The ambassador: promoting goodwill

"Your Excellency, welcome to Lanao del Norte--the area of 104th Infantry Brigade," I greeted the US Ambassador Kristie Kenney in according her the military courtesy extended to visiting dignitaries.

Ambassador Kenney was the first and highest ranking foreign diplomat to have visited my brigade's area of responsibility since I assumed. While her plane landed at Iligan Airport in Baloi, she was heading for Marawi City in Lanao del Sur that day to visit the progress of USAID projects. The ambassador was very spirited even recalling our first meeting in 2007, when I represented the 10th Infantry Division in a social function she hosted, aboard USS Blue Ridge--the command ship of the US 7th Fleet--then anchored at General Santos City.




Our brief discussions with her along with Lanao del Norte Governor Khalid Dimaporo and Robert Barnes of USAID (Office of Economic Development and Governance) were on projects to sustain peace and development in the area. She was glad to note that the US military have been supporting me very well in my civil-military activities. She clarified that requests for US military assistance by the communities will have to be channeled to the local military authorities.

As heavy rains in the afternoon stalled her trip back to Manila, she made use of the moments for light exchanges with the people around and cheerfully obliged to pose for picture taking. She even delighted them by distributing souvenir US-RP flags lapel pins.

Her enthusiasm and boldness to reach out to the depressed areas even those with negative travel advisories may have been dreadful to her security detail. Nonetheless, this effort indicates sincerity and resolve to pursue the direction set by US President Barack Obama as laid down in his inaugural speech: "America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity . . . that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace . . . To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect . . . To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds."

Ms. Kenney's serious commitment in best representing her country--to "breakdown the network of violence and hatred," and to promote the good will of the American people--may very well regard her as an ambassador in its truest sense.

May God Bless our ambassadors as they promote good will, harmony, and peace. God Bless the United States of America and God Bless the Philippines!

Welcoming our prodigal brothers

Reminiscent of the story of the “prodigal son,” this time to our Filipino brothers, I along with my division commander and the provincial governor received the group of Mabaning Andamun Lucsadato.

Mabaning, known as either Benjie or Protector—the highest ranking commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) who has so far defected to the government— is the commander of the 101st Brigade of the former Camp Bilal Base Command of the MILF Northern Mindanao Front. His group served as guards of the former the camp’s complex covering the towns of Munai and Poona Piagapo in Lanao del North and further south in Piagapo and Madalum in Lanao del Sur.

His forces, while not under the control of Abdullah Macapaar alias Bravo, have given support—security, manpower, and supplies—to the MILF activities in the area. Bravo’s group has been outlawed and is being sought after for attacking the towns of Kauswagan and Kolambugan in Lanao del Norte in August 2008, killing 26 people and burning several houses.

See related articles at Philippine Army Website, Inquirer.Net, Journal Online, Business Mirror, ManilaTimes, PIA, and AFP Website (PDF).

Benjie came to me about a week ago saying he and his group wanted to lay down their firearms and return to our fold. He said he was tired of fighting and always on the run. He wanted to go back to his family whom he had neglected for being a leader of the MILF. I welcomed his intentions, telling him it was an honorable thing to do.






I told him that he and his men are better off joining the government to pursue more productive activities for their own families and their respective communities instead of wasting their time and energies in a shooting war with government forces—even as the lives of their families and the ordinary civilians have been caught in between. Their return will surely go a long way in reducing the threat posed by the outlaws in the area, hasten a climate of peace, and help build better communities in the province.

The decision of Benjie and his group to return is a victory on their part as well as of their families as they made a bold but beneficial move to help our society. We, in the military also share this achievement since this is in pursuit of the priorities set by the 1st Division Commander, Major General Romeo Lustestica, in upholding the peace process while taking punitive as well as restrictive measures against the lawless group of the MILF. Similarly, this is surely a welcome occasion by our local government executives with no less than the governor strongly promoting the establishment of a secure and peaceful condition so progress and development can take place in Lanao del Norte.




Perhaps, it is either by coincidence or by deliberate hostile action that the nearby Agus Bridge was blasted few hours before their formal welcome. Despite this, the ceremony—in the presence of their families whom we have invited—pushed through with their presentation to the public and the symbolic acceptance of the group by the Commander of the 1st Infantry Division of the Philippine Army; subsequently, they were turned over to our political leader, the Governor of Lanao del Norte—Honorable Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo—who administered their oath of allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines to indicate their return to our society.

On their own, the former rebels shed their MILF uniforms and burned them.

Welcome back to the fold.

Pinning our hopes on the youth … our children

Our hopes for the future are pinned on our children. And school graduation exercises celebrate this event with the awarding of diplomas and medals proclaiming the children’s achievement. It is usually an emotionally charged affair when tears are shed—of joy, of gratitude, of pride, of hope, and perhaps ... even of despair—by the graduating students, teachers, and parents, and even by guests. The deeper significance of the occasion is that our individual and collective dreams are being passed to the youth, to the children.










I had the opportunity to again witness this thrilling celebration in the 24th Commencement Exercises of Balo-i National High School in Lanao del Norte. In a Christian-dominated class marching for graduation, about 40% of the 149 students were Muslims. Despite this, Johari M. Abubacar, a well-mannered Muslim, was the class valedictorian. He reaped a number of awards: Best in Mathematics, Best in Science, Best in Mapeh, and Best in Aral Panlipunan. I would say that he was quite good particularly as I listened to him deliver a remarkable speech from memory. This, I thought, was an excellent example of a youth upon whom we can pin our hopes for the future. But, my upbeat feeling was soon overwhelmed by a sense of despair: he may not make it to college due to financial incapacity. Later, I was comforted with the thought that the teachers and some guests were doing something to put him to school. Still, I asked myself how many of our promising youths are not accorded the chance to deliver their full potential.

Mindful of this dilemma together with my own parental responsibilities, I took my turn to deliver my message on the adopted commencement theme—“My Education: My Contribution to the Future.”

Message - My Education

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Significance of "Day of Sacrifice"

I recently spoke in a gathering, mostly attended by Muslim folks from the Provinces of Lanao, for "Eid'l Adha" (Day of Suffering) commemorating the occasion of God's intervention as Abraham offered in sacrifice the life of--Ismael--his most favored son. This story is both recorded in the Bible and the Koran where lessons on "faith" and "sacrifice" can be reflected on. Lessons that can, perhaps, show us hope for a better tommorow particularly here in this conflict-ridden land of Mindanao.



Relatedly, in the article--"Soldiers are sacrificing comforts, liberty and lives," a writer of MindanNews posted the speech finding the theme of the activity "Peace through Reconciliation" relevant to the times.

Speech - Eidl Adha

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