Panel on “Solving the Peace Puzzle”
The Pursuit of Peace in Sulu – A Transformation of Hearts and Minds
By Milet B. Mendoza
Executive Coordinator, Tabang Mindanaw
Speech delivered at the 9th AYALA YOUNG LEADERS CONGRESS
8 February 2007, San Miguel Corporation – MTC, Alfonso, Cavite

If you and I were born in this side of the world, we would be among these faces – the faces of the wonderful people of the Sulu archipelago (with flash presentation of Sulu people).

I just got back this morning from Sulu. I leave Sulu at a time when many pressing tasks are pending but I had thought to myself that being here with you in this Congress is equally important. I thank the officers of Ayala Corporation, headed by Mr. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II and the organizers of this Ayala Young Leaders Congress for thinking of me.

I come here representing my humble organization, Tabang Mindanaw, founded in the same year as this Congress was. I am proud to say that Ayala Foundation, together with Assisi Foundation and the Phil Daily Inquirer, is its Co-Founder and Co-Chair.
Almost nine years of Tabang Mindanaw have honed me to be a humanitarian worker, which has become my first passion. I see hope in the most desperate situations. In natural disasters, as in the mudslides of Infanta, Quezon, and the recent typhoons that affected Bicol, as well as in man made disasters as in the complex chronic conflict situation in Sulu, I have witnessed face to face the true strength of the human spirit. It may seem ironic to most but indeed, the best in people manifests itself in the worst of times. This is very true among the Tausugs in Sulu.

I have been moving back and forth in Sulu for the past 11 years, but more consistently staying put for the past two years to oversee Tabang Mindanaw’s human security program with water and sanitation as a critical entry point. We are also struggling to develop a program on a culture of peace, transforming a society from a culture of violence. To this day, my sojourn in Sulu has been most challenging and informative.
Sulu is the poorest province in the country. Yet not many are aware that even before there was a Philippines, there was already Sulu in the 16th century as a proud bastion of culture and trade in the south.

Basing on its human development indicators, it is said that if Sulu were to be taken out as a country, it would be among the poorest countries in the world – as in Sierra Leone and Niger in Africa. Life span in Sulu is 52 years; only three out of 10 families have access to water. 93% of the water sources Tabang Mindanaw was able to survey and tested for bacteriology, are ecoli contaminated. Sanitation is at its poorest. People defecate anywhere just like animals. During the conduct of participatory rapid appraisals in one distant community, I was shocked to know that the people were not even aware that diarrhea is a water-borne disease. I say all these not to shock you. I say this to point to the fact that, on this day and age, many groups of people continue to be marginalized and deprived of basic human dignity, whether deliberate or not.

Tabang Mindanaw’s mission in Sulu is to raise awareness on the basic rights of people to live in dignity. We are not there because we are charitable or generous of heart. Rather, we are there because we respect the right of every human person to live in dignity just like each of us in this room – in this side of the world.

Nobody in Sulu wants to live in war. Just like you and me, Suluanos aspire more than anything else to live in peace. I had met an old imam (who is over 100 years old), who has been displaced for many years from his home in the upland barangays of Indanan where constant military operations take place. He shared with me his dream about returning home, that he does not even need “a bed for the night” – he just wants to “snore in his sleep under the moon and the stars”.

In a comprehensive eight-month study we did on Sulu, Tabang Mindanaw concludes that despite millions of dollars and numerous studies undertaken, peace remains elusive. We reiterate that in order to address the human security concerns in Sulu, one must appreciate thoroughly its complexities – its history, culture, and the other factors that made Sulu to what it has become today. We all know that not all that you hear, see and read about Sulu are true. Much of it, I believe, is part of the propaganda on the global war on terrorism. The traditional clear, hold, consolidate and develop approach has been proven to be ineffective time and again. A reverse process is long overdue.
Leadership is about passion. It is about overcoming one’s fears to pursue such passion. It is about being clear with what you truly believe in and uphold. It is not about being perfect – but only in love and humility.

Sulu continues to transform me. The universal values of love and justice, of loyalty and solidarity are just very present. I strongly believe that the same principles that make up the Tausugs as fierce and courageous warriors will bring about the same force that would transform them as warriors for peace, ever vigilant. Tabang Mindanaw’s engagement with grassroots Islamic communities in the gimba (forest) continues to witness this.

I know there are many reasons that each of you may have for thinking of leaving your country. But I am also certain that there are just as many if not more reasons to stay. I have the plight of the peoples of Sulu archipelago as my personal reason. And I choose to stay in the most beautiful part of this country.

Assalamu alaikum. Magsukul kanyo katan.
Thank you very much to all of you. And peace be with you.