Kidlat de Guia’s “Beyond Politics and Power: A New Peace in Mindanao” premieres at the Goethe Institut.

June 28, 2005

Goethe Institut, German Cultural Centre

Quezon City, Metro Manila

It’s not every day that you see government officials, rebel leaders, NGO heads, foreign dignitaries, filmmakers, artists and writers gathered under one roof, exchanging ideas good-naturedly over red wine and penne pasta. Then again, it’s not every day that this diverse array of representatives can celebrate the implementation of a unique peace process in war-damaged Mindanao, and the premiere of a short film documenting this process.

For the past two years, away from the media hype on Mindanao and the MILF peace talks, the government has been engaged in peace negotiations with the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Mindanao or the RPM-M, a breakaway group of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CCP-NPA).

From the beginning, this peace process was unique: instead of the government or a foreign country, a non-government agency-Balay Mindanaw, a Cagayan de Oro-based NGO-was asked to act as the neutral independent secretariat. As pointed out by Kaloy Manlupig, the President of the Balay Mindanaw Foundation, this peace negotiation does not involve “complex political negotiations” but rather”a local peace and development agenda that will have an immediate impact on the ground.” The local constituents are recognized and consulted in a series of barangay consultations in areas where the RPM-M has presence; resources and needs are identified, and projects to immediately address these needs are proposed.

The German Development Service, also known as the Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED), has been a partner in Balay Mindanaw’s facilitation of this unique process since the beginning. The DED has provided invaluable support, both in the form of securing funding and, more importantly, in the form of expertise, as when they brought in Paul Clifford from the UK as a peace adviser. Clifford, who has worked towards peace development in areas like Yugoslavia and Somalia, said that “This is the first time I’ve been involved in a peace process where the emphasis is on the development of communities, rather than on the political process.””Beyond Politics and Power: A New Peace in Mindanao”-Kidlat de Guia’s documentary-was commissioned by the DED and chronicles this new peace process in a balanced, intelligent manner-not shirking from depicting possible pitfalls, while maintaining an overall tone of optimism regarding the undertaking.

Principal figures involved in the process are interviewed in the film, such as Kaloy Manlupig, Ike de los Reyes, Political Adviser to the RPM-M; Christoph Dehn, Country Director of the DED; Sec. Corazon “Dinky” Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development; Sec. Teresita”Ging" Quintos-Deles from Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process; Franklin Quijano, Chairman of the GRP Panel for Peace Negotiations with the RPM-M, and numerous others, not least of which are the people from the barangays themselves.

Director Kidlat de Guia, no stranger to documentaries, spoke about the “more difficult, more complicated” nature of the making of”Beyond Politics and Power.” “The issues involved are a lot deeper,” he said, and”You couldn’t dictate when things were happening”-appointments were broken, unforeseen events would occur. However, Dinky Soliman, in a statement delivered on her behalf by Hon. Ruel Lucentales, the Assistant Secretary of the DSWD, stressed the importance of the film, stating that documents such as these have “the potential to involve more people” in the process, and also raise awareness of possible inadequacies in its implementation. As de Guia said, with his characteristic sense of humor,”If Ike de los Reyes and Franklin Quijano are the two ’hearts’ of the peace process, and this film helps in some small way-you can consider me the little toe of the peace process.”

Many memorable sentiments were expressed that night. Franklin Quijano said that “we must be bold, not in battle, but in reaching out to the downtrodden,” and that these new negotiations are”contributing a template to a process that will be historical, and significant in our country.” Ike de los Reyes admitted that “building machineries for peace is more difficult than firing our guns,” but that ultimately, their goal is to make armed struggle-and their very organization-obsolete, by ensuring that the people are empowered and well provided for. Ruel Lucentales, originally from Mindanao himself, probably said it best when he said that”this film has again stirred in me the feeling that Mindanao is indeed a promised land.”

From the outside perspective: Without peace, there can be no development, and without development, there can be no peace...

As people from the DED like to say, without peace, there can be no development, and without development, there can be no peace. Now that the people’s needs and suggestions are being voiced, government must demonstrate its commitment to seeing that these needs are adequately met. As the people attending the premiere at the Goethe Institute that night well know, there is much to be proud of, and much still to be done, when it comes to the utilization of this new process, in pursuit of a new peace.