THE PHILIPPINES PEOPLE, POVERTY AND POLITICS Also by Leonard Davis RESIDENTIAL CARE: A COMMUNITY RESOURCE SEX AND THE SOCIAL WORKER CARING FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL PUPILS The Philippines People, Poverty and Politics

Leonard Davis Principal Lecturer, Department of Social Administration City Polytechnic, Hong Kong

Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 978-1-349-07170-8 ISBN 978-1-349-07168-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-07168-5 ©Leonard Davis, 1987 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1987 All rights reserved. For information, write: Scholarly & Reference Division, St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010

First published in the United States of America in 1987

ISBN 978-0-312-00412-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Davis, Leonard. The Philippines. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Philippines-Politics and government. 2. Philippines-Description and travel-1975- 3. Poor-Philippines. I. Title. DS686.5.D383 1987 959.9'046 86-27990 ISBN 978-0-312-00412-5 To the late Sister Nanette Berentsen, CJP Contents

List of Plates IX Preface xi List of Abbreviations xiii

Glossary XV

Map of the Philippines XX

1 Custom, Practice and Impression 1 2 The Country in Context 30 3 Poverty, Sickness and Disease 63 4 Prostitution 99 5 Persecution and Oppression 125 6 1985: The Child, the Priest and the Crowd 166 7 Resistance and Revolution 180 8 Certainty and Uncertainty 198 9 Postscript 217

Bibliography 221 Index 223

Vll List of Plates

Plate I Children of the Philippines Plate II Everyday life (a) Making rice cakes (b) The pump is often the centre of the community Plate III (a) Mantoganoy (b) During the mass wedding at Mantoganoy Plate IV (a) Pedal power in Jolo (b) Mysterious fires often destroy large squatter areas Plate V (a) A farmer's small house made of nipa, near Lake Mainit, Agusan del Norte (b) The Muslim communities are among the poorest. These children are Badjaos, a timid people who build their homes on stilts and flee easily in the face of danger Plate VI (a) Genus Carabao (b) Sister Nanette (second from the right), to whom this book is dedicated, with the author and a group of health professionals Plate VII The memory of Jose Rizallives. The painting depicting his life and death is in the museum at Fort Santiago, Plate VIII (a) The garbage tip in Manila is known as the Smoking Mountain (b) Children and pigs rummage along the river bank Plate IX (a) Dolfs Bunag teaches a health worker to pull teeth, in Kitcharao (b) A leper woman (c) This boy's fat tummy is caused by schistosomiasis Plate X (a) Olongapo, a centre for prostitution (b) Santa Monica, Manila, a centre for child prostitution Plate XI (a) Tribal woman and child. Tribal Filipinos are among the poorest people in the rural communities (b) Attending a bodong, in Bontoc Plate XII (a) Father Brian Gore celebrating mass in prison. He was held on false charges of multiple murder for more than a year (b) Father Pete, the smiling priest (c) A loyal church worker, Albert Garrido Plate XIII (a) A KAPATID poster in the TFDP office, Manila (b) A TFDP poster from Mindanao, where some of the worst atrocities have occurred

lX X List of Plates

Plate XIV (a) Informers, intelligence, insurgents or innocent bystanders? (b) Prison conditions are very poor Plate XV (a) Father Tullio Favali (b) Cesar Climaco Plate XVI (a) Conrado Balweg (b) Marcos, tested in crisis: posterfor 1986 election Preface

It is no easy task to move into another country, another culture, and to make sense of the attitudes, values and experiences of the people that are the result of traditions, origins, history and opportunity. The experience of the individual faced with this mountain of new material - reading, discussion, observation and participation - is unique. It is also selective, relies heavily on the perceptions of others, weighs up opposing views, and emerges as a reflection of the author's own beliefs, values and aspirations. 'Truth' is impossible to establish. The Philippine presidential elections in 1986 made that quite clear. Facts - in the form of statistics, direct observation and personal accounts - remain open to question but are more difficult to refute. In this book - describing poverty, brutality and the determination of the United States- the reader is asked to focus on the implications for the individual citizen and his family, on the quality of their lives, and on the uncertainty of their very existence. The people I have spoken to, the people I have lived with, deserve better than this. Is it possible that Corazon Aquino can introduce sufficient change to prevent a real revolution? I have received considerable support and encouragement on my travels in the Philippines and, above all, friendship. Many people crossed my path just once; others throughout a six-year period. Sometimes, the circumstances have been difficult; always the welcome has been complete. As case illustrations, I have used - as far as possible - those associated with people I have known, people I have met, people I have admired. Some have died but are well known - Nanette Berensten, Cesar Climaco and Tullio Favali- and their memories and achievements live on; others have died almost anonymously, many children among them. In writing this book I have drawn on a number of unmarked documents and unreferenced photocopied articles, circulated in haste to groups of church workers and others. A list of formal references is given in the Bibliography. I am, however, especially grateful to Sophie Dick of Kapatiran-Kaunlaran Foundation Inc., Manila, for permission to use in Chapter 4 some of her information on prostitution, especially in relation to Samar, Leyte and Pagsanjan; to the Komite ng Sambayanang Pilipino (Filipino People's

Xl xii Preface

Committee), Utrecht, Holland, for allowing me to make use of their publication, Health - The Fruit of Struggle; and to the publishers of IBON Databank Philippines, Inc., Manila, for permission to extract material from one of their fortnightly issues of !BON Facts and Figures, no. 160, 15 April1985. All the photographs in the plate section were taken by me except plate XV( a); I do not know who that photographer was. This book would never have been written without the help of two groups of people: the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines; and the Columban Fathers, a missionary group working in the country. With the cooperation of colleagues at the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong I was able to arrange my work schedule in a way which allowed me to complete the book: Tina Leung of the Department of Social Administration led the team - Mandy Chiu, Agnes Choi, Carmen Chung, Kitty Kwok- who worked hard to type and re-type numerous drafts of the text. Rhodalyn Morat6 kindly assisted with the index. My thanks to them all. LEONARD DAVIS Hong Kong List of Abbreviations

ACTS Active Counter Terrorist Sector AI Amnesty International AFP Armed Forces of the Philippines AMRSP Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines ASEAN Association of South-east Asian Nations ASSO Arrest, Search and Seizure Order BALAI Building Asian Links Against Imperialism BCC Basic Christian Community/Communities BEPZ Bataan Export Processing Zone BMA Bangsa Moro Army CDC Commonwealth Development Corporation CIA Central Intelligence Agency COMELEC Commission on Elections CNL Christians for Liberation CPP Communist Party of the Philippines ECP Experimental Cinema of the Philippines Huk Hukb6 ng Bayan Laban sa Hap6n IB Infantry Battalion ICHDF Integrated Civilian Home Defence Force IMF International Monetary Fund INP Integrated National Police IRRI International Rice Research Institute 4Ks or 4KKs Kalihokan sa mga Kabos Alang sa Kagawasan ng Kalingkawasan KAGUMA Katipunan ng mga Gurong KAPATID Kapisanan para sa Pagpapalaya at Amnestiya ng mga Detenido sa Pilipinas KBL Kilusang Bagong Lipunan KKK Kilusang Kabuhayan sa Kaunlaran KM Kabatang Makabayan LIKADA Liga sa sa Davao MASAPA Makabayang Samahan Pankalusugan MBA Military Bases Agreement MMC Metro Manila Commission MNLF Moro National Liberation Front NAMFREL National Citizens' Movement

xiii XIV List of Abbreviations

NASUTRA National Sugar Trading Agency NDF National Democratic Front NISA National Intelligence Security Agency NPA New People's Army NSL National Service Law PANAMIN Presidential Assistance to Tribal Minorities PC Philippine Constabulary PCO Presidential Commitment Order PO Presidential Decree PDA Preventive Detention Order PHILSUCOM Philippine Sugar Company PIME Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions PMBA Philippines Missionary Benevolent Association PSC Presidential Security Command RUC Regional Unified Command SEALS Sea, Air and Land Services SOF Special Operations Force SPI Summary Preliminary Investigations SPRA Sasa-Panakan Residents' Alliance STOP Stop Trafficking of Pilipinas SVD Society of the Divine Word UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation WB World Bank Glossary

Alpha Omega Beginning and End anitos spirits anting -anting amulets apparatchik political agent (Russian) armada armed men Bagong Alyansang Makabayan New Alliance Party Bagong Jerusalem New Jerusalem bakla homosexual( s) barangay small community, smaller than a barrio barkada gang/group of friends barrio village Batasang Pambansa National Assembly Bathalang Maykapal The Creator bodong peace pact bolo large knife bugaw pimp(s) Caballeros de Rizal Friends of Rizal camote sweet potato carabao water buffalo carinderia eating places cog on type of dried grass communides ecclesial de base Basic Christian Communities conquistadores conquerors diwatas fairies Doce Pares Twelve Pairs Dos por Dos Two by Two encomiendas grants of land made by Spanish kings ermitano hermit fiesta feast day funeraria funeral parlour Gamay nga Kristianong Basic Christian Community Katilingban ginamos dried salted fish hacienda sugar plantation haciendero sugar plantation owner

XV XVI Glossary

Hukbalahtip shortened form of Hukb6 ng Bayan Laban sa Hap6n Hukb6 ng Bayan Laban sa People's Anti-Japanese Army Hap6n hulbot military practice of forcefully taking detainees for interrogation or to act as guides !laga Rats Ka brother kaaway enemy kababayan townmate(s) Patriotic Youth kaingin clearing Kalihokan sa mga Kabos Alang Philippine Democratic sa Kagawasan ng Missionary Church Kalingkawasan Kapisanan para sa Pagpapalaya Group for Freedom and Amnesty at Amnestiya ng mga Detenido for Filipino Detainees sa Pilipinas Kataastaasang Katipunan nang Highest and Most Respectable manga Anak nang Bayan Society of the Sons of the People Katipunan ng mga Gurong Federation of Patriotic Teachers Makabayan Katoliko Largo Catholic League Kilusang Bagong Lipunan New Society Movement Kilusang Kabuhayan sa Movement for a Better Life Kaunlaran Komite ng Sambayanang Pilipino Filipino People's Committee kumbento priests' house Kumunoy ng Kahirapan Whirlpool of Poverty lana oil libretas little books Liga sa Kabataan sa Davao Davao Youth Alliance Makabayang Samahan Patriotic Association of Health Pankalusugan Workers mestizos those of mixed blood ninang godmother ninong godfather nip a type of grass used in making huts Glossary xvii

Oplan Katatagan Operation Plan Stability pakyaw system piecework system pamatdan preparing cane sticks for planting pangat leader Patay-Buhi Die and Live PC'ing Yapak Barefoot Philippine Constabulary Piniling Nasud Chosen People rebelde rebels Samahan ng Demokratikong Association of Democratic Kabataan Youth sari-sari store small general store sekreta intelligence men sitio housing site Tadtad Chop-chop tambay street urchin tong bribe (for protection) tuba drink obtained by tapping the top of a coconut tree wagwag type of rice we/gang bayan people's strike welgistas strikers When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist. Dom Helder Camara South China Sea LUZON

•Bontoc eBaguio

PACIFIC OCEAN

Angeles k Air Base ··Ciar "\.,

Olongapo Quezon City Subic Nava 1 Base • •Manila Mariveles

VISAYAS

Butuan AGUSAN DEL NORTE 500 km 4 Cagayande Oro AGUSANSUR DEL 0 MISAMIS (';; ORIENTAL ~'mb::ga 0BASILAN (" P cr:~ MINDANAO Jol~ e\'390 £) I> •p,.tC "w v P sv\v Map of the Philippines

XX