AUGUST 28 Afternoon Session on Child Soldiers: A Dangerous Playground, “Addressing the issue on the rights of Child Soldiers”

During the afternoon session last august 28 our class had another talk, this time we tackled the issue on child soldiers. We were fortunate to have two speakers one from the local arena and the other from an international arena, Dickson Hermoso, a chief of staff, civil military officer, peace process officer, human rights officer and a former child soldier in Cotabato and Kevin Ras a former child Soldier in Iraq.

Col. Dickson Hermosa quoted Dr. Gracia in stating that “Child soldiering means any child, boy or girl, aged less than 18 years who is recruited compulsory by force or adheres with the intention of using him or her contracting armed forces or paramilitary forces of defense units.” Col. Dickson Hermoso stated that child soldiering is very much evident in Islamic societies for the reason of religious obligation in a form of Jihad, likewise children are recruited in the Bangsamoro region in order to accomplish Territorial Independence where in children are brainwashed in terms of tradition , culture and religion. Kevin Ras on the other hand shared his experience in encountering child soldiers who died in Iraq for the purpose of implanting explosives he also cited the measures his camp would do such as rehabilitation and reintegration programs whenever they were able to capture child soldiers from Iraq.

Sadly children as young as preschool students are being forcibly recruited, coerced and influenced to become fighters and act like beasts. They are conspired and panned by adults through teaching different ideologies, which they feed to these young minds. In effect children are drawn into violence that they cannot oppose because of the consequences they could face for refusing to comply. However these child soldiers are frequently subjected to extreme abuse and manipulation during combat and training and usually suffer more than the adults. In my judgment some of the reasons why child soldiers were forced to join and cater to terrorist and armed units are simply because of hunger, poverty and ideology. For this reason all states must do something to eradicate this inhumane practice. Simple peace treaties do not address the use of child soldiers thus this issue must immediately be addressed by crafting viable policies.

AUGUST 28 Morning Session on Public Diplomacy: Seminar on Philippine Advancement through Security and Promotion of Information

The expansion of democracy in the modern times has shaped a new environment in the international system where in government can win hearts and minds of the people. Primarily this is how public diplomacy moves by striving to influence foreign nationals and the community with values, policies and actions of their very own government to be supported. In this light, public diplomacy can be identified as the attempt of a nation to influence public or elites of the next leaders or other nations for the intention of using foreign policy for its objective. The government tries to communicate their ideas, culture, goals and current policies with the public both foreign and local. Basically public diplomacy has 2 kinds of aims: short and long term. Short term is used for current policies that can be viewed as a concept for a state to improve its image overseas, which will be flattering or favorable to the state. Long term aims on the other hand is for endorsing its culture. One strength of public diplomacy is that it makes use of soft power instead of hard power and has brought reliance of citizens on their local press and governments for information on foreign events, which amplified possible targets for diplomatic messages. Lastly it also delivers both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy in a manner that it is proposed for national interest in pursuit of promotion of trade, investment and international tourism where there is collaboration between both the domestic and international policy arenas likewise with the public and private sphere.

The class was required to be present during the morning session of the SEM-CDA class s last august 28 which was about public diplomacy. Domingo Enerio, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Tourism did a phenomenal job as our speaker since he was very articulate and he had to fill in for the other speakers who were absent that day. He repeatedly told us that our country is beautiful, actually every country has a beauty of its own and as citizens of the country, we are the number 1 ambassador of the country. He also stressed the importance of us Filipinos supporting and promoting our country to other countries to develop nationalism, a profound love for one’s country and also help our country to rise and encourage foreign businesses and tourists to invest in our country which is also a considerably large part of our economy. During the question and answer portion he was asked mostly about the hostage that transpired last August 23. Although he repeatedly said that DOT is a very aggressive department, in times of such tragedies aggressiveness is lessen since over-promoting the country may be seen overly disrespectful for other countries affected by it. On the lighter side that event shouldn’t be an obstacle for our country to continue to rise, since incidents as such will be learning lessons to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Major Concerns of Philippine Foreign Policy

Our class had a discussion on the major concerns of the Philippine Foreign Policies specifically the regional arrangements and multilateral organizations, territorial rights, Direct Foreign Investments, Tourism and Overseas Filipinos.

Firstly, the Philippines must promote its national interest in regional arrangements and multilateral organization by means of development diplomacy which concentrates on investment, trade and technological transfers in order to promote the Philippine’s interest in agriculture, infrastructure projects, rules of origin, non-tariff barriers, and intellectual property matters and the like. Other factors that are crucial are the involvement of our country to remain and intensify support for UN’s peacekeeping operation in war torn regions and take part in regional and international cooperation which aims to address concerns for human rights and tackle transnational crimes in order to craft laws and frameworks and reconstruct institutions involved in handling such issues.

Second, the Philippines will abide the soon to be crafted code of conduct regarding South China sea because the Philippines an countries such as China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claims to own the Spratly’s island and the South China Sea. Our country chose to settle the territorial dispute in a diplomatic manner without using coercion. Alike the Philippines, other countries agreed to share the South China Sea and convert it from a region of conflict to a region of cooperation. Another dilemma faced by the Philippines is the Moro problem where Mindanao wants to secede from the Philippines and become an independent state.

Third, direct foreign investments are crucial in our economic growth because they provide opportunities and jobs to the Filipinos. Technological transfers and infrastructures are equally important in order to expand and develop our country further in the hope of being more advanced and to catch up with the rest of the world.

Fourth, tourists spots such as Cebu, Bohol, Camiguin, Metro Manila - Tagaytay, Northern Palawan, Boracay, Clark –Subic, Ilocos, Davao shall be enhanced as tourism hubs likewise the airline industry in the country must be liberalized and improve to boost terrorism. Because amazing tourist hubs and improvement of airline industry will encourage foreigners and investors to visit and invest in our country, which will further help our economy to foster.

Lastly upholding the fundamental rights provision of protection and promotion of welfare and dignity of overseas Filipinos will remain a major concern since the overseas Filipinos continues to play a critical role in the social stability of the country’s economy since they fuel our economy through remittances. In this light the government crafts laws for their protection and safety likewise they provide assistance to Filipinos in terms of funds, programs and agencies such as the POEA, OWWA and DFA.

AUGUST 14(SEM CDA)What's your world vision? A discussion on the legal aspects of youth development programs by INGOs and local government institutions

The youth, especially the children is a sector of our society most in need of our protection but sadly, many of them are neglected and abused. In the Philippines as well as other countries, a lot of children roam around the streets, children who beg for alms of work instead of studying, which is one of his rights. In Metro Manila, we will see many children knocking on the windows of various cars for money, works under the heat of the sun just to sell sampaguita, cigarettes or newspapers. There are also children digging in garbage bins, looking for leftover food or cans and bottles that they could sell. There are also children abused by pedophiles. Sadly, children have no freedom to express themselves and make decisions appropriate to their age, for this reason as a responsible member of society we should find ways to safeguard the rights and protection of each children.

A group of SEM-CDA students presented a forum about Youth Development Programs last Saturday, August 14, 2010. These Youth Development Programs includes: Child Hope Asia, DEP-ED (MIMAROPA) and World Vision. All these organizations addressed issues regarding rights of a child, child labor, violence against children and the possible solutions and programs each organizations execute to be able to support them and uplift their lives and promote their welfare after suffering from abuse and the like. Child Hope Asia’s advocacy primarily focuses on street children throughout the world. It works toward the emancipation of the child from the suffering caused by working and living on the street. It aims is to provide psychosocial support for street children likewise give them education opportunities. World Vision on the other hand is dedicated to work with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by addressing the causes of poverty and injustice. They are known for the child sponsorship system where in, an amount of P600 can help provide children and their community access to crucial necessities such as: safe water, health care, livelihood assistance, education and the like which helps the children and the community to move forward to a more sustainable future. DEPED in partnership with MIMAROPA division aims to develop a highly competent, civic spirited, life-skilled and God loving Filipino youth towards the building of the humane healthy, productive and progressive society in the MIMAROPA Region.

In my own judgment, I am blessed to grow up from a family who safeguarded my rights as a child. Sadly not all children experience the same fate that is why I am relieved that a lot of organizations are for children empowerment. However that can never be enough to eradicate the maltreatment and injustices children go through. That is why as a responsible member of the society I will do my best to help these children the best possible way I can. This seminar was an eye opener for me and my other classmates how I wish other members of society will be aware about this prevalent issue, specially the government so that they will create viable policies that safeguard the rights of a child.

HOMEWORK ON PNOY’S ASEAN SPEECH

In my own judgment I believe that President Benigno Aquino III’s speech the Occasion of the 43rd ASEAN Foundation Day was marvelous. In general he pledged to fortify ties with the ASEAN nation. During his speech, he stated that his administration will be “more conscious” of our country’s commitment to strengthening ties with the members of the ASEAN. He also said that our country will follow a proposed code of conduct regarding South China sea that is to be drafted by the ten members of ASEAN in order to achieve political, economical, socio cultural and security goals by the year 2015, a year before he leaves the office. Lastly he emphasized the importance of building connectivity with the ASEAN for the purpose of providing a framework and build a foundation for regional cooperation on connectivity with South and East Asia. In that light he aims to create nautical highways or “RORO” projects, which will shorten the distances, bridge nations together and would possible unleash more economic opportunities for more people and expansion of market and increase in employment. I hope that his administration will be able to accomplish his goals because I believe in the new directions of our country and the capacity of the Filipino people to follow through amidst the challenges.

No Country Is An Island

BILATERAL RELATIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES WITH US, CHINA & JAPAN

Up until today, countries such as Japan, China and US have great impacts in our country’s history. US had a big influence in our country such as the kind of educational system, English language, kind of living, technologies, and even ideologies. This explains why up until now the Philippines and the US continues to have a sound bilateral relation. Our bilateral relations have been strengthen through the course of time due to wars fought together side by side, the big number of Filipino community in the US, likewise with the 9/11 tragedy which is one of the reasons why the VFA is enacted. Both the Philippines and USA made a commitment to fight global terrorism. Although our rights are stepped on we still abide by the VFA due to the fact that our country depends on the US heavily.

China on the other hand is the longest trading partner of the Philippines 10 centuries before Christ. There is no shadow of a doubt that up until now we have good ties with China. China is the largest growing economy in the world and is THE economic power. The entry of China in WTO arena is very much an advantage to our country in terms of tourism and trade where in we will be able to promote, develop and enhance trade and partnerships with China.

Conversely tracing our Philippine History under the Japanese rule, our countries had one of the worst relationships due to the hardships our ancestors experienced during their tight military rule. Its no surprise that up until now the Japanese are taking advantage of us because one of the clauses in the agreement stipulates that there will be a duty-free exchange of goods and exports from the Philippines into Japan likewise employment of a big number of Filipinos in Japan in exchange of a parcel of land in the Philippines that will become Japan’s waste disposal facility. This clause was the subject of heated protests and arguments since Filipinos objected to the Philippines being the ‘outhouse’ of Japan.

Nevertheless regardless of what we have gained and lost in our relationships with the three countries, they have helped severely in the unification of the ASEAN community, which our country is one of the founding members. This serves as a venue for further cooperation with one another in terms of the socially, economically and security.

Aside from these three countries, the Philippines is also closely working with Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia to end terrorism in the region. Likewise our country seeks to develop a stronger relation with Organizations of Islamic Community, which can which can assist us in resolving the dispute in Mindanao.
After all that’s been said and done the bottom line is that no country can survive on its own without the help of other countries. I believe that each agreement and negotiation made with other countries regardless if it was negative or positive, can help a country learn from its mistakes and grow. It is really important for countries to cooperate with one another in order to collectively achieve success.

Homework on the VFA

How does the VFA affect you as an individual?

I honestly think that the VFA is a lousy agreement. I really can’t see any authentic benefits from this arrangement. Our counter-terrorism efforts and competence are not being enhanced by the US visiting forces. It doesn’t even commit the US to supply us with modern weapons of war.

The VFA may not directly affect me as an individual since I don't experience issues at first hand. However as a Filipino, I realize that this agreement leads to the bastardization of our nation.'s dignity. Our national sovereignty and human rights are highly undermined in this agreement. I can’t understand how our leaders signed this agreement at the expense of our dignity and self-respect. The VFA is obviously one sided and very degrading in our case. The only right thing to do is to terminate this agreement because no matter how much we would life to amend or reconstruct this contact, the US will always call the shots and they will always be above our laws.

In my own judgement: The VFA

Last August 2 our class discussed about the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement. This joint military greement between two countries has been poorly implement and at the same time abused by both governments. In effect it benefits the US government while reducing the Philippines' right to national sovereignty in judicial and military.

An example is, it as an AFFRONT TO OUR CONSTITUTION. According to Article II, Sec. 8 "The Philippines, consistent with the national interest, adopts and pursues a policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in its territory." However there is no clause in the VFA that guarantees right to inspection. In my judgment there should be a clause authorizing Filipino teams to board navals and vessels to inspect and ensure that the US are not carrying any nuclear weapons and various types of weapons of mass destruction.

Another example is that it GRANTS EXTRATERRITORIAL RIGHTS TO AMERICANS. Our country is sovereign and like all sovereign nations, the country should subject everybody in its territory to its laws. It government must have full jurisdiction over any person; citizen or visiting alien who commits a crime in its territory. However in the VFA agreement, the Philippines will have to waive its sovereign rights in terms of jurisdiction. If an American soldier comes under VFA and commits crimes he will not be subjected to our country’s courts, which only proves to show that the Americans are above our laws.

Lastly the VFA CAN INVOLVE US IN UNECESSARY INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS. In article 1 the definition of military “activities” agreed upon by the Philippine and US governments is somewhat vague and undefined. What if the US tests nuclear weapons and bombs in our land, which can cause other countries to react? It automatically puts our country in danger.

These are some of the many issues that can be observed in the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement. The VFA cannot be reformed or suspended. Only a total termination of the VFA and guarantee that such agreements will not be crafted again can truly fulfill the Filipino’s thirst for a unadulterated national sovereignty and human rights.