d-_-b "OUGHTOPIAN" d-_-b

Doing menial jobs or chores during summer are not new to me anymore. When I was a kid, I did some errands for my father. Last year’s summer, I was hired as legal assistant/secretary in my uncle’s law firm. It was truly a worthwhile experience and my first exposure to the work place. I was able to talk and mingle to people who you don’t usually see or bump on the streets. I was also able to grasp some useful concepts and processes on legal matters. And it helped a lot in my communication and analytical skills. Indeed, I learned a lot of things from that experience which I could use in the future and hopefully in a career in law. But my engagement on legal matters and concepts did not end last year.

This summer I’m very grateful to be part of Philippine Earth Justice Center (PEJC), an organization that specializes on environmental law and other legal matters in line with environmental protection. Unlike my uncle’s law firm, this organization does not cater on big businesses and private individuals but mainly concerns on protecting the environment through the rule of law.  

Our On-the-Job-Training (OJT) in the Philippine Earth Justice Center (PEJC) officially started last April 14, 2012. And because that was the first day of work, I came very early in the office with much excitement and eagerness to start my day. Indeed, I was not disappointed with what I came for. First and foremost, Atty. Joan Dulhao, our intern coordinator, oriented us about the organization and the things we must do. And she gave us some background on the recent mining case in Midsalip, Zamboanga del Sur that the organization is currently working on and shared some legal concepts and procedures on environmental cases. Consequently, my co – interns and I were greeted with towering documents that needed to be compiled and sorted as evidence to the said mining case which took us the whole day to finish.

In our next meeting, we were able to meet and talk to some of the most prominent environmental lawyers in Cebu namely Atty. Gloria “Golly” Ramos, PEJC executive director, and Atty. Ben Cabrido. They shared their expertise on environmental law and talked some environmental issues and concerns in the province such as the Cordova Reclamation Project. Atty. Ramos also told us that we will have a bunch of activities to do with during our stay and this OJT will certainly be a crash course on environmental law. Then, Atty. Dulhao suggested that we will have a Dolphin and Marine Life Survey in Bais City, Negros Oriental on April 23 – 26 which is our first field work. And we really looked forward on doing it (I’ll share next week our experience in the dolphin survey).

 And another activity that kept us busy this week is our radio program hosting with Atty. Gloria Ramos in DYRC. She has a weekly radio program “Hagit sa Kinaiyahan” from 10 – 11 am which tackles environmental issues, concerns and practices. And being PEJC interns, we are tasked to co – anchor with her and this coming Saturday will be our first time to be heard on air. I hope we can do this right considering Atty. Ramos won’t be around. 

All in all, our first week in PEJC is really “full-packed” and quite productive. And I’m looking forward for the all activities we will be doing in the future. Despite the tasks given to us and no compensation at all, I started to love my work because it serves for a greater purpose. Indeed, there is no greater compensation that one can achieve than protecting, preserving and promoting the environment for our generation and for generations to come. 

The war between the Khmer Rouge guerrillas and the Cambodian government forces was one of the bloodiest civil wars in the 20^th century that almost wiped out an entire population because of intense brutalities and atrocities from both sides. Furthermore, the social fabric of Cambodian society had almost collapsed after the reign of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. It had profound effects to all levels of Cambodian society and government. The movie Killing Fields depicted the plight of the Cambodians during this period and their sufferings under the Khmer Rouge regime. It conveyed very powerful and glaring images on the political and social aspects of the country which led to its unfortunate and sorrowful situation. Indeed the war had divided the country and affected the majority of the people within it.

The movie is quite lengthy but it provides a lot of insights and ideas to me which are very crucial and significant in understanding the nature of war and its effects, whether directly or indirectly, to the people, the country and the international community. Obviously, the movie sought to show the real lives of Cambodians who were caught in the war and had struggled for survival. But there were much deeper issues behind the war that must be unravelled such as the US hegemony in the region and the involvement of other non-state actors. Importantly, it must be put in mind that the prize of war (holding or gaining power) was and will not always outweigh the cost of lives lost, families broken and opportunities missed because of war. Moreover, looking into those people who had bloody wounds from stray bullets and shrapnel, amputated limbs from exploding landmines and other inhumane acts of the Khmer Rouge had really disturbed me a lot. But, the sight of children crying and dying for desperate help made my heart sob. I could really feel their hardships and misery leaving in a war torn country without a certainty of the future. Then, the scenes during the reign of the Khmer Rouge regime were even more horrible and gruesome. The Khmer Rouge brainwashed new generations of Cambodians by indoctrinating them with its crooked ideology. And they despised and killed those learned people who defied their authority or voiced against them. Ironically, they claimed that they are serving the people but they were the worst violators of the human rights of those people.

In spite of the wasted blood, sweat and tears of people in the movie, it has given us an important message that would always remind us: human beings are given the ability to make and remake their own future. Unfortunately, this is not always the case in reality because people are sometimes subjected or influenced by the other more powerful individual or group of individuals which dictate the course of their lives. Other factors such as culture, sex, race and social institutions may also affect the decision-making and orientation of the people. Moreover, political change cannot be instituted instantly. Society must undergo certain transitions in order to progress and change which cannot be compensated by any armed uprising. While some people believe that war is inevitable to change, I maintain that they don’t really understand its real social cost and implication which could be greatly remedied if we resort into more diplomatic and peaceful means of conflict resolution.    

     It’s been a month ago since our PS180 (Philippine Foreign Policy) had a trip in the island of Bohol. The main objective of our trip was to “evaluate and assess the impact of the policies (treaties and agreements) that the Philippines engaged with other states and regional organization in the political, economic and social aspects. Basically, our main concern was to observe and understand the dynamics and effects of economic diplomacy in the LGU and how it helped the communities in the province of Bohol.

     Economic diplomacy has long been one of the most vital and critical pillars of our country’s foreign policy. Since its inception in Marcos’ development diplomacy, it has been employed by ensuing administrations to attract foreign investments and gain foreign aids in our country from foreign states and international institutions and agencies. Its sole purpose is to foster economic growth and development for the country in order to address the looming problems in the society such as unemployment, poverty and social injustice.

      However, the dynamics and processes in economic diplomacy have not been devoid of irregularities, malpractices and corruption by our high officials in the government. Few years ago, the controversial and dubious NBN-ZTE deal between China and the Philippines is a glaring example of how international agreements through economic diplomacy have been used as means by many politicians and businessmen for their own selfish ends. It is very disheartening and disappointing that the ruling elites in the government used it for their own self-interests while depriving the greater population of the benefits and opportunities.

       Despite the lapses and deficiencies of our government, there are still instances in which foreign and local economic cooperation has improved the lives of grassroot communities in the countryside. In the succeeding pages, we will see how people organizations (PO) have been vital in pursuing development in their own communities. These POs are funded by international agencies through foreign aids such as USAID, AUSAID, among others.

        The practices and experiences of people organizations in Bohol, particularly in the Municipality of Maribojoc, are definitely good cases at hand. These POs exemplify a working and efficient system in which there is close collaboration among all the stakeholders: the International agencies, local NGOs, LGU and the community through the people organizations.

        It is very evident in these communities the impact of genuine economic diplomacy.  It has provided stable and sustainable livelihood for the community. Furthermore, these POs have been the main catalyst of social change and development through a more participatory and responsive governance. The POs have been also significant as vanguards of local cultural and historical heritages. And they play as the main keeper and protector of the environment against the exploitative motives of indifferent businessmen. In spite of these crucial roles, like any organizations, POs also encounter significant challenges and problems in their own organizations and daily operations.  

       The fact that our country is still striving to cope from the adverse effects of the economic downturns and crises in the international economy, it is only rational that the government should step up to pursue concrete policies and actions to counter these problems. Depending too much on the remittances of OFWs is not a very wise decision because of its ambivalent nature, the involvement of POs in promoting development in the communities should be given more attention and importance because they provide alternative ways in helping stimulate the growth of our economy by creating new jobs, promoting tourist spots and providing new industries that have a substantial economic potentials. It is through these reasons that good practices and ways in  these POs could be emulated by other LGUs in the country to ensure genuine and sustainable development for everyone.