity, said in an emailed statement.

The candles will commemorate each of the more than 1,000 activists and political dissenters murdered since 2001, when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came to power.

Among the victims of extrajudicial killings are church people, lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders, farmers, workers, students and trade unionists.

The protesters will also launch a signature campaign meant to pressure the Philippine government to “investigate the killings, compensate survivors and relatives of the victims, and to end not only the political killings, but all human rights violations in the Philippines.”

Wolf, in the statement, said the activity’s organizers fear a deterioration of the “existing climate of impunity” with retired general Jovito Palparan’s assumption of a congressional seat representing the party-list Bantay.

Palparan is accused by human rights groups of responsibility for hundreds of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in areas he was assigned to as a military commander.

“Palparan is known beyond Philippine borders as a notorious human rights violator who, like others, must be prosecuted and brought to justice,” Wolf said.

Philipp Bück, coordinator of the German-based Action Network Human Rights-Philippines, said in the same statement: “More cases need to be prosecuted and perpetrators punished, particularly with regards to command responsibility within the police and military.”

In March, the network conducted a mission in the Philippines to look into the implementation of recommendations by various international human rights experts and groups on how to end the killings and disappearances.

Recently, United Nations special rapporteur Philip Alston, in a follow-up report to his fact-finding mission in 2007, said the government has failed to implement any of his recommendations and, thus, failed to quell the impunity that encouraged the commission of extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses.

In his original findings, Alston blamed most of the murders on a government counterinsurgency strategy that deliberately targeted members and leaders of legal organizations that authorities openly tagged legal fronts of the communist rebel movement.

Duterte Revisited - Mayor under Siege (At Last...)

2009-05-02T00:52:00.000-07:00

Some time ago I posted an interview on this blog with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte: http://pieterthys.blogspot.com/2008/11/rodrigo-duterte-mayor-of-davao-city.html

Since then, the case of the vigilante killings in Davao City has snowballed. In February 2009, Davao City set a sad record. 80 people were murdered. The highest death toll in the shortest month of the year... The Commission on Human Rights headed by Attorney Leila De Lima came to Davao City to investigate a presumed connection between Mayor Duterte and the so-called Davao Death Squad. Duterte, as usual, denied the existence of the Davao Death Squad as well as any connections between the city government and the vigilante killings. Something doesn't quite add up, of course. Duterte prides himself in having rid his city of drug-pushers, rapists and murderers, but a gang of killers going about executing those very same criminals without taking the pains of disguising themselves somehow escaped his attention...

Attorney De Lima - who heads the commisision - rightly emphasized that Mayor Duterte is responsible for the killings any which way. Either he orchestrates the killings, in which case he should be put to trial and sent to prison. Or he merely tolerates it, which would make him a felony to serial killing. Or he really is powerless in stopping the Davao Death Squad, which would make him a highly inept mayor. His city, after all, is the murder capital of Mindanao. Not quite the haven of safety he advertises it to be.

Yet, in my personal opinion, there is someting even more disturbing about the whole case. Even if it were true that Duterte has nothing to do with the killings and that his only responsibility lies in his unwillingness or ineptness to stop them, then there is still that one startling fact: the vast majority of the people in Davao City assume that Duterte is behind the Davao Death Squad, and they applaud him for it. You will be hard-pressed to find anyone genuinely shocked about the killings. Even among local NGO people, it is not uncommon to hear people sanction the killings because 'it has made Davao City a safer place for ordinary citizens'. Although I can understand the people, I do think that there is something terribly wrong with an electorate that massively tolerates extra-judicial killings...

Final Presentation

2009-05-01T01:08:00.000-07:00

So there I was... After months of visiting projects, talking to people and documenting snippets of their lives in pictures, the time had come for me to present my writings to the people I had been writing about: the Bagobo-Tagabawa of Mount Apo. I was pretty nervous, as you can imagine. It was also time to let go of scribbled notes in Cebuano and just speak from the top of my head (with a trembling voice, I admit, hehe). It was nice to see all the tribal leaders gathered and a real privelege for me to present my work to them. It must be odd to see yourself in print, but the stories were well received by the leaders. If all goes well, the stories will soon be published...

Cebu Prisoners Perform "Thriller"

2009-04-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

Here is an infamous video of Cebu prisoners doing Thriller. Yes, in the Philippines, convicts develop their dancing skills as part of their prison sentence. I saw it on Edward's blog, and I thought it was too good not to share it with you. Enjoy!

Just so you know...

2009-04-16T03:35:00.001-07:00

Bagobo-Tagabawa Culture and Arts

2009-04-11T00:16:00.001-07:00

The Malupo Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative - A Story

2009-04-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

Hedcor Sibulan: Hedcor Project Floods the Land of Farmer

2009-03-05T14:08:00.000-08:00

The picture below was taken in the farm of a small-scale farmer from barangay Jose Rizal, located in the lower portions of Mount Apo. The farmer's land was flooded because of the construction of a hydropower plant by Hedcor inside Mount Apo Natural Park.

This farmer lost half a hectare of his farm due to the Hedcor project. He has been struggling to get the damage to his property compensated since he will permanently lose part of his income. This farmer is not the only one who suffers the negative effects of the Hedcor project. The construction of roads and dams and the cutting of trees causes dirt and rocks to wash into the river. The people who live downstream from the Hedcor project have witnessed the water of the Sibulan River - which used to be one of the cleanest in the country - turn brown. People can no longer drink from the river, bathe or wash clothes. People who go to the river to catch fish now return without catch. Unlike the people uphill, who have been promised infrastructure works and money by Hedcor in exchange for their consent for the project, the communities downstream have had no voice in the decision. They, however, are the ones truly affected...

Last week president Arroyo visited the Hedcor Sibulan project. For those who were still wondering why this environmentally and socially risky project was allowed to be implemented in a protected area, the visit of Arroyo should make it obvious that Hedcor is the darling of the president. Perhaps her visit was also a (not so very) silent wink towards the Davao City Council to endorse Hedcor's plans in Tamugan. Hopefully the Davao City Council will hold on to the Davao Water Code which prohibits projects like this in Tamugan.

There is strong pressure, though, not only from the national government. Similarly to what happened in Mount Apo, Hedcor has succeeded in getting the consent from the affected communities by promising money and 'development'. The law prohibits companies to force commnities to give their consent to their projects. Promising millions of pesos to poor communities, however, is probably the most efficient form of pressure imaginable. The law cannot prevent companies like Hedcor from buying their way into an area. Once the communties support the project, all other permits tend to follow, even if environmental laws have to be amended.

Mount Apo is not only a protected area, it is also the ancestral domain of the Bagobo-Tagabawa. In the video below, you can see the tribal chieftain of the Bagobo-Tagabawa, dressed up for the occasion, expressing words of praise to the benefits Hedcor brings to 'his people'. Ironically, the place where the tribal leader and president Arroyo are standing is right opposite the farm that was flooded because of the Hedcor project. If only that tribal leader had pointed towards the opposite bank of the river to show the real effects of this project...

Hot Spring, Makilala, Mount Apo

2009-03-04T05:52:00.000-08:00

While visiting a partner organization of Broederlijk Delen in Makilala, we made a trip to one of Mount Apo's hot springs. It is a weird sight seeing boiling water rise up from underneath the rocks.

A bit further from this small spring is an entire lake filled with boiling water. Sometimes animals would slip into the lake and leave nothing but their skeletons...

On a more positive note: you can take a natural sauna in some of the caves where the volcanic steam erupts through the cracks in the rocks.

Obama on Religion and Diversity

2009-02-20T01:10:00.001-08:00

I love this speech by Obama...

Kapwa Upliftment Foundation

2009-02-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

Ancestral Domain of the Bagobo-Tagabawa in Makilala

2009-02-13T21:17:00.001-08:00

Abbreviations

2009-02-13T19:29:00.000-08:00

Filipinos are absolutely fond of abbreviations. After 8 months in the Philippines, I have learnt how to find my way through documents riddled with abbreviations. An example: “In 1993, the DENR issued DAO 2 which contained the guidelines for the recognition of ADs. Successful IP claimants were issued a CADC to their AD. In 1997, the Philippine government passed the IPRA law. With the passing of IPRA, NCIP was established and took over the AD claims from DENR. CADCs could now be converted to CADTs. Successful CADT claimants are expected to draw an ADSDPP for the management of their AD. NCIP then empowers the BTC and MTC to implement the ADSDPP.”

It’s not only government agencies that like to use abbreviations, by the way. Kissing in public, for instance, is popularly called ‘PDA’, ‘Public Display of Affection’… Office personnel have a specific term for doing nothing while seeming very busy. It’s called ‘AIDS’, ‘As If Doing Something’…

Life of Brian

2009-02-04T03:57:00.000-08:00

A clip from Monty Python's Life of Brian that has always made me smile

"Mga muslim diha" - The 'Other' In Philippine Society

2009-01-10T05:31:00.000-08:00

Today I was reading through "The God Delusion", a best-selling non-fiction book by Richard Dawkins, a British biologist whom you probably know as the author of "The Selfish Gene". I had started reading it to look for some inspiration. During the annual reflection sessions in Kapwa, one of the employees said that he would like to present some readings from the bible to the other staff members. He has been reading the bible passionately for a couple of years now and wants to share it with us. From personal conversations, I know that he believes the bible to be unquestionable Truth. Our executive director suggested that we turned it into an activity in which people answer the question "What do I believe in?". Needless to say, all eyes were suddenly on me, as my confession (that seems to be the right word for it) that I am an atheist has obviously not yet been digested.

I must admit that the question "What do I believe in?" makes me uncomfortable, and I wouldn't know what exactly to answer to it. Of course, in daily life, the choices you make, the things you do and what you feel when seeing and hearing what happens in the world all point at what you consider to be right or wrong and what escapes your ethical judgement. I would have no idea, however, how to present this as a system of beliefs. As I was reading through "The God Delusion", I got excited with the intellectual vigour of Dawkins, the passionate way in which he explains evolution and the wit and brilliance with which he denounces religion.

But when I closed the book, I was still wondering: "What do I believe in?". Do I care that evolution explains what people had so long seen as a magical creation of God? I agree with Dawkins, of course, but that's not the point. What does it mean to me apart from being a fun read? Well, it also showed me the strength of critical thought. I think that I firmly believe that as human beings we have the rare talent of continuously questioning the world and what we think we know about the world and about ourselves. Perhaps that is the only message I wish I could convey when I try to answer the question "What do I believe in?". And I do believe it is needed...

Mindanao is a peculiar place in terms of accepting difference. Although it is de facto multi-ethnic and multi-religious, it certainly is not multi-cultural and it doesn't deal with differences very well. That is particularly obvious when it comes to religion. Does it make sense that, in a country where many people are non-christians (whether it be atheists or people of another religion), christian payers are said at every public occasion (be it at the start of school, a hearing in the city hall, a speech of the president or, for that matter, a meeting in an NGO)? If only people would expose their children to the reality of the multitude of beliefs, opinions, scientific theories, ethical theories, practical lifestyles...

Something that has always left me speechless is the deep-rooted, all-pervasive prejudice against muslims in Mindanao. You cannot as much as suggest that you would go to a muslim neighbourhood, or quite a lot of people would immediately say: ayaw, mga muslim diha ("don't go there, they are Muslims"). Perhaps it is one of the reasons why I am so weary of religion, certainly of the uncritical kind, since it has such a strong tendency to favour 'us' and condemn whoever we call 'them'...

Faces and Gestures

2009-01-10T00:44:00.000-08:00

A while ago, Maya and I were talking about gestures and facial expressions. Filipinos are notoriously skilled in conveying messages through facial expressions and body language. For example, if you want to pass through a group of people, you are supposed to make a small bow (a gesture of humbleness) and stretch both arms in front of you, as if carving out a virtual path in the air by which you will make your way through the group of people.

Smiles can be particularly ambiguous to foreigners, as they tend to convey a wide range of messages we do not usually associate with smiles (such as embarrassment, apology,...). You can read all about it on Lilli's blog.

If you want to survive in the Philippines, of course you have to be able to recognize and produce some of the gestures and facial expression. So, let's practice...

1. 'corrupt': the gesture below is used to indicate that someone is corrupt without actually spelling it out and saying it. The gesture evokes a coin of money. Sometimes, when you ask a Filipino if this or that politician is doing a good job, the only reply you get is this sign, accompanied with a disapproving facial expression. Most people in the West would probably understand this sign to mean 'ok' or 'excellent' (though without the face of course :)

2. 'Over there': Filipinos do not point with their hands, but with their lips. So if you ask 'where is the mall?', people will point their lips in the direction where you need to go. This is only done, of course, if it is not too far, although the further one stretches his lips outward, the further your destination will be. For unsuspecting foreigners, it looks like a kiss.

3. 'what?': a short way of saying 'what?' in Filipino languages is by using the word 'ha?'. Many Filipinos, however, do not bother to say the word, but simply open their mouth as if they are going to say it, but without producing the sound. The result is something that we would define as a look of amazement, surprise or wonder. It only works, of course, if you are face to face with the person who didn't catch you :)

4. 'Hey, how are you?': This is a facial expression used to greet people you do not intend to talk to. It is used to greet passers-by in the street.You raise your eyebrows as high as possible and accompany it with a smile. It is important to tip your head back while doing it. If you make this gesture to any stranger on the street, he will reply with exactly the same expression.

5. 'I don't like that person': If you ask someone whether they like a certain person whom they actually cannot stand, they might use this facial expression. It expresses dismay about someone's personality. It almost seems to suggest that, apart from having a undesirable personality, the person also emits a particularly discomforting odour that necessitates you to close your nostrils....

And, now that I look back at these pictures, the overall message they convey is: I should really shave...

An Anthropologist in Paradise

2008-12-28T20:26:00.000-08:00

I just read the latest post on Lilli's blog. It made me smile. Or how the world is anxiously trying to fulfill western phantasies...

Earthquake on Christmas Day

2008-12-25T17:39:00.000-08:00

At 11:20 AM on December 25 - Christmas Day - we experienced an earthquake here in Mindanao. According to local news broadcasts and paper headlines, it had a strenghth of 6.2, which is quite strong apparently. I was sitting on my bed and writing on the computer when it happened. It's an odd feeling when things suddenly start moving and you don't know what's happening. It was my first time to be in an earthquake, too. Luckily, the earthquake did not cause much damage anywhere.

Hedcor Sibulan - Controversial Construction in Protected Rainforest

2008-12-20T02:46:00.000-08:00

Below are some pictures from the construction site of the Hedcor Sibulan hydropower plant. The site of the project is within an environmentally critical area inside Mount Apo Natural Park - a priority protected area because of its unique biodiversity and last remaining patches of rainforest in Southeast Mindanao. It will never cease to amaze me that this is possible...

My House Mates

2008-12-19T20:54:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of me and my house mates. I've been living in a boarding house for about 4 months now, and now realize I have never really introduced them. This picture was taken at our Christmas Party. Most of my house mates are college students, but some already work too.

Sinoron Ritual - Bago-Tagabawa Culture and Tradition

2008-12-14T01:58:00.000-08:00

So I went to Sinoron again on Friday to see the ritual at the spring. We travelled up to the source carrying a goat, two chickens and some other stuff to be used during the ritual. It was surely worth while the effort. Below is a short video. You'll see datu Udal performing the ritual; he is one of the few people who still know these traditions. The intention of the ritual is to ask permission to use the spring as a source for the new water system.

It has to be a full moon to perform the ritual, so Friday was the right time. We hiked up to the spring in the morning; it is a way of clearing your mind. I didn't catch the full meaning of the ritual (it was in Bagobo), but this is what I was able to figure out: the two chickens represent the unity between two tribal territories. The water of the spring is in Salidokun, but the water will be used by the people from Sinoron. Therefore, there is a sort of pact between the tribal leaders of both territories, represented by a male and a female chicken. The chickens have to be white; it symbolizes purity (in fact, we spent two hours looking for two white chickens :) The goat is the sacrifice of the community to Apo Sandawa, a mythic forefather of the Bagobo-Tagabawa. During the ritual, datu Udal also used 7 coins and 7 eggs, which represent the 7 days of the week. It means that the people are asking Apo Sandawa to provide water all the time (all days of the week). all through the ritual, datu Udal was asking questions to Apo Sandawa. He held a bamboo stick in his hands and, after each question, closed his eyes and stretched the stick across his breast, spreading his arms as far as he could; should one end of the stick be too short and the branch slip from his hands, then that means Apo Sandawa does not approve. If there is enough wood on both ends of the branch, then the request is approved. We also drank some jenever. Datu Udal explained this by saying that the white liquid brings whiteness of heart. (a good enough raison to drink jenever, I would say). After the ritual, the goat was cooked and eaten close to the spring.

Sinoron

2008-12-10T03:22:00.000-08:00

The last three days I've been visiting Sinoron, an upland barangay in Santa Cruz. The people from Sinoron have started to construct a water system, and I was curious to see the source they are going to use. Little did I know that there had been an encounter between NPA rebels and the army last month. So before I knew it, 6 soldiers decided to escort me to the source to make sure I would be safe. To tell you the truth, six heavily armed soldiers on your tail does not really make one feel much safer... I was a bit embarrassed too, of course, that my visit created such a fuss. On the other hand, it's a cool experience as well.

The army did not go all the way up to the source. It's a pretty steep climb. The last few kilometres I was guided by an old man who effortlessly jumped from rock to rock on his bare feet towards the spring.

A nice thing about hiking up the mountain is that you get to see the daily life of the people. It makes you realize what enormous distances these people travel on foot just to get to their farm. Because the area has been occupied by rebels for some 20 years now, most people live downhill and travel back and forth between their farms and their houses.

On friday, the Bagobo-Tagabawa tribe is going to have a ritual at the spring to ask for the blessing of the gods for their water system. Today I witnessed the tribal council where the tribal chieftains discussed the planning for the ritual. I'm curious to see it... The picture below shows tribal cieftains Benjamin Banglos and Danilo Udal discussing the meaning of the ritual. I'll tell you more about it when I get back.

The moon, Venus and Jupiter Smile on Earth

2008-12-05T05:58:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday I left the house in the evening and saw a strange phenomenon in the sky. The moon, Venus and Jupiter are currently set in a rare alignment and form something that looks like a smiley. The smiley can only be seen in some parts of the world and apparently, people in the United States see a frowning face (Maybe Lie, my friend in Washington, can confirm this?). Of course, this wouldn't be the Philippines if people wouldn't try to read special messages into it, so some astrologists are trying to read President Arroyo's fate in this coincidental, but funny phenomenon.

Rodrigo Duterte, Mayor of Davao City

2008-11-29T22:28:00.000-08:00

Below is an interview with the mayor of Davao City, Rodrigo Duterte. It deals with the fact that in Davao, known criminals tend to turn up dead in the streets, shot down by a gang of dark-clothed men on motorcycles known as the Davao Death Squad. No one has ever been convicted for these killings. I will not comment on the interview, but I think you should really read it. It sent shivers down my spine, in any case...

Some say there have been cases of mistaken identity in these killings?

If they have the facts, why don’t they file a case in court or come to me and show to me? Why can’t they do that?

I remember the case of (human-rights worker Rashid) Manahan. He had received death threats in Cotabato. When he was killed in my city, they say I ordered the killing. Putang ina! Why would I kill a poor guy who was just working for an NGO? If you want, I’ll line up all the human-rights commissioners and kill them all.

They say you don’t touch the big fish.

Puta… I don’t hit the big fish? Hesusmaryosep! I know I cannot get (industrialist Jesus) Ayala and (banana magnate Antonio) Floirendo because they don’t use drugs!

How safe is Davao City?

Very safe, I would say, except for the terrorists. But the common crimes like snatching… That’s petty. I cannot kill a human being just because he stole small items. That’s too expensive a payment. I deal with kidnappers, especially people who kill, or people who rape and kill.

They make your blood boil.

I’m like that. It’s my human nature. And you know human nature is part of your character. That’s my persona.

What has changed about you since you first ran for mayor,
since you were a prosecutor?

I hate to mention this because I’m not trying to make a big issue out of it. I grew up with politics because my father was governor. So practically I have a good training about how to deal with problems of people.

My hatred of criminals – that’s what changed Davao. If I have not improved the lot of the poor folk there at Boulevard, it’s simply because of the economy. But what actually, to me, made the difference is at least the criminals here are afraid of the law. Here, if you are a police officer and you steal from a civilian, putang ina, I’m going to kill you. God, I will! I’ll M16 you in public.

You know, governance or whatever in public office — it’s all about sense and sensibility. That is all that is needed. I am proud that I walk the extra mile to see to it that this city is peaceful.

We’d like to make this clear: Each time you say you’d kill somebody….

That is all talk! (Laughs.)

But isn’t that a form of taking the law into your own hands?

No, it’s a form of a threat, instilling fear in the minds of criminals. So, if you are a journalist, if you are an ordinary citizen, why should you be afraid? Unless you believe your mayor is a candidate for a mental asylum. (Laughs.) Why would you be afraid each time I say, “You criminals are sons of bitches! I’m going to kill all of you!”? If you’re afraid, then you must be a criminal.

Doesn’t that put you in danger of being implicated if
something happens to these people after you say those things?

You know, guilt is personal. Remember that it’s a principle of criminal law. Guilt is personal. There is no guilt by association just because I’m the mayor talking here nonsense.

Each time I threaten them, there’s always a qualification: “You terrorists, putang ina, I’m going to kill you!” As you see, they end up dead. (Laughs.)

What happens if you’re no longer mayor? The fear by the criminals could be of you, not the law. What happens if you’re no longer there and the person who replaces you is not as strong as —

Putang ina, even if I’m asleep, wake me up and I’ll deal with it. (Laughs.) I’m never afraid of criminals, even when I was not yet a mayor. When I was a prosecutor, I kicked a man in the chest inside the court room.

Were you cited in contempt?

Of course! (Laughs.) I was a prosecutor and I was in jail. (Laughs.)

Why can’t you just prosecute these criminals, bring them to justice?

Some of them are dead. The others, we’re still going to kill them.

Were you frustrated with the legal system?

I began as a prosecutor, right? So take it from me. When I was a prosecutor for 10 years, this thing called guilt – that’s always an 80-20 proposition and all you have to do is to create doubt. And because of stringent regulations about right to counsel, information, due process and everything – these are so limited. What can you get from a terrorist during 36 hours of detention? Let’s be frank. What can you get?

The judicial process is too complicated?

It’s not just that. It’s the law itself. Because government is supposed to be powerful it owns everything but there’s a barrier and that barrier is the Bill of Rights. It protects the citizens from abusive excesses, inordinate exercise of power. The problem is, they abuse it, so the criminals are in and out of prison. That’s what I hate about it.

Let’s put it this way. I am not about ready to admit any particular killing here. (Laughs.) I can go to prison. What I’m trying to say is that I’m trying hard to make everybody realize, both the civilians and criminals, that if you commit a serious crime, you’ll just have to pay for it. Maybe inside the prison or maybe lose your funds or lose your life.

How do you know that your threats against criminals are working?

Look around. Compare it to other places. How could you not see it? Go around the city…

Have you given up on due process?

No, I should not waive anything there in the Bill of Rights. I think that we should observe it strictly. But if you do not leave room for me to exercise my discretion of human rights or if you do not give me that space, if you box me in one corner, you do not leave me an elbow room to give you, to afford you that right, in the end, you will lose everything… maybe including your life.

But what about the children? Many of those killed were minors.

(Stammers.) That’s a collateral… social problem. It becomes a collater… collateral itself. Its not a question of crime anymore. That’s what makes things difficult. Well, that is another problem. I cannot answer that. (davaotoday.com)

Thank God for Atheists

2008-11-28T21:48:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, the electricity suddenly went off in the office of Kapwa, so the entire staff gathered in the kitchen to... convert me to christianity. I mean, seriously. I have been with Kapwa for some 4 months now. In the beginning, when people asked me what religion I practice, I kinda circumvented the question by saying that I was raised as a christian, without further specifying whether I also am a christian.

So I thought that, after 4 months, it would be ok to confide that I really am an atheist ("walay Ginoo"). My mistake... Most people can simply not imagine that one can live without religion. It is not that people do not respect you when you're an atheist, they simply cannot believe it. It is beyond them.

- How can you explain everything that existst on Earth?

- Evolution.

- But who created evolution? Haha! It must have been God!

Sigh... Think it's time for a good old secular revolution here. Whatever those bloody missionaries did some centuries ago, they surely did it thoroughly. But then again, in the end people are really just concerned. Nilo, our project coordinator, said he felt sorry for me that I will be clad with horns and a tail in hell while he is flying among the spirits in heaven. "Kalooy ka"... After Nilo had given it his best to convince me, he turned to his colleagues and said in a voice of disbelief: "He is not convinced...". Then, as by divine providence, the lights suddenly turned on again. Thank God!

Asa ka, Gloria?

2008-11-28T15:50:00.000-08:00

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the 14th President of the Philippines, has just survived a 4th impeachment bid filed against her in 4 years time. The law only allows for one impeachment bid per year, so it seems like she's on for a game of 'collect all 6" before her term ends in 2010. IF it ends in 2010...

The impeachment bid was junked after only three days of hearings in the House of Representatives. According to Gloria's allies in the House, the impeachment case contained insufficient proof to pursue the charges made against her. It was the usual stuff: corruption, fraud, bribery...

One would think, though, that after 4 impeachment bids in just as many years and widespread opposition to her presidency by the people, Gloria would get the message by now. It cannot be much fun to be one of the most hated presidents in the history of the Philippines (there is some tough competition there, too); but many suspect that Gloria is clinging on to her position out of fear for the many lawsuits that hang above her head. As long as she is president, she is more or less untouchable for criminal lawsuits; if she steps down or is ousted, she will most likely go straight to court and face the many charges of bribery, fraud and corruption pending against her. One journalist said that Gloria's position is like holding the tail of a tiger: if you let go, it will bite you... On the other hand, her predecessor, president Estrada, was also convicted for plundering the nation, but was gracefully pardoned by, you'll never guess, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Estrada was ousted by the Second People's Power Revolution after an impeachment bid against him had been aborted in the Senate... No harm done, though, you can often see him in game shows on television and he is supposedly preparing himself to run for president again in 2010.

"Only in the Philippines", people would sometimes say. It is not so much a cry of protest, it is rather like saying "Oh well, what can you do". It is a sad thing, for sure, that people revolt against a corrupt president only to find out that their new one is even worse. On the other hand, I think Gloria is a symptom and not a cause of the problems in the Philippines...

Floating Thoughts...

2008-11-15T23:06:00.000-08:00

During my visit to Singapore I visited a nice visual arts exhibition in the old court house. One piece, in particular, left me speechless for a while. It was an installation of a book floating in an aquarium. I think it is really beautiful...

In case you are wondering, the book is Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent".

Some Pictures from Little India, Singapore

2008-11-15T22:42:00.000-08:00

Thank God It's Free!

2008-11-09T03:26:00.000-08:00

All Saints' Day

2008-11-07T03:28:00.000-08:00

On November 1, I went to the cemetary in Bansalan. I was told that people in the Philippines have a slightly different way of paying hommage to the dead than we in the West... and they sure do.

I arrived on the cemetary on my own, which was an attraction in its own right. Never have I had so many pairs of eyes stare at me. It's funny, in a way, since I was no less amazed by what I saw on the cemetary. I talked to some people who were so kind to guide me around.

There were lots of people on the cemetary and I coulnd't see any tombs at first because of all the shops in front of them. Imagine people selling not only candles and flowers, but also food, drinks, beer, you name it. For one day in the year, Filipinos 'live' with the dead. The whole family gathers around the tombs, put up a tent or build a roof over the grave and sleep overnight on the cemetary. There is also a class distinction in the afterlife, apparently, because wealthy families build a whole house around the tomb. Some graves have a shower and toilet and I even saw one grave that had a karaoke machine in it... Incroyable!

In Bansalan, the cemetary road divides the rich families from the poor. On the right side are the simple tombs, on the left some tombs are bigger than many people's houses. In this section, I saw one guy casually roasting a pig.

I think you could say that All Saints' Day is really a social occasion and the dead are very much present. I guess many of us in the West are pretty much convinced that once you're dead, you're really gone. All Souls' Day, therefore, is perhaps more about memories than about actually 'visiting' the dead. In the Philippines, there is a deep sense that the 'other world' is just around the corner... It is also more a happy than a sad occasion. It's somehow nice how the dead bring the living together.

Have a look at Maya's blog for a different story about this 'pista minatay'.

How One Letter Can Make a World of Difference...

2008-11-07T03:01:00.000-08:00

Managa Water Project

2008-11-06T07:27:00.001-08:00

Travelling from centro Managa towards the uplands of Balutakay you will see a chain of potable water systems scattered at irregular distances along the main road. You’ll see people carrying gallons to and fro, children bathing in the water before going to school and women doing laundry. If you stop along the road to ask people what recent changes in Managa have positively affected their lives, few would hesitate to mention the potable water system that provides clean water for every purok.

Before the water system was installed, farmers used to fetch water from the river or from the irrigation dam in lower Managa. Women would carry laundry to the riverbank and spend a large part of the day near the water. People who lived close to the Poblacion would ride habal-habal to the market to buy bottles of mineral water. It was a tiresome chore to collect relatively small amounts of water for daily use.

The water system in Managa has a long and somewhat troubled history. Some of the components of the system were installed during the Southern Mindanao Agricultural Program (SMAP) from the Department of Agriculture (DA). The original system, however, did not function for very long. Soon after it had been completed, people at the lower end of the water supply noticed that the water pressure gradually decreased until some reservoirs eventually ran dry… There were a number of reasons for this. The pipes that led from the source down to the water reservoirs had to pass along the many vegetable gardens of upland farmers. Some of those farmers were tempted to insert injections into the pipes to spray their vegetable gardens, reducing the water supply for people further down the line… The pipes were also vulnerable to soil movements and farming activities, and a lack of maintenance eventually left Managa with a leaking water system.

The story of the SMAP water project illustrates how strongly the lives of the people in Managa are connected through a shared need for potable water. Water is a precious resource, but the strong need for water divided the community. The water system intended to connect the communities to a common source, but individual usage of the system disconnected some people from water supply and destabilized the system. There was no real policy governing the water use and the issue was left unresolved. In a more general way, the SMAP project also showed the profound impact of upland life for people downhill…

The SMAP project was a disappointing experience for many, but fortunately the story does not end here. The community kept its dream of a potable water system alive and when Kapwa started working in Bansalan, its project officers started to explore the possibility of breathing new life into the project. From the onset, however, it was evident that participation of the entire community would be vital for the success of the project. The current water system is the result of joint efforts of the different stakeholders in the area. Kapwa assisted the tribal council in gathering the necessary documents and permits for the project through the National Council of Indigenous Peoples. The local government units provided budget for the purchasing of pipes and equipment; Kapwa contributed both financial and logistic support for the implementation of the project. The community, in turn, provided the labour on the ground. Some components of the SMAP project were reused in the new design and the system was extended to reach more households.

Kapwa project officer Samuel Toraya remembers that the people from Managa were somewhat sceptical at first:

“The people from Managa could not believe at first that the water system was really going to be provided. They had had some negative experiences with broken promises and unfinished projects in the past and some feared that this too might turn out to be a disappointment. Kapwa was new in the area and we were still building trust with the communities. We spent a long time organising the community to collectively shoulder this project and people sometimes felt things were moving too slowly. Kapwa consciously chose not to supply materials before the communities had finished preparatory work on the ground. This strategy was meant to emphasize the community’s responsibility throughout the entire project, but it also put pressure on the relationship and sometimes led to conflict. Given the community’s past experiences, people were anxious about Kapwa fulfilling its commitment. This initial distrust gradually absolved in the course of the construction. The community would prepare the channels for the pipes, and for every distance they covered, Kapwa would supply the matching distance of pipelines. Slowly but surely the pipes connected the different puroks to the source and people grew confident that their dream would finally be realized.”

It was a long process. All in all, the construction took about one full year. Although the Barangay tribal Council initiated the project, people from the entire community contributed to its completion. The practical implementation of the project almost entirely depended on the labour provided by the people who would later benefit from the water system. In the course of the project the community initiated the Managa Community Waterworks and Sanitation Association (MCWSA) to shoulder the implementation, monitoring and maintenance of the system. The association consolidated the collaboration between the tribal and migrant communities who both have representatives in the association.

Ronilo Bajenting, project coordinator of Kapwa, remembers that the construction of the water system was a very stressful period for both Kapwa and the Managa communities. The people were anxious to complete the water system, but Kapwa did not want to jeopardize the process of social preparation and community participation in favour of a quick installation of the system. In order for the people to truly own the project, they would have to experience their vital role in making the project possible. However, Kapwa and the community would sometimes also be at loggerheads about parts of the implementation:

‘I remember that one time we hiked up to the source to have a look at the intake box that had just been constructed. Mam Alma was also there and the community was a little nervous about us going up to inspect the work. When we arrived at the intake box, we saw why… the original design of the intake box allowed for only two outlets, but we could see three! The community had decided on its own to install an extra outlet to allow for more pipes to be attached. We at Kapwa, however, were concerned that this might get them into trouble because the permit from DENR stated that there would be only two outlets. We feared this violation of the permit might jeopardize future projects. Luckily, we managed to get the permission for the third outlet…

However tiring the process was, the eventual completion of the water system was a dream come true for the people of Managa. The system connects households to potable water from upper Balutakay as far down as centro Managa. In the words of BTC member Rogelio Oguit:

“The people of Managa have been dreaming of this water system for so long. With the help of Kapwa, we have been able to realize our dream.”

Berna Malang, who lives across one of the water taps, stresses the fact that the project succeeded in reaching across the different communities:

“The beauty of the project is that it benefits everyone, not just the Bagobo-Tagabawa. Everyone can use the water.’

The water system has triggered many changes. A project of this scope naturally has a great impact on the community. Some of the changes are immediately visible. Visiting Managa, you will see how the water system has become a central part of people’s lives. There is always a lively activity near the taps with people bathing, doing laundry or collecting water. The water system has made life easier for people who used to travel long distances to access water. Yet, other changes are more subtle. The collective experience of building the water system has started to connect the community around a common concern and has raised the awareness of the shared responsibility of the community to keep the project alive…

Some Privacy, Anyone?

2008-10-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

Rosalia Labanon

2008-10-24T03:21:00.000-07:00

The following is a sad story written in remembrance of Rosalia Labanon. Rosalia was the secretary of the Barangay Tribal Council of barangay Altavista. She strongly believed in the IPRA law and personally committed herself to the protection of the ancestral domain of the Bagobo-Tagabawa. She had a heart for the environment and firmly spoke out against illegal logging operations in Bansalan. She was one of the people monitoring her area to report possible violations of logging prohibitions.

In April 2008, word got round that illegal commercial logging operations were taking place in purok 6 in Altavista. Rosalia, alarmed by the news, went up to the area and, seeing the violations, decided to contact local authorities to put a halt to the illegal logging. Her intervention triggered a chain of communications from the local level up to higher authorities. Through the office of the Protected Area Superintendent, a police detachment was sent to the area to stop the operation and confiscate the logged timber. It seemed that this case proved the effectiveness of coordinated action and it was assumed that those responsible for the illegal operation would be penalized accordingly.

But there was a catch… The people behind the enterprise had obtained a certificate at the municipal level under the pretence of non-commercial gathering of timber for the building of a police outpost in the barangay. The certificate was meant to cover the real intention, which was to supply and sell timber to a buyer from Manila. As the transaction fell through, those involved saw their business collapse and their secret deal exposed to the public. They knew that Rosalia had been the one to report the case to the authorities.

By an unfortunate twist of fate, Rosalia and Boy Alimento, one of the men behind the transaction, met each other at the Bansalan bus terminal, in the heart of the Poblacion. Rosalia publicly inquired about the status of the case, and Boy half-heartedly admitted that a warrant of arrest had been issued against them. Boy felt humiliated by Rosalia’s question, took his motorcycle and left Rosalia with the words: Makita na lang ta sa Altavista – We’ll see each other in Altavista. Rosalia had planned to visit her farm in Sunop and mounted one of the habal-habal motorcycles to take her up to her farm. On the way to Altavista, Boy blocked the road by parking his motorcycle across the path. He took out his sundang and stabbed Rosalia until she fell to the ground. Rosalia was rushed to the hospital, but died along the way…

Horse Fighting

2008-10-23T03:08:00.000-07:00

In previous posts I already wrote about spider fighting and cock fighting. For those who thought they'd seen it all, well... not really. The clip below was shot during a horse fight in barangay Managa. Horse fighting is a popular sport in Bagobo culture and no tribal day is complete without it. This is how it works. Two stallions are encircled by a crowd of people. Then, a mare is brought in to tempt both males until they fight each other over the 'love' of the mare. The fight ends when one of the horses flees. I guess a lot can be said about this custom, but I'll leave it up to you to comment...

Some People from Bansalan

2008-10-18T06:26:00.000-07:00

The Reproductive Health Bill

2008-10-18T04:17:00.000-07:00

As we speak, a controversial bill is pending at the House of representatives of the Philippines. The Reproductive Health and Population Development Act aims - among other things - to enhance people's knowledge on family planning methods. The act has become the object of controversy because it suggests contraception as one way for families to limit the number of children they bring into this world. The Philippines have a rapidly growing population and many families have more children than they can feed and send to school. Birth control is badly needed, but for conservative voices in the country - and there are quite a few, believe me -, use of contraception is a bridge too far. It will probably not surpsrise you that the good old catholic church is up in arms and out on crusade against artificial contraception. Don't get me wrong, I think the church has a right to voice its opinion on the matter, but nothing justifies the way it condems and judges people who choose to use contraception and how it bashes the bill for spreading information about it. The following is an excerpt from an interview with archbishop Oscar Cruz for The Inquirer :

In the Roman times, wealthy families were known for their love of feasting, eating, drinking and merrymaking. In their houses, there was a thing called vomitorium. The practice was that when they were filled up, they would go to the vomitorium and tickle their throat to vomit what they had eaten or drunk. So they were hungry again and would eat again. Artificial contraception is like that - couples have sex, put it in, spit it out, have sex again.

This excerpt is - in my opinion - sadly ironic. The lust our respected archbishop is condemning, is no one else's but his own. I suggest he seek a psychiatrist to come to terms with his own lust before he condems others for theirs. What bothers me most is not so much the fact that he opposes contraception - everyone is entitled to his opinion -, but he has no right to condemn others. His words are, to say the least, not very christian. Judge not lest ye be judged... The Reproductive Health Bill does not promote sex for pleasure, it simply states the responsibility to inform people about the option of artificial birth control and facilitate their access to anticonception.

Philippine Energy Plan

2008-10-10T10:16:00.001-07:00

This Friday I attended one of the public consultations for the Philippine Energy Plan 2008-2030. Of course I was not invited, but I was asked by our executive director - who is co-chair of the Economy and Development Committee for region XI - to... 'represent' her. It was a funny experience. I was, as usual, the only white person in the room. More importantly, I was the ONLY person representing an NGO (a fact I discovered when NGO representatives were asked to stand up...). I believe that says a lot about the intentions of this energy plan. The plan is simple enough: we need to tap as much power resources as fast as we can. Privatization is the answer to that, since corporate companies have the kind of capital government can only dream of. The people in the audience, therefore, were either government or businessmen. As an NGO with environmental concerns, you are basically waving a flag in space. It is somewhat demotivating that after the passing of so many laws on environmental protection and indigenous peoples' rights, the Philippine government still pretends as if the natural resources are just up for grabs and everyone can just tap them. As if the land is vacant space... But it was also enlightening to see things from a completely different perspective. From the point of view of a government that is facing an energy crisis and has a lot of natural resources untapped, the importance of something like IP rights becomes a tiny issue compared to the big economical challenges. The moderator of our workshop talked about 'irrational stakeholders', and I guess he was talking about silly old us caring for the environment and IP rights. It also somewhat humbles you, I guess, to see how easily those things are downplayed at that level. Anyway, I did feel out of place between rich and fat investors I must say...

Ayo Ayo! Another goodbye...

2008-10-10T05:30:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I joined Lilli to visit her family and say goodbye to Rojen, her cousin. He'll be working in Dubai as an architect for a year. A great opportunity, for sure, given that Dubai is somewhat the architectural capital of the world.

But it was sad to see him go... We had a lot of fun together and although he had been planning his trip for a long time, it seemed as though he would always be there...He is now one of millions of Filipinos who go and work abroad for a salary that is often four times higher than what they'd be paid in the Philippines.

We promised that we'd see each other somewhere in Europe, so I wonder where that will be: Paris? Berlin? Or - I hardly dare to mention it - Bruges... ?

Low

2008-10-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

The song below will probably always remind me of the Philippines. I have no idea whether it is popular in other parts of the world, but the song 'Low' by 'Florida Ft T-Pain' has been a constant hit from the very first moment we arrived in the Philippines. You can hear it literally everywhere: on the radio, on tv, in the jeepney, on the bus, in bars and clubs, in the mall, on the street... In fact, I can hear it playing at this very moment, although I have no idea where it comes from. The first few notes have become something like a mantra...

Hamlet

2008-10-02T05:37:00.000-07:00

This post is not about a famous Danish prince but about a sad phenomenon that is troubling some of the farmer communities in Mount Apo. A ‘hamlet’ is a temporary village to which upland farmers are forced to move due to rebel activity in the highlands. Since the 1970’s, rebels of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) have been operating in Mount Apo. Up till this day, they regularly clash with the army in the lowlands after which they redraw in the upland forests. When hiding uphill, the NPA demands food and shelter from the local farmers. The army, therefore, forcibly moves farmers to ‘hamlets’ to cut off the NPA from food supply.

For upland farmers, this situation is disastrous. Clashes between the army and the NPA often prevent them from harvesting their crops so that everything goes to waste. Since the farmers cannot stay overnight on their farms, they have to hike or ride horseback to their farms every morning and return in the afternoon. As the farmers are malnourished, the trip is tiring and tedious.

Kapwa is working in some of the areas where farmers are ‘hamleted’. In Sinoron, a very sad thing happened not so long ago. Kapwa had supplied rice seedlings to be planted in the uplands. Out of sheer hunger, some of the farmers had no choice but to cook the seedlings and eat them to be able to survive. Kapwa is now helping the farmers to also grow rubber trees to relieve poverty. Rubber trees don’t need much care and once they are full-grown, you can harvest every other day. There is no threat of harvests going to waste and it cannot feed rebels looking for food. Rubber is expensive, so it would bring a good price. It is a long-term investment, though, since rubber trees need some 7 years to grow.

Rainforest

2008-09-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

The picture above is what the Philippines call 'protected rainforest'. When I first saw this kind of landscape, I was unaware that it used to be fully covered with trees. I kind of liked the soft rolling hills, the different shades of green. Now, I cannot look at it without feeling sad about what happens to the earth's natural heritage when governments fail to protect it. In fact, Mount Apo has nominally been protected area since 1936. Subsequent governments, however, have failed to adequately manage it and throughout the 20th century, roughly 70% of the forest cover was cut clear. Whenever I visit Mount Apo, the sight of the denuded slopes always leaves me speechless...

Hasta la vista, Kathy y Juan!

2008-09-28T04:45:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we said goodbye to Kathy and Juan, two Venezuelan volunteers for IID, an advocacy NGO closeby here in Matina. They brought some Latin charm to the place and we will certainly miss them. See you in Barcelona!

From left to right: Kathy, Juan, VJ, Gray, Doods, Lilli and me.

Ha?

2008-09-28T03:33:00.000-07:00

The language situation in Davao City really fascinates me. It didn't take us too long to figure out that the language they taught us in the language school is not quite what the people speak on the street. People can understand us alright, but the other way around is often... nose bleed. 'Nose bleed' is the expression used to indicate that you don't understand what is being said...

Basically, most people speak a mix (sagol-sagol) of their mother tongue (one of the many dialects of Mindanao), Bisaya (a lingua franca in Mindanao) and English. Having grown up in a country where some linguists risk a heart attack while argueing about spelling rules, the complete absence of language standards here offers a funny contrast. It is very hard to find a book written in Bisaya, although that is the language everyone speaks. People on television speak 'Taglish', a combination of Tagalog and English. TV hosts start a sentence in Tagalog and finish it in English, or the other way around. 'Taglish' is the fancy way of talking ('social', they would say). It works in Bisaya too, which comes in handy. If you cannot remember a word, just use the English word and add a suffix.

Mag-order ta ug beer (let's order a beer)
Nag-enjoy ka? (are you having fun?)
Mag-send ka sa mga pictures? (will you send me the pictures?)

Filipino English is also a funny phenomenon. It is basically English with all the stresses in the wrong places, preferrably on the last syllable. It is interesting that 'World English' is appropriated in very different ways in different parts of the world. Since people hear Filipino English from early on, they find British, American or australian English somewhat weird. since I was taught British English in school, I am now the one with the accent :)

In Bisaya, there is no distinction between 'he' and 'she', both are referred to as 'siya'. Moreover, 'brother' and 'sister' are both translated as 'igsoon'. This can give some confusion, especially when Filipinos speak English and mix up 'he' and 'she' (My brother is 25 years old. She works in the mall') But whereas we may be surprised that Filipino languages do not distinguish sexes, Filipinos are really puzzled that we attribute a gender to things like a chair, a table... And come to think of it, that doesn't make much sense, does it?

It will take me a lot of time still to learn Bisaya well and I don't have much time to study it, but the more I get used to it, the more I appreciate it for its elegance and flexibility. But then again, the beneficiaries of my NGO all speak Bagobo. When I proudly address them in Bisaya, they tend to respond: "Whaw, you can speak Bisaya? That is really amazing! But you know what? It would be REALLY nice if you spoke Bagobo". Sus....

One thing that struck me this week is that I do no longer think in Dutch, my mother language. Since all I write is English and all my conversations are either in English or Bisaya, I have stopped ordering my thoughts in Dutch...

Life in Tudaya

2008-09-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

New People's Park, Through the Eyes of Housemate Janice

2008-08-31T07:01:00.001-07:00

The Gods Must Be Angry

2008-08-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

Something very interesting happened last Sunday. I may have mentioned before that the controversial company Hedcor is building a hydro-electric power plant in the heart of Mount Apo. Last Sunday, one of their bulldozers slipt into the ravine during a landslide...

Why is this interesting? Well, Hedcor has been criticized for a number of things. Environmentalists fear that the construction of roads, the building of a dam and the divergence of water from the Sibulan and Baroring rivers are going to affect the whole ecological balance of Mount Apo. One of the consequences of clearing an area is that the soil becomes prone to erosion and land slides. Having one of your bulldozers topple into the ravine during heavy rain is - to say the least - bad publicity for a company that claims its project does not harm the environment.

The incident is also interesting because it strenghtens the conviction of the indigenous people that the gods are angry. Because Hedcor is building its plant on sacred ground, it is messing with the gospel and challenging the gods. The torn of the gods is called 'gaba' in Bagobo.

But the most interesting thing about the whole matter is how everyone sees his truth reflected in this event. Even if the whole matter is just a simple twist of faith, people will attribute meaning to it. It keeps the discussion alive, doesn't it? By the way, no one got hurt in the incident, fortunately.

Bayad na lang

2008-08-30T05:11:00.000-07:00

Can everyone be corrupted? It's a good question and I really don't know what to answer to it. I guess we are all prone to a bit of fraud every now and then. It's just a matter of degree, perhaps. In the Philippines, corruption is a huge issue. It is deeply rooted in society and it often seems as though structures are designed to be corrupted.

First example. Imagine driving home on the highway after a trip. There's a lively discussion in the car and you somehow fail to notice the light has turned red. A policeman spotted you and gesters you to pull over. If you play by the rules, your license will be taken from you, you will have to pay a fine and you'll have to attend a whole-day seminar. If you pay the policemen, you get off cheap and you have none of the hassle. The policeman's salary is low and he smells some good pocket money. What do you do? The whole situation has "likely to be corrupted" written all over it, but if you howl with the wolves, you are of course supporting corruption and keeping it alive.

Second example. An NGO has a whole-day seminar about local governance. One of the issues is corruption. Everyone agrees that corruption is hampering the progress in development work as so many government officials use badly needed funds for their own benefit. The next day, a naive volunteer asks where he can take a course to get a motorcycle driver's license. His colleague in the NGO immediatley replies: "don't bother with the course, just buy a license. It'll be so much quicker."

It makes me come back to my initial question. I think everyone can be corrupted to some extent, but it becomes dangerous if corruption is so easy and so prevalent that you would have to be silly to resist it. People also see large-scale frauds at high levels as an apology for their own little everyday corruption, I guess. Poverty also adds to it. High morals standards are very nice if you have no trouble getting food on the table.

One of my favourite short stories, by the way, is Mark Twain's "The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg". If you ever get the chance to read it, be sure to do so!

Text na lang

2008-08-30T04:28:00.000-07:00

In the Philippines, your mobile phone is your life line. Without it, you cease to exist. Your social world is locked inside the memory of your cell phone. If you lose it, you will have to start from scratch. On the bright side, as long as you have an extensive list of contacts in your cell phone, you'll never be alone.

The magic word is 'load'. 'Load' is the amount of credit you have left on your account and, consequently, the number of messages you can still send. Filipinos are always looking for load. If they don't have it, they will send special free messages to their friends asking to 'pass-a-load'. If they have load, they will spend it in the blink of an eye.

It's nice if you have a purpose in texting someone, but it's surely not necessary. Sometimes, you get a message from a complete stranger early in the morning that reads 'Hi'. If you take the challenge, you're in for a game of 'find out who this is' that can go on for quite some time.

Texting is a great social leveller. Basically, if you can get hold of someone's number, that entitles you to text that person. If you would ever manage to get the president's number, don't hesitate: text na lang. You never know if she replies... After all, during her last state of the nation, she said that texting is a way of life and tried to ease the pains of our faltering economy by reducing the price of a text message by one half. Where else than in the Philippines would a president even dare to come up with that?

Some people know each other only through texting. So-called text gangs grow from people passing on numbers to other people, passing it on to other people... If you ever get involved in this, you'll be answering text messages for the rest of the day.

It's easy to get addicted to texting, and I must admit I have also fallen for it. It's cheap and it gives you something to do while your in a jeepney or on a bus or just turning thumbs at home. And above all, it keeps you virtually connected to people you may never meet again in real life.

Filipina Maaike

2008-08-23T05:54:00.000-07:00

De laatste drie weken hadden we bezoek van Maaike, een Belgische vriendin van collega-vrijwilliger Frithjof. Haar bezoek was in veel opzichten een frisse wind. Het is interessant om op te trekken met iemand wiens ogen nog nieuw zijn. Het doet me beseffen dat ik ondertussen echt al een hele tijd hier ben. Haar verwondering was de mijne van enkele maanden terug. Ook zij liep eerst verloren in een grote stad met weinig structuur en vreemde verwijzingen op de jeepneys... En toch leek het steeds alsof ze al veel langer hier was. Bij deze een foto van Filipina-Maaike, in the middle of nowhere...

Kadayawan

2008-08-23T04:07:00.000-07:00

This week was Kadayawan week in Davao City. Kadayawan is a week-long festival celebrating the culture of the indigenous peoples in and around Davao ('dayaw' means 'to praise'). The event is supposed to empower indigenous peoples to express their culture in a city setting showing that indigenous culture is alive and kicking. The intention is good, I don't doubt that. But why did I get the feeling that I was watching tricks in a zoo?

To start with, the kadayawan's 'praise' of indigenous culture does not cut very deep. It is all about dancing, dressing up and eating unusual foods. Cultural diversty is a hot issue in the Philippines, but the Kadayawan plays it safe. What harm can there be in a dance, what threat in a colourful costume, what subversion in a picture taken with a 'real Lumad' in his 'real traditional house'? Funny enough, the Kadayawan is - apart from museums - the only place where you will see this abundance of traditional articrafts. Go to Mount Apo, and you'll be hard-pressed to find anything of the clothes, instruments or artwork for sale by the masses in Davao. It is staged culture. I asked one of the girls who was waiting to perform a dance from what community she was. She poked her friend in the side asking "hey, Candy, what tribe are we again?". The dancers are high-school kids who made the dresses and learned the dances in school. I think it is a nice idea to learn young people indigenous dances, but where are the people they are supposed to represent?

I'm not saying that the Kadayawan doesn't have a positive value, it's just that it represents indigenous peoples the way we would like to see them. Not as people in modern suits waving the Philippine constitution and claiming their rights, but as communities frozen in time, colourful and harmless. As a tourist, you will come home with a sore index finger from taking pictures of all the willing dancers (guilty as charged), but you will not have spotted one bit of living culture.

To be fair, cultural performances are always tricky. It's a thin line from culture to folklore and when the line is crossed, the effect is often ludicrous. One evening we watched a miss-Lumad election in People's Park (seriously). Six girls had to dance in tradional dress (with high heels for the occasion!) and answer one question (in English!) about their culture and the importance of the Kadayawan. I noticed I was not the only one frowning at this.

I am being too harsh, I know. The Kadayawan brings together crowds of people who enjoy the dances, the music, the colours, the food, the ambiance. I too, enjoy it very much. It's nice to walk the streets of Davao at night and be absorbed by the crowd and the multitude of impressions. The children are adorable and the dances area really beautiful. But in a sense it also makes my heart bleed a little. What is going wrong in the dialogue between tradition and modernity that we have to choose between conflict and folklore?

Multatuli

2008-08-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

POLICE OFFICER. Mr Judge, this is the man who murdered Barbertje.

JUDGE. That man shall be hanged. How did he do it?

POLICE OFFICER. He cut her into small pieces, and he pickled her.

JUDGE. He did a great wrong. He shall hang.

LOTHARIO. Judge, I did not kill Barbertje! I fed her, I clothed her, I cared for her. There are witnesses to testify that I am a good man, not a murderer.

JUDGE. Man, thou shalt hang! Thou makest thy crime worse by self-satisfaction. It isn’t proper for one who stands accused of something, to call himself a good man.

LOTHARIO. But, judge, there are witnesses who will confirm it. And while I am accused of murder ...

JUDGE. Thou shalt hang! Thou hast cut Barbertje into pieces, thou pickled her, and thou art satisfied with thyself … three capital crimes! … Who art thou, lady?

LADY. I am Barbertje.

LOTHARIO. Thank God! Judge, thou seest that I did not kill her!

JUDGE. Hm ... yes ... so! But the pickling?

BARBERTJE. No judge, he did not pickle me. Instead, he hath been very good to me. He is a really righteous man!

LOTHARIO. Thou hearest, judge, she sayth that I am a good man.

JUDGE. Hm ... so the third crime still stands. Police officer, take this man away, he shall hang. He is guilty of self-satisfaction.

Kind of Blue

2008-08-03T05:04:00.000-07:00

I'm gathering 'first times' on a daily basis now, it seems. This morning Frithjof, Maaike and I went on a trip to Small Ligid island for what we thought was going to be a day of snorkling near the coastline. Edgar, a friend of Maya, however suggested that we try the real thing instead: scuba diving! I've been thinking of taking a diving course for some time now, and this was a great opportunity to give it a try. The Philippines is the right place to do it since it has excellent diving spots. It's a funny feeling, breathing underwater, floating on the current. We went as low as 41 feet below the surface and were able to see some colourful fish.

Frithjof getting more than just his feet wet

Who's the new round table knight?

Maaike and Frithjof adapting to Filipino 'picture time': strike a pose!

GMA

2008-08-01T22:13:00.001-07:00

On July 28, the Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo delivered her State of the Nation Address (SONA) to the House of Representatives in Quezon City. We had the privilege of watching the SONA on big screen during a three-day conference called "SIPA". "SIPA" stands for "State of the Indigenous Peoples' Address", a gathering of people from different indigenous groups who have a thing or two to say about Arroyo's policy towards national minorities. "sipa" also means 'kick' in Tagalog, so apparently the conference was meant to be a kick in the ass for Gloria :). The SIPA is a counter-address to the president's SONA to call attention to the plight of indigenous people, many of whom ten years after the passing of the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act feel their rights exist only on paper. It was an emotional three days for many of the IP's present. It gave them a chance to speak out and to vent their disappointment about the lack of government commitent for indigenous peoples' rights.

The SONA is an important moment in Philippine politics. The president is suppossed to provide the public with objective information about the state of the nation and present new measues to tackle problems. Arroyo's popularity has been in free fall for a long time now and everyone was anxious to hear this year's SONA. Nothwithstanding that, the television broadcast of the SONA first amply focused on the dress of the president and the wives of members of parliament who dress up like moviestars for the occasion. President Arroyo likes a bit of theatre, so during her speech she would have representatives of different population groups stand up and greet the audience. She even got one IP to appear in Congress wearing little more than a piece of cloth to cover his vital parts while thanking her for granting his tribe an ancestral domain title...

Gloria is a peculiar character. She's not a woman of many inches (mubo kaayo siya), but she has a powerful grip on the country and its politics. Her administration has a very bad reputation for being one of the most corrupt in recent history (and believe me, that is saying a lot) and people feel the effects of her import-dependent and export-oriented policy everyday as high prices of food and gasoline hold the population by its throat. Arroyo's middle name 'Macapagal' is therefore sometimes transformed into 'maka-mahal' ("to make expensive"). To be fair, prices are going up everywhere, but the international food and oil crisis hits different nations in different degrees.

Many human rights activists and NGO's are also alarmed by the many extra-judicial killings that took place in recent years. 'GMA' therefore refers not only to the president's initials, but to her whole style of governing. It's difficult for a foreigner to judge the situation in the Philippines but it was certainly interesting to hear the SONA in the presence of Filipinos who are critical of Arroyo's policy. People often feel they are fighting a force they cannot beat, but fortunately a lot of people also believe in the strenghth of their own community resources.

A Bedtime Story

2008-07-20T04:35:00.000-07:00

The following is a remarkable but true story. In 1997 the Philippine parlement voted a law that gave indigenous people the opportunity to become the official owners of their ancestral lands (the Indigenous People's Rights Act). The Bagobo-Tagabawa are one of the indigenous groups who went through the whole procedure of documenting their history, genealogy and cultural practices to prove that they are the rightful owners of their ancestral domain (Mount Apo) and that their ancestral lands are essential to the survival of their culture. Kapwa helped the Bagobo with getting all of the documents together and preparing the application to be submitted to the NCIP (National Council on Indigenous People). There was one problem, however. According to the belief of the Bagobo, you will die if you reveal the history of your tribe. Apo Amman Anga, the official keeper of the Bagobo oral history, made a brave but fatal decision. Old and sick at heart he could feel that his time had come. To help his tribe obtain the ancestral domain title and secure its ownership of Mount Apo, he walked the long way to Tudaya to reveal the whole history of the Bagobo-Tagabawa. Six hours later he was dead...

Tuba

2008-07-13T07:03:00.001-07:00

There's a first time for everything, and this week was the first time for me to taste coconut wine (or 'tuba'). Tuba is the sap of an unopened coconut that is made to trickle into bamboo containers hanging in the treetops. Tuba has a sweet taste and feels a bit like honey to your tongue. In my opinion, it doesn't really have a very refined taste, but Filipino men are usually fond of it. If the tuba is left to ferment for a longer time, it becomes a very strong liquor. What is most spectacular about tuba, though, is the way it is collected. The man in the picture is Alim, a resident of Tudaya who has a few coconut trees in his garden and who was so kind to let us taste some of his tuba. Needless to say, it was a long evening...

A Week in Tudaya

2008-07-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

So this is what it's all about: Mount Apo. This week I spent five days in the house of 'datu' (chieftain) Rudy Agtag at the foot of Apo Sandawa, the sacred mountain of the Bagobo-Tagabawa. The Bagobo-Tagabawa are the indigenous people of Mount Apo and were granted an ancestral domain title to the area which makes them the owners of their ancestral ground.

Datu Agtag is the chieftain of barangay Tudaya, a mythic place. According to the myth of origin of the Bagobo-Tagabawa, the very first datu was captured by an eagle and carried to the spring of the Tudaya falls. I visited the falls on Tuesday and the place is truly remarkable. The water drops some 100 metres into the Sibulan river. When the wind is strong, a fog of waterdrops shrouds the place in mystery.

But Tudaya is also a place of potential conflict and friction as 'tradition' and 'modernity' meet right at the foot of the Tudaya falls. Last year a Philippine energy company started the construction of two hydro-electric power plants that will be tapping water from the falls and the Sibulan river to generate electricity for southern Mindanao. Opinions differ as to whether this project will bring 'development' to the area. Government officials, indigenous peoples' rights activists, NGO's and environmentalists all claim their 'truth', often over the heads of the people who are truly affected by the project. Datu Apo Adoc Purok, however, made a very personal and symbolically charged statement. This 107-year old datu walked all the way to the falls - a tough hike - to perform a ritual to protest against the building of the plant. I got the chance to meet Apo Adoc at the Barangay Tribal Council on Wednesday. He is the man sitting to my left in the picture below. I have no fixed opinion about the whole thing as there are so many factors and actors involved. But I am learning every day...

Gwapo kaayo ang mga bulak, di ba?

2008-07-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Flash Forward

2008-07-06T05:57:00.000-07:00

While the panshy shell reminded me of things past, last week was also a time to look ahead for things to come. On Friday I finished my Cebuano course together with 10 of my classmates. By a funny twist of faith Friday was also my birthday, so as a result I had a double celebration and half a night’s sleep :). I was treated to a surprise party by my classmates, my host family and some of my new friends here.

I kinda felt like being on a crossroad in my life as so many things are changing. Today is Saturday and I’ve been working at my NGO for one week now. In between the many meetings – all of them in Cebuano - I am working my way through a large pile of documentation on the Mount Apo region, indigenous peoples’ rights, agroforestry plans and local government structures. Next week I will be spending my first week ‘on the field’ to observe some of the projects of Kapwa in the ‘bukid’. My colleague Maymay already warned me that it will be ‘tugnaw kaayo’ (very cold) there. Only 25 degrees, imagine that! I also moved to a new place again as travelling back and forth from Dona Asuncion to the office in Matina is quite tiring. My new address is: Dr. 9, Santos Land Compound, Duterte Street, Davao City. Oh, before I forget, it seems as though there is no end to the coincidences. This week is the 29^th anniversary of Kapwa (July 3) ánd three people that are very close to me are also celebrating their birthday. In order of appearance, happy birthday to Nele (July 3), Anneleen (July 4) and Lieven (July 5).

Celebrating Kapwa's birthday at Eden Park.

Flashback

2008-07-06T05:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the past and the present blend into a single experience that is at once new and yet strangely familiar. We call such moments flashbacks. While walking on a thin strip of sand on vanishing island last week I experienced a flashback that took me way back to South Africa. I picked up a shell whose features I immediately recognised: spotlessly white with a five-leafed flower printed on the upside. In South Africa these shells are called ‘panshy shells’ and they are the subject of many a local myth. Because they are rare and very breakable few people have the privilege of owning one – only true locals are supposed to have one. Before I left South Africa I got one as a present from a special friend and I’ve been keeping it wrapped in soft paper ever since. It was strange to see the flower-shaped print again in this entirely different part of the world. The shell was not quite the same as it was a lot more solid and a lot less rare than the panshy shell, but the flower is as puzzingly beautiful as I remember those in South Africa to be.

Rice crisis

2008-06-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

While driving home last Saturday night at 3 o’clock in the morning, reality struck hard when we passed an endless line of people queuing towards a shop that sells government subsidised rice. Rice production in the Philippines is low and prices are high. Because very little of the demanded rice is produced locally, rice has to be imported from elsewhere. Since subsequent governments have failed to develop a consistent policy on food sovereignty, the Arroyo administration is now obliged to subsidise imported rice to feed the people. As one journalist noted, nothing is as clear a sign of coming trouble as hungry people roaming the streets. One could argue that the government tries to alleviate hunger by subsidising rice, but ‘charity’ is always the privilege of those in power and people should not be dependent on the government for their daily rice. Because of the shortage, some people spend the night in front of the shop to make sure they can buy the 2 kilos of rice they are entitled to. The only question that popped into my head when seeing the endless queue was why people insist on eating so much rice if prices are so high. I was immediately embarrassed about the foolishness of my question and the shallowness of my knowledge. It goes to show that even when reality is at your fingertips you can still fail to grab it. It is one of the odd consequences of being here without working yet: reality is all around, but it only leeks through the cracks in your perception slowly. Let’s just say I was not too proud of myself being escorted home in a air-conditioned car after a night out and questioning the need of people to stand in line for rice. I guess everyone who works in development goes through moments like these, but I really want to resist becoming cynical about it.

Fragments of a Rainy Season...

2008-06-21T00:45:00.000-07:00

When it rains in Manila it drizzles in Davao. Rainy season has started in the Philippines which means we often have heavy rainfalls around nightfall. Fortunately Mindanao is situated just outside the typhone belt so the storms are modest compared to the North of the country. Typhone Frank struck Luzon this week and we might be getting the tail of this 'bagio' somewhere between tonight and tomorrow morning. It seldom rains for hours on end here, but when it does the streets are flooded and people can have a hard time getting to work or getting home at the end of the day. And of course there is always damage to the houses that are built on low ground. Hope we get of easy with some 'taliksik' (drizzle).

Text Message

2008-06-21T00:33:00.000-07:00

Text message from a special someone: "don't dream your life but live your dreams".

Vampires in Paradise

2008-06-20T23:58:00.000-07:00

Somehow last week had a gloomy edge to it. During the weekend we visited Samal Island and took a motorcycle ride to visit the bat caves there. There is certainly something surreal about peering down a dark cave with 1.8 million bats shrouded in darkness while ten minutes later you are swimming in the hot water of a vanishing island under a radiant sun. Too bad the internet doesn’t allow to capture smells. I’d love to see your noses curl as you look over my shoulder into the bat cave…

But the bats were not the only winged monsters crossing my path this week. Several people told me about a peculiar creature called ‘aswang’ in Cebuano. Local belief has it that some people shift shapes during night time, take on wings and roam the neighbourhood in search of unborn babies. Pregnant women would sprinkle salt on the window panes to protect them from the aswang who has the power to suck the foetus out of a woman’s womb. Unable to enter the house, the aswang would scratch the outside walls of the house or circle the sky in search of blood. Like a vampire, the aswang only comes out at night. Aswangs take on a human shape during daytime, but one particular facial feature gives them away for what they really are: they have a harelip…

PS: for a less gloomy account of our trip to Samal, check out Lilli’s blog :)

Bienvenida at Kapwa.

2008-06-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I visited the office of my NGO for the very first time. My colleagues-to-be had prepared a ‘bienvenida’ to welcome me in their staff. It goes without saying that I was pretty nervous about that. I had prepared a short speech in Cebuano and luckily my tongue didn’t turn into a knot too badly so I managed to stutter my way through the little Cebuano that I master now. Everyone was very kind to me and I’m looking forward to getting started at the office (by the way, I already have as many nicknames as there are people working at Kapwa :). A warm thank you to everyone!

Pagbantay sa mga langyaw! (beware of foreigners)

2008-06-20T23:41:00.000-07:00

The picture above was taken from the ‘Philippinen Handbuch’, an extensive German guide to the

Philippines

. Sad but true the warning in the drawing is hardly exaggerated, certainly in Manila. But apart from that, the picture also gives a wonderful insight into cultural stereotypes. Look at the relative height of the different people in the drawing, for instance. Admittedly, Westerners tend to be taller than Filipinos, but this really looks like David meeting Goliath, no? The white man dominates the picture being almost twice the size of the Filipino. In order of importance, the other figures become smaller as they are presumed to have less power. The mother and her children are merely bystanders, the smallest of course being the little girl. Money and gifts change hands as the white man uses his wealth to get what he desires (it’s almost metaphorical for the West’s relationship with developing countries, and it’s clear where the power lies). Also note the size of the white man’s nose – having a big nose is exemplary of being foreign to Filipinos. Above all, the print draws a gloomy picture of one of the darkest sides of foreign presence in the

Philippines

… And yet there is something strangely comical about this drawing, no?

Cultural show at MTS

2008-06-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

Talking about colours, last Tuesday I went to a cultural show with my classmates. The colours of the dresses and the movements of the dancers were amazingly vivid, but as I made a short clip of one of the dances, I'll let you be the judge of that...

The World in Colour

2008-06-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

The world would be dull if it didn’t have colour. But I wonder how often we really enjoy colours without interpreting them in some way. Anthropologists have tried to study how strongly our senses are influenced by the culture we were born into. Tough question, that one. Is your red as vivid as mine or is mine dull compared to yours? Do we all see the same colours or do our cultures select them for us? Colours matter, even if you don’t want them to. This is certainly true when it comes to skin colour. One of the odd things about living in Davao is that you really stick out as a white person. I am getting used to it, but when I’m in the company of Filipinos they always draw my attention to the many heads turning my way and the many pairs of eyes seeking mine. It would be interesting to study the significance of the colour ‘white’ in the

Philippines

. White is ‘puti’ in Cebuano and as far as Filipinos are concerned, puti is beautiful. You would find 30-foot billboards advertising skin whitening creams, young Filipinas going out of their ways to stay out of the sun and mothers proudly smiling when their child is said to be ‘puti kaayo’ (very white). It is certainly strange to be in a city where my skin colour is so rarely seen and so quickly noticed. There is a sting to that, of course. On the one hand, there are certain advantages to being white. It is easy to make connections with important people (which I am not really comfortable with doing, by the way). But sometimes I wonder if for every door that opens there isn’t also one that closes at the same time… And there is always that tricky question: what does ‘white’ really mean in the

Philippines

"I am white thanks to Silka!"

Some pictures...

2008-05-31T00:05:00.000-07:00

A philosophical moment on the deck of a boat

Lilli in action

Frithjof, colleague volunteer

Teachers and fellow students at the school.

Lilli, Antonio and me

Che Guevara: alive and kicking in Davao!

2008-05-30T23:55:00.000-07:00

The king of fruits

2008-05-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

Some time ago someone asked me to send some recepies of Filipino dishes home. However, if I had to make an extensive list of - how shall I put it - 'unusual' food served in the Philippines, I would hardly know where to begin. Therefore, let me just introduce you to what is considered to be 'the king of fruits' by Filipinos: durian. Durian is a fruit that only grows in very specific climatic conditions close to the equator (if the temperature drops below 22 degrees during daytime, the fruit stops growing). You can only find it in a few places in the world and some people are so well trained in tasting durian that they can point out the exact location where a specific durian was grown (pretty much like people taste wine).

There are many peculiar things about the durian. To start with, it has a very hard spiky husk. If you think of quietly reading a book in the shade of a tree, better not make it durian tree cause you probably won't live to tell if one drops on your head. Secondly, durian has a very penetrating scent you can smell from 20 metres away. Apparently, durian is forbidden in some places because bystanders would be bothered too much by the smell. The most difficult thing to describe is of course the taste. I tasted a fresh durian for the first time at the local fruit market a few weeks ago and I must say it tastes like nothing I ever tasted before. It's not as repulsive as I feared it would be, but you definitely have to get used to it. Once you do, it is said that it becomes a kind of an addiction. I'm not quite there yet, but in the meantime I've tasted durian coffee (with bits of durian floating in it) and durian icecream.

My New Place

2008-05-25T00:33:00.000-07:00

Wednesday evening I moved to a new place not too far from the missionary house and the language school. My new neighbourhood is called doña asuncion and the house is located in Santa Ana Avenue. As you can see on the Google Earth map, it is very close to the Davao airport so I guess I'll have to cling on to my earplugs :) It's really a nice neighbourhood and there's always a pleasant ambiance in the streets with their many shops and playgrounds.

I'm living with the Cuizon family constisting of nanay (mother) Marlene, tatay (father) Rudy and their children Junjun and Tata. It is a warm and kind family and they go out of their ways to make me feel at home. I really admire their hospitality, certainly because I often have the impression that they are concerned that their house may not be up to western standards. That said, I think it is a lovely home and I feel well at ease here.

My new family also introduced me to a favourite Filipino passtime: Karaoke! I was warned beforehand that Filipinos are fond of karaoke, but up till now we somehow managed to steer clear of having a microphone pushed in our hands. However, moving to a family whose price possession is a state-of-the-art karaoke machine may have been pushing my luck just a little bit too far, so yesterday evening I found myself browsing through a 4000-songs catalogue to pick a song that would not inflict any permanent ear damage on my hosts :) I picked a suitable song for the occasion: No woman, no cry :)

Moving...

2008-05-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I'll be moving to a new place. I had a great time here in the missionary house and the people have been very hospitable and kind to us, but as the Cebuano course is quite short I think it is necessary to have more day-to-day practise in Cebuano. Living with a local family will allow me to hear people talk Cebuano all the time and force me to get over the threshold of speaking it myself. It's also a good way to integrate in the community and pick up Philippine culture. After all, there's only a few weeks left before I start my work at Kapwa. On the downside, it might become more difficult for me to get on the internet, but I'm sure I'll manage to post a message every once in a while...

Talikud Island

2008-05-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days have been very hot and humid in Davao. So last Saturday, Lilli and I decided to take a boat trip to Talikud Island for a refreshing swim in the ocean. Armed with suncream and swimming goggles we left for Talikud Island in the morning on a boat packed with Filipino families and what appeared to be half of their belongings. Talikud has nice beaches where the water colours different shades of blue. Our mission for the day: finding starfish in as many different colours as possible. I also discovered that rubbing suncream on every part of your body EXCEPT your back is not a very wise thing to do... Since the boat was crowded and hot, we decided to climb on the roof on the way back and enjoy the breeze on the upper deck. Nindot kaayo!

Words, words, words

2008-05-15T02:51:00.000-07:00

Learning a completely new language unfortunately means having to cram an awful lot of words into a modestly sized brain. Luckily, language often gives you wonderful clues about cultural patterns of thought. While studying my vocabulary list today I came across the adjective 'walay kalibutan'. 'Walay' means 'no' or 'without' and 'kalibutan' means 'world'. Put together, however, 'walay kalibutan' means 'innocent'. Isn't that wonderful? If you say 'walay kalibutan ang bata', that means 'the child is innocent', but literally it says 'the child has no world'. Somehow, Cebuano connects the loss of innocence to a child's emergence into the world. A whole filosophy in just two words. But then again, when I mentioned this at the dinner table in the missionary house, Father Ben pointed out that to be 'walay kalibutan' is not really a compliment as it has the connotation of being naive. The ambiguous virtue of being 'innocent', no? Being 'unwordly' is being naive...

The Belgian Way

2008-05-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

Sommige dingen zijn veel interessanter als je ze vanuit het standpunt van iemand anders kan bekijken. Maandag werd ik door mijn toekomstige werkgeefster, Alma de la Paz, uitgenodigd voor de officële opening van een fototentoonstelling in het Davao Museum. Ik ontmoette er een zekere Rey Magno Teves, de 'secretary general' van de Kusog Mindanaw. Kusog Mindanaw - letterlijk 'strong Mindanao' - is een soort socio-politiek forum voor vredesopbouw in Mindanao. Toen ik hem vertelde dat ik uit België kwam fonkelden zijn ogen plotseling enthousiast: "In Mindanao, we want to do it the Belgian way!" Ik dacht meteen: "enkele maanden zonder regering zitten? Eindeloos kibbelen over akkefietjes? Communautaire relletjes over de hoofden van de mensen heen? Super-Yves for President?" Ik werd er me snel van bewust hoe cynisch wij in België geworden zijn als het over onze verleden verworvenheden gaat. Het Belgische model mag dan al complex en omslachtig lijken, voor heel wat unitaire staten met een sterke regionale diversiteit is het een droom. Rey Magno Teves is enkele jaren geleden zelfs op 'excursie' geweest naar Brussel om er te leren hoe België regionale tegenstellingen oplost in een federaal model. Het is een zeer relevante problematiek in Mindanao, want Manila is veraf en dicteert de wetten in alle regio's. De roep om regionale bevoegdheden en inspraak is groot en veel groepen voelen zich niet vertegenwoordigd in het centrale gezag. Het is best grappig te worden bewonderd om een systeem waar we zelf zo graag lacherig over doen. Ik werd zelfs gevraagd een gastcollege te komen geven over het Belgische model, maar ik vrees dat ik dan zelf eens goed in de boeken ga moeten duiken. Hoe zit België ook alweer in elkaar?

Sabonghan Aquino Coliseum

2008-05-11T01:14:00.000-07:00

For some, Sunday is church day. For others, however, Sunday is above all Sabong day. 'Sabong' is the Philippine variant of cockfighting, a sport that is mainly practised in parts of South East Asia, Latin America and also a few countries in Europe. Today we went to the Aquino Coliseum, one of many sabonghans in the Philippines where men (and some women) spent their Sunday afternoons betting on cockfights. Men who breed and train roosters for such fights are called 'sabongeros' and it is almost endearing to see how dedicated they are to their prize-winning roosters (it is sometimes said that a sabongero whose house catches fire will let his entire belongings go up in flames if that means being able to save his roosters). There is a lively ambiance in the sabonghan. If you want to place a bet you have to look for someone who is betting on the other rooster for an equal amount of money. For a few minutes, everyone is making gestures and looking around to find a match with another gambler. When two people agree they makes signs to the bettakers who are known to have incredible skills for remembering faces and the amount of money at stake. Because of this almost supernatural talent, they are called 'Kristos'.

After the betting, the duel begins. For the animal activists among my friends, I must confess that this is quite cruel and bloody (at least from our point of view). A sharp, pointy piece of metal is attached to the rooster's leg and some fights are over in just a few seconds if one roosters deals out a deadly blow immediately. If you lost your bet, you simply throw your money to your betting partner (this is one of the reasons why peso notes are almost always frumbled pieces of paper). The winning sabongero takes the opponent's dead rooster home where the lady of the house will turn it into a celebratory meal.

Funny detail: there are even some commercial 'doping' products available to make roosters perform better in the sabong. One of the brands - I'm not joking - is called 'Thunderbird'. Less funny detail: some of our neighbours are sabongeros, so every morning around five o'clock we are treated to a royal concert of roosters crowing as loud as they can. Mom, I can't thank you enough for buying those ear plugs...

Kalooy sa Dyos

2008-05-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday Father Elias took us to a mess in one of the baryos just outside Davao City. A 'baryo' or 'barangay' is the smallest unit of local government in the Philippines. One might compare it to a village, although I have the impression that the term 'baryo' has a specific connotation. In essence, everyone lives in a baryo - the one we live in is called 'Pampanga' - but when people say they are going to 'a baryo', that usually refers to villages that are farther removed from urban centres. It was the very first time for us to go to a baryo so we were really excited about that. Most of our time will be spent in baryos in Mount Apo so it was certainly interesting to visit one near Davao City. Father Elias spreached mess in Cebuano to some 50 members of the community gathered in and outside a small chapel in the centre of the village. Although our Cebunao course still had to start at that time, my christian upbringing helped me to understand some parts of the service. The structure of the mess was very familiar to me and I more or less knew what was being said at hinging moments of the service. As the songs were written on blackboards in the chapel we could figure out some words. God is referred to either as 'Ginoong' (the lord) or as 'Dyos' (God). As in many languages, references to God have found their way into everyday language in expression such as 'Salamat sa Dyos kay Byernes karon' ('thank God it's Friday') or in the particle 'pohon' which is sometims added to statements about the future: 'hangtud ugma pohon' ('see you tomorrow if God is willing'). Religion is strongly present in everyday life with patron saints being celebrated in each baryo or people making a small cross across their chest while passing a church in a jeepney. I enjoyed witnessing the mess in the baryo because church services are important moments in community life. It is a time to greet each other and - due to our presence - also greet strangers :) I cannot really explain why, but although I wouldn't call myself religious I always feel strangely at ease after a church service even if don't understand much of it. I am sometimes even tempted to think that the content of a service is not even that important - wishful thinking, I know :). To me, the most important moment of a church service is the communion, sharing the bread. Sometimes I even regret not being religious, mainly because is it such a basic experience for so many people which I have a feeling I will never truly understand. Well, who knows...

Whose Mission?

2008-05-07T03:06:00.000-07:00

If someone would have told me some years ago that I'd be living in a missionary house today, I probably would have kindly but firmly suggested them to seek psychiatric counseling :) My opinion about religion has changed a lot over the years. Whereas I used to disavow religion as a form of 'mauvaise foi' - tricking yourself into believing human existence has a special value in this world - I have learned to appreciate religion for its ability to connect and inspire communities and add symbolic meaning to crude realities. That said, it is still strange for me to be among missionaries. Religion may contain important values, in my opinion it never contains 'truth' (as far as I'm concerned, nothing does). The history of missionary zeal is so closely connected to colonialism that it is hard not to dismiss present-day missionary work as old-fashioned imperialism in disguise. My position and prejudice, however, are being challenged to the extreme as I am not only living in a missionary house, but also going to a missionary language school where I am being mistaken for being an apprentice missionary :) Talk about an identity crisis!

Luckily, reality is a lot more complex than my prejudice would have it. The missionaries of Jesus are in fact an offshoot of the movement of Scheut (CICM) and came into being because of a local need to have more involvement of local people and focus more on community building than on spreading the word of Jesus. An intern struggle between a more conservative elite based in the West and a more progressive wing in the Philippines led to the formation of the MJ Movement. Consequently, most missionaries here are Filipinos and not missionaries from abroad. Moreover, the library in the house is full of works on Islam, Judaism, Filipino psychology and Philippine tradition and history, which makes this an interesting place for study. On the other hand, I am sometimes somewhat embarrassed to live in such a comfortable house (although that is only temporary).

I still find missonary work - even in its present-day appearance - a very tricky business, but in a sense it is of course as questionable as development work. Development workers are often called the new missionaries and there is certainly some truth in that comparison (after all, development workers will also refer to their work as 'a misson'). One might even wonder if the motives of missonaries and development workers are really that different. It is one of the reasons why I feel as uncomfortable being called a development worker as I am being called a missionary. For all I'm concerned, I'll be an employee in a Philippine organization engaged in ecological and social support for the mount Apo region, and that is about as far as I am willing to go. but perhaps that is just some 'mauvaise foi' on my part...

Filipino humor

2008-05-07T01:29:00.000-07:00

Maandag zijn Frithjof en ik met volle moed (en jeugdige overmoed?) aan onze cursus Cebuano begonnen. Een taal leer je met vallen en opstaan. Voorlopig vallen we sneller dan we weer overeind krabbelen, wat voor onze docenten dikwijls grappige blunders oplevert. Zo betekent het woord 'amo' zowel 'baas' als 'aap', afhankelijk van waar je de klemtoon legt (en geloof mij, het verschil is flinterdun). Gelukkig voor ons is het Engels van Filipino's ook niet helemaal comme il faut, dus we strijden met gelijke wapens :) Over het typische Filipino-Engels doen veel grapjes de ronde, en omdat humor ook cultuur is, wil ik jullie deze niet onthouden: Een leerkracht geeft een leerling de opdracht een Engelse zin te vormen met de woorden 'defence', 'defeat' en 'detail'. Na enig nadenken zegt de leerling trots: "A chicken jumped over defence, first defeat and then detail".

Spider Fighting (not for the faint-hearted)

2008-05-03T02:19:00.000-07:00

Just a funny story Father Ben told us during supper last night. Many Filipinos are fond of cockfights and there is usually quite some money at stake during these duels. Lately, also children seem to have picked up an appetite for gambling and have developed their very own 'blood sport' using different species of spiders to combat in one-on-one spider fights. It works as follows: two spiders are put at opposite ends of a stick. They are then made to approach each other until they 'wrestle'. The first spider to fall off the stick or to 'throw the towel' loses the duel. Spider fighting has become so popular in rural areas that it has even triggered serious concern among education authorities. A ban has been imposed in at least one of the southern provinces of the Philippines. Education authorities are not only concerned about the ethics of spider fighting and gambling, but also about its effects on children's school performance. Apparently, quite a few children find hunting and training fighting spiders a much more interesting occupation than being in school. I wonder why...

First Impressions

2008-05-02T05:24:00.000-07:00

Maayong adlaw! Eerste indrukken zijn vaak het minst betrouwbaar, maar daarom niet minder interessant, dus hier gaan we dan. Eerst het decor, dan de mensen? Ik zit dit berichtje te typen op mijn kamertje in het huis van de Missionaries of Jesus, een soort verblijfshuis van lokale en internationale predikanten in een wijk van Davao City, waar Frithjof en ik zullen verblijven gedurende onze cursus Cebuano in de taalschool hier vlakbij. Vanmorgen voor het eerst de stad verkend, een kort eindje in een tricycle (een soort brommertje waar een busje omheen is gebouwd) en daarna in een typische Filipijnse Jeepney (openbaar vervoer naar het model van Amerikaanse legervoertuigen tijdens de 2^de Wereldoorlog). Eerste missie: onze resterende dollars en euro’s omwisselen en een lokale sim-kaart kopen, want de Filippijnen zijn wereldkampioen sms-en en zonder GSM ben je nergens. Meteen ook even contact opgenomen met Alma, de ‘executive director’ van Kapwa. Deze namiddag wilden we een stuk van de stad te voet verkennen, maar een plensbui van enkele uren bracht ons doorweekt terug thuis. Regen brengt hier twee maal zonneschijn, want door zo’n regenbui koelt het meteen een paar graden af. Het is hier gemiddeld zo’n 30 graden, en dat merk je al meteen wanneer je bepakt en bezakt de luchthaven uitwandelt en op een paar seconden tijd je hemd aan je rug voelt plakken (verder ga ik hier niet in detail).

Het doet echt heel veel deugd hier te zijn na maanden aftellen. En dat brengt me meteen ook bij de mensen. Eerst en vooral natuurlijk Frithjof, een collega-vrijwilliger die als bio-ingenier zal werken voor Farmcoop en in wiens aangename gezelschap ik een iets minder aangename en vooral vermoeiende reis Brussel-Amsterdam-Manila-Davao maakte (verdacht veel baby’s met hoge huilfrequentie op de vlucht trouwens :). We werden van de luchthaven afgehaald door Maya, de dochter van Arnold, het regionale steunpunt van Broederlijk Delen in Zuidoost-Azië. Ze bracht ons met een taxi naar de Missionaries of Jesus en Father Ben, een West-Vlaamse pater-scheutist die hier al tientallen jaren woont. Grappig detail: Father Ben spreekt enkel Engels met ons, want hij lijkt zijn moedertaal wat te zijn verleerd (of voelt zich niet helemaal op zijn gemak in wat ondertussen een vreemde taal moet zijn geworden). De andere gasten zijn vooral studenten theologie in opleiding die hier zijn voor seminaries of die hun familie komen bezoeken. Het huis heeft een aangename gezelligheid en we leren er onze eerste woordjes Cebuano met vallen en opstaan. De taalcursus begint pas maandag, dus we hebben enkele dagen tijd om te wennen aan het ritme van de stad, de hitte van de zon en de klank van de taal. Wie zich ongerust maakte is bij deze gerust gesteld, wie houdt van tropische zon kan alvast jaloers worden en zelfs liefhebbers van zomerse regenbuien kunnen even vanop afstand meegenieten. Om maar te zeggen: met mij alles in orde.

Hangtud unya!

2008-04-29T01:04:00.000-07:00

Een afscheid doet je nadenken. Over wat je had, wat je achterlaat en wat je - onterecht - vanzelfsprekend vond. Het is soms moeilijk de balans te maken tussen het verlangen om te vertrekken en het verlangen om toch nog even te blijven. Het Cebuano hierboven betekent dan ook 'tot ziens' en niet 'vaarwel' (dat laatste klinkt in het Cebuano trouwens ook een stuk minder dramatisch: 'vaarwel' is eenvoudigweg 'babay').

Hoewel het nog onduidelijk is waar ik precies zal wonen in de Filippijnen, geef ik toch al het adres van Kapwa mee. Mocht je zin hebben iets te sturen - wat ik natuurlijk fantastisch zou vinden -, dan komt het op dit adres ongetwijfeld goed terecht:
780 Kalamansi Street
Juna Division, Matina
8000 Davao City
Philippines

Ik wil ook graag nog een oproep lanceren om de werking van Broederlijk Delen te steunen. Ik zou je duizenden redenen kunnen geven om te storten, maar uiteindelijk moet je zelf beslissen of je achter de werking van Broederlijk Delen staat. Ik zal in ieder geval mijn uiterste best doen om via deze blog het werk van een partnerorganisatie in het zuiden een beetje dichterbij te brengen. Storten kan je doen op 000-0000092-92. Wanneer je daarbij ook het nummer 9658 vermeldt, dan geef je aan dat je bijdrage aan mij gelinkt is.

Sinds dit jaar heeft Broederlijk Delen ook een weblogportaal opgestart waarop alle vrijwilligers en coöperanten een dagboek bijhouden. De site is nog wat in een experimentele fase (veel vrijwilligers zijn nog aan het aftellen), maar surf er zeker eens langs als je tijd hebt. Je vindt de blogs op http://blogs.kabaal.be/.

En om het af te leren, een laatste oproepje. Op duizenden kilometers van hier lijkt thuis vaak veraf. Jullie brengen het met berichtjes even terug dichterbij. Ik ben dus benieuwd wat jullie het komende jaar allemaal gaan uitspoken. Let me know!

Philippine National Anthem: Lupang Hinirang (Chosen Land)

2008-04-18T04:48:00.000-07:00

Bayang magiliw
Perlas ng Silanganan,
Alab ng puso
Sa dibdib mo'y buhay.

Lupang hinirang,
Duyan ka ng magiting,
Sa manlulupig,
'Di ka pasisiil.

Sa dagat at bundok,
Sa simoy at sa langit mong bughaw,
May dilag ang tula at awit
Sa paglayang minamahal.

Ang kislap ng watawat mo'y
Tagumpay na nagniningning,
Ang bituin at araw niya
Kailan pa ma'y 'di magdidilim.

Lupa ng araw, ng luwalhati't pagsinta,
Buhay ay langit sa piling mo;
Aming ligaya, na 'pag may mang-aapi
Ang mamatay nang dahil sa 'yo.

Beloved country,
Pearl of the Orient,
The heart's fervor,
In your bosom is ever alive.

Chosen Land,
You are the cradle of the brave,
To the conquerors,
You shall never surrender.

Through the seas and mountains,
Through the air and your blue sky,
There is splendor in the poem and song
of beloved freedom.

The sparkle of your flag
Is shining victory.
Its stars and sun
will never dim.

Land of glory, the sun of our affections,
Life is heaven in your arms;
When someone oppresses you, it is our pleasure
To die for you.

Semana santa

2008-03-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

With 85% of the population affiliated with christianity, the Philippines are the only christian nation in the far East. The vast majority of Filipino christians belong to the roman catholic church, the rest is spread across a colourful palette of christian churches and sects. For that alone, the Philippines are a remarkable anomaly in the religious landscape of Asia. However, also in the christian world the philippines are regarded as a somewhat peculiar country, most notably during the Holy Week or 'semana santa'.

The Holy Week is the only time of the year during which you can be certain that the Philippines will feature in the 'oddities section' of newspapers and television broadcasts. Every year a number of Filipinos - mostly men, but not exclusively - re-enact the passion of Jesus Christ and have themselves nailed to the cross on Good Friday (Byernes Santo). The ritual is part of a whole series of dramatic re-eanctments of biblical stories related to the Holy Week. It is very much a thing of the people, since church leaders tend to oppose the practice. In a sense, these 'Kristos' seem to be 'playing their part' in the whole dramatic staging of the story, with Filipinos dressing up as romans and playing 'the bad guys', but of course there is always a strong personal motivation to follow in the footsteps of Christ. It is at once a very personal calavary path, a very public ritual and a piece of intense drama. Many Filipinos, however, complain that with rising tourist fascination for this phenomenenon, the thing has become a show more than anything else. A few years back, there was even an Englishman among those to be crucified, but the poor man withdrew at the very last moment. Health organisations take a down-to-earth stance opposite the rituals and strongly advise those that want to be crucified to have a tetanus shot before having nails driven through their hands.

It's a shame, of course, that only the spectacular crucifixions and flaggelations draw the attention of the international media, as the Holy Week in the Philippines appears to be one of the most interesting religious celebrations in the world, with christian and non-christian rituals combined in large-scale 'fiestas'. The crucifixions only occur in a few places and are not essential to the Holy Week celebrations.

And let's be honoust and look at our own Easter celebration: hiding easter eggs in your garden and telling your kids the easter bunny or the church bells returning from Rome dropped them there is hardly the most spiritually enhancing thing to do, is it?

Some Filipino Psychology

2008-02-29T02:47:00.000-08:00

While searching on the Internet for information on the Kapwa foundation I stumbled across a website dedicated to 'Filipino psychology'. Apparently, kapwa is a core value in Filipino psychology meaning 'togetherness'. Kapwa applies both to ibang tao (other people) and hindi ibang tao ('not other people' or people-you-know). In other words, one is expected to mix or bond with all people regardless of the type of relationship you have with them. Filipinos are indeed known for their hospitality towards 'strangers'.

Another interesting concept is that of hiya. Hiya is often loosely translated as 'shame' although 'propriety' seems a more suitable equivalent. Filipino people dread being put down in public and therefore it is considered immodest to publicly criticize other people or refuse requests. Hiya means refraining from doing acts that would harm other people's sense of self-esteem. This explains why 'yes' sometimes means 'no' or 'maybe' or 'who knows'. It is this sense of hiya that often makes tourists climb up the walls when they have difficulty decoding the message. Funny how a philosophy aimed at not offending people can stir such frustration among westerners. Apparently, the pervasiveness of hiya calls for a great deal of diplomacy and foreigners have to exercise themselves in picking up more subtle hints as overt discourse is often not quite what it seems.

Another funny thing: the Dutch word amok ('amok maken', to cause a row) derives from Malaysian and refers to a specific kind of mental illness found in South-East Asia (including the Philippines). People suffering from amok suddenly go into a killing frenzy, start hallucinating and eventually faint. Afterwards, they are incapable of remembering what happened during their frenzy. We might be tempted to call this a hangover, though I am quite sure it is not exactly the same thing :)

Cebuano anyone?

2008-02-09T09:38:00.000-08:00

Tan-awa ra! Iho! (Look out! A shark!)

With these few words I will be able to save an unsuspecting Filipino from a certain death in the jaws of a vicious shark :) Don't you just love introductory guides to a new language? They presume people carry them around and start looking up the appropriate phrases while being held at gunpoint. One of the requirements for my work in the Philippines is that I learn a local language, 'Cebuano', and I must say that is no easy task. Apart from a few words that have clear Spanish or English roots ('tsikin' means 'chicken'), Cebuano is nothing like your average European language. Fortunately an intensive Cebuano course takes place shortly after my arrival in the Philippines. I bought a handbook of Cebuano on Amazon just to get an idea of what I can expect. Just to give you an idea of what Cebuano sentences look like: "Ang akong pinaka-maayong amigo ikaw" means "you are my best friend", but the literal translation is "the my most good friend you". Makes sense, no? By the way, if anyone asks you "kumusta ka?" ("how are you?"), the most appropriate reply would be "gwapo pa" ("handsome as always"). Back to my books!

Kapwa and Mount Apo National Park

2008-02-08T04:38:00.000-08:00

Just to give you an idea of where I'll be working and what I'll be doing in the Philippines, a brief introduction to the Kapwa Upliftment Foundation. Kapwa's main concern is the improvement of the quality of life of indigenous groups and migrants who live from small-scale farming inside the Mount Apo National Park. Mount Apo is a stratovolcano - whatever that may be - but the date of its most recent eruption is unknown and unrecorded in history (I sincerely hope that I won't be witnessing its re-awakening, spectacular though that may be). Mount Apo is also the ancestral domain of the Bagobo Tabagawa, an indigenous group that holds an official title to this domain. Unfortunately, the indigenous people and migrant communities are becoming increasingly marginalized due to corporate activities, energy projects and - you'll never guess - tourism.

Kapwa wants to empower the communities by introducing agroforestry to enhance sustainability and biodiversity and to counter soil erosion due to deforestation. Kapwa also tries to emancipate the communities to defend their rights vis-á-vis local and national governments and voice their needs in government planning for the region.

My job description is still somewhat vague, though my main task is to document Kapwa's interventions in the region and publish on the projects. I will also have to document destructive projects of international investors in order to allow the people to make a case against soil degradation, social marginalisation and pollution. Although the Filipino government officially recognizes indigenous land titles, the reality shows an easy-access policy to these lands for mining and detrimental single-crop agriculture.

One flew East, one flew West...

2008-02-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

... and one flew over the cuckoo's nest. Destination? Mindanao, the second largest island of the Philippines. The Philippines consist of some 7000 islands (7.107 to be precise), most of which too small to even be located on maps. Being the biggest island but one, Mindanao holds the largest city in the Philippines as far as land area is concerned, Davao City, and that's where I am heading towards. Kapwa Upliftment Foundation has its head quarters in the city centre, but as their main activity lies in agricultural development, I will be spending most of my time in rural areas near Mount Apo, the highest peak in the Philippines. Due to political unrest, Mindanao earned itself an unfavourable reputation as a hotbed of rebellion and opposition to president Arroyo's rule in Manila. Being the furthest removed from the leading island Luzon, Mindanao has always been somewhat seperate territory. It even features an autonomous Muslim region and harbours considerable communities of Japanese and Chinese migrants. It makes Mindanao a culturally diverse, but also conflictuous part of the Philippines. On the bright side, the island holds a fair share of the Philippines' natural resources and has great potential for economic development. Unfortunately, due to far-reaching liberalisation measures from the central government, the region is heavily exploited by foreign investors and international entrepeneurs who are little concerned with the ecological impact of their activities.

Long Way Home

2008-02-04T00:26:00.000-08:00

Life is what happens when words fail. Everyone has stories to tell, things to share, moments to cherish. Yet true experiences are never to be found in books or diaries. They linger in the minds and hearts of people. I must admit I am no big fan of internetblogs. They always seem to be struggling with their own existence (as do the people that write them, I suppose). But as it is impossible to talk to all the people you know at once, blogs are just the next best thing.

This may seem like a gloomy introduction to a new blog, but I just needed to get that out :) Anyway, this blog will be my personal attempt to record - as best I can - some of my experiences while working as a volunteer in the Philippines. From May onwards I will be staying in and around Davao City to work for a local organisation called 'Kapwa Upliftment Foundation'. Kapwa is concerned with supporting, building and sustainaing capacities - this is NGO language, sorry for that - for farmers who own plots of land on the slopes of Mount Apo, a volcano overlooking Davao City. Kapwa has a partnership relation with Broederlijk Delen, a Belgian NGO.

This will be only my second experience in development work. My previous experience in South Africa left me with a mind full of questions, experiences and unfinished sympathies. Sometimes, questions are best answered by posing new ones. When I tell people I will be working for Broederlijk Delen in the Philippines, they are usually quite excited about it. When I tell them it'll be voluntary work, eyebrows are frowned and eyes turn worried: "voluntary work? Again?". I could make ringing statements here about commitment and self-sacrifice, but the truth is I feel there is so much to be learned and so much to discover that I am willing to make the jump.

As you may have noticed, I chose not to continue the blog I started for South Africa. As I never intended to record my every move in life, I think it's a good idea to dedicate this blog to one specific experience. In following posts I will try to tell you more about the work I'll be doing and the country I'll be staying in. Of course I hope this blog will find a few readers and that you will be one of them :)

Oh, before I forget, the title of this entry is taken from a song by Tom Waits. The chorus struck me because it sounded so familiar: "I love you, pretty baby, but I always take the long way home". Those who wonder why I am leaving for a far-away place again, try not to look at it as 'leaving', but simply as taking a long way home...