By: Fr. Peter Geremia, PIME
In our area, in the island of Mindanao, the Military and the NPA rebels have been fighting for over 50 years. Lately, President Duterte has sent battalion after battalion to put an end to the NPA insurgency offering them the choice to surrender or be exterminated.
I am a little missionary priest caught in the crossfire since I arrived in the Philippines in 1972. Most of the casualties on both sides come from the poorest families and many widows and orphan children have asked me to bless the victims of this seemingly endless conflict. Also two of my companions missionary priests were killed along with many civilians…
I keep on praying for peace and I have dreamed of discovering some magic power that would suddenly melt the weapons in the hands of both armed groups and, once disarmed, they can start asking, “Why are we killing each other?”; “Aren’t we brothers and sisters?”
While waiting for the magic solution, I was struck by two parables told by Jesus long ago.
1. I wish to propose to the Military and their Commander in Chief the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-31). A father had two sons, the younger one rebelled, he took half of the family property and wasted it. He ended up starving to death, like some rebels now. Finally, he decided to surrender expecting to be treated like a slave. To his surprise, his father ran to embrace him and overwhelmed him with so much affection and joy, inviting all the neighbors to celebrate because this son was dead and came back to life, he was lost and he was finally found…
Everybody welcomed the lost sheep, except the older brother who remembered all the damages and shame that the foolish brother caused to their family. But, the father pleaded with his law-abiding son, “Join the celebration, all the children and all civilians pray for you to be reconciled with your brother and forget your grudges and give peace a chance!”…
Can rebels return to their communities and be welcomed like the prodigal son?
2: Then I wish to tell another parable to the NPA (Matthew 20:1-16). At the time of Jesus, most poor people did not have decent jobs or fair pay. Here comes a strange landlord who gives jobs to all, even to those who are late in applying for work. Then, he gives a full generous salary starting with the late comers. Those who worked all day under the heat of the sun expected double pay, but they all received the same pay…
Those who worked more than the late comers, cried out,”UNFAIR!”, “This is a rotten system, some landlords give charity to the lazy ones, but we can have fair wages only if we eliminate all landlords!”…
The strange landlord in the parable replied, “I only wish that all have enough for their families, jobs for all and “family salary” for all…”
Can landlords become so generous?
The parables of Jesus surprised His listeners as impossible dreams. Can such dreams come true? This kind of dreams can stop the killings and destruction of properties, the budgets now used for war and revolution can be used to give more jobs and full wages to all…
Peace can make all of us winners, while war makes all of us losers.
””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””’
The NPA (New People Army) is believed to number about 5000 fighters in the Philippines. In Mindanao they are not active in the ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao), but in neighbouring provinces.
However local conflicts in Mindanao are more rooted in the number of firearms.
“In Mindanao, there are estimated to be about 500,000 illegal firearms in the hands of civilians. This constitutes about 70 per cent of the total number of firearms in the region. Of these weapons, half are found in the ARMM. Moreover, in 2009 33 per cent of an estimated 15,640 firearms in the hands of ‘threat groups’ and 28 per cent of the estimated 4,980 firearms in the hands of criminal groups are found in the ARMM . The proliferation of illegal firearms constitutes a significant challenge to peace in the Bangsamoro (and Mindanao). However, the decommissioning of such weapons receives very little attention in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. Moreover, the problem is exacerbated by weak enforcement of national legislation. The police do not have an operating unit which is specifically tasked with capturing illegal firearms. Moreover, the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO), the regulatory office responsible for licensing firearms and storing illegal firearms captured by the police has no units at the provincial level”.
“The Philippines is also home to over 100 private armed groups, which are linked to political elites. Such groups have been involved in violence in all five provinces of the ARMM. Their existence complicates the disarmament process because their members are unlikely to surrender their firearms. Trafficking of weapons is possible because of the connivance of state representatives who can produce the necessary legal paperwork”.
From: Conflict analysis of Muslim Mindanao by Anna Louise Strachan