Tag Archives: Evolution

Teilhard De Chardin and the environment

Introduction

Three recent experiences of mine have, as it were, brought into focus a general feeling that has festered within me for some time now with regard to the issue of environmental pollution. All of them have to do with the pollution of the sea and have occasioned the writing of this essay.

The first experience took place on the second day of a Holy Week Retreat which I was conducting for a group of students at the Ateneo’s Manresa-by-the-Sea Retreat House in Talomo, Davao City. That day also happened to be Good Friday. As I was walking along the veranda on the second floor of the retreat house, I just happened to look down at the sea. It was low tide and the whole front edge of the sea was blighted by a solid trail of garbage as far as the eye could see—both to the right and to the left. The image that came to me was that of Jesus being crucified again, this time by the garbage that I saw ravaging a significant part of what has become for me the Body of Teilhard’s “Christ-Omega”—our Mother Earth. (I will elaborate more on this point in what follows;) Spontaneously, I felt great anger and pain as I beheld just one of the many ways in which I believe the contemporary Passion of Jesus is taking place all around us.

The second experience—similar to the first— took place on Easter Sunday, the final day of that same retreat. It has become traditional for us to terminate our Holy Week retreat with a “Sunrise Liturgy” celebrated on the beach in front of the Retreat house. Since part of the Easter Sunday Liturgy calls for the renewal of our Baptismal Commitment, we make our renewal in the form of a triple immersion in the ocean, recalling the early tradition in the Church of celebrating our initiation into -the Death and Resurrection of Jesus which is at the heart of that Sacrament.

This year, as I made my way into the ocean, I became painfully aware of how filthy and polluted the water there had become and I had a hard time deciding whether or not to proceed with our renewal rite of immersion in that murky mess. I really experienced, once again, deep anger and resentment at the degree to which pollution is slowly destroying one of God’s most beautiful creatures and greatest gifts to us—the sea.

The third experience also involves the pollution of the sea but it took place at a later date at Villa Victoria in Dumoy, some distance from Talomo. For more than a year, this place has become my refuge from the pollution more obviously present at beaches closer to the city proper. However, on my latest trip there„ I was disgusted to see and feel along the ocean floor all kinds of garbage invading my last sanctuary for engaging peacefully and joyfully and gratefully in my favorite form of exercise – swimming. Again, I felt so angry and helpless when brought face to face with the blatant and unabated irreverence, disregard, and destructive selfishness which is gradually transforming all the basic elements given us by God to sustain our life here on earth into one or other form of toxic material, especially the water we drink—and fish and bathe in.

So much has already been done by way of various scientific studies to substantiate and re-inforce the warnings of concerned environmentalists with regard to the dangers we all face because of the extent to which we are destroying our environment that I do not feel the need to recount the available data here. What I would like to do is just share some thoughts, based on the writings of a well-known Jesuit priest, scientist, philosopher, and theologian—Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.—writings which have helped in shaping my own attitudes towards and deep concern with regard to the issue of environmental pollution. It is my hope that these thoughts will also help foster similar attitudes and concern in those who might chance upon this essay.

 Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.

Teilhard was a French Jesuit who was, besides being a priest and a religious, a well-known paleontologist. Owing to his deep commitment to God and the World, he felt deep down inside of himself a need to formulate a vision of reality which would enable him to integrate these two great loves of his life—for God and for the World—loves that, for him and for others like him, often seemed to be at odds with one another.

The “scientific” basis of this vision has been spelled out in his fundamental scientific work entitled The Phenomenon of Man. The practical implications of this vision for our spiritual life are in turn discussed in his more practical and spiritual work, The Divine Milieu. I will attempt to summarize here those basic elements in each of these two works that have contributed most significantly to my own attitudes with regard to environmental issues. A simple diagram of the basic elements in my own analysis of The Phenomenon can be found at the end of this essay.

The Phenomenon of Man is basically a detailed presentation of Teilhard’s “fundamental insights” into the nature of the evolutionary process that he believe is the key to understanding our universe and humanity’s place and role in it. To begin with, on the basis of the data he worked with, he points out that the first identifiable evidence pointing to the evolutionary nature of the universe is the increasing complexity observed as one examines and compares the external physical structures of older and newer species of beings. Thus, older forms of existing beings appear to be simpler while newer forms of being appear to be more complex.

He also observes, as all evolutionists do, that as one moves further and further back in time, one also moves from the realm of the human to that of the animals and then on to that of plants until one arrives at the realm of non-living beings. In the realm of non-life one moves in turn from the realm of highly complex molecules to that of more and more simple molecules until one arrives—through ” downward extrapolation “—to the posited ” existence “, at the first moment of ” creation “, of an infinite number of undifferentiated particles which Teilhard calls the ” Alpha Point ” or starting point of the evolutionary process. This process—as envisioned by Teilhard—begins when these fundamental elements start to combine with one another to produce distinctive characteristics that distinguish them more and more from one another.

                     Three Basic Stages of Evolution

Teilhard characteristically designates the three basic stages of the revolutionary process as “Cosmogenesis”, “Biogenesis”, and “Noogenesis”. By “Cosmogenesis” he means the basic organization of primal matter into the various existing planetary systems that make up our material universe. Within our own planetary system, he envisages the evolution of non-living matter into the fundamental chemical elements that we find at the heart of the material world.

“Biogenesis” is the term he uses with reference to the process of the evolution of Life along the path opened up by the appearance of organic compounds at the end of the previous stage of “Cosmogenesis”. This new stage begins with the appearance of cells which eventually, through the process of increasing complexification, take on the various forms of vegetative and animal life. The appearance of these living beings brings into existence along with them what Teilhard calls the “Biosphere” or complex of related realities which nurture the development of Life. At the same time it is here that Nature prepares the way for the final stage of evolution which he calls “Noogenesis”.

“Noogenesis”, or the birth of self-consciousness, marks the arrival of the human person. At this stage, a radical shift takes place with regard to the basic focus and fundamental dynamic of the evolutionary process. For it is here that we discover another key element in that process besides that of increasing complexification, namely consciousness. Because Teilhard believes in a basic unity-in-discontinuity prevailing throughout the evolutionary process, he sees in the appearance of self-consciousness in the human person a basis for affirming that all along the evolutionary path there has been a hidden, inner dimension of reality that has also been undergoing development—namely, primal consciousness. Thus he feels free to utilize the principle of “downward extrapolation”, once again, to establish his belief in the presence of some degree or form of consciousness at every stage of evolution, no matter how primitive its state of development might have been at any given moment. This belief is crucial to Teilhard’s fundamental conviction regarding our basic rootedness in and solidarity with the material universe in which we live. But more about that later.

Basic Law of Evolution—Increasing

Complexity-Consciousness

Another observation enables Teilhard to affirm in a more definitive way his growing belief in the fundamental inter-relatedness between complexity and consciousness. This observation is derived from the fact that the basic physical structures in the human body that are most intimately associated with the appearance and functioning of self-consciousness are also the most complex, i.e. the brain and the nervous system. This basic fact enables him to complete the formulation of the basic principle at the heart of his vision of evolution, namely, the “Principle of Increasing Complexity-Consciousness”. Implied in this formulation is his fundamental belief that increasing complexity on the external or physical level is both accompanied by and essential to a corresponding increase of consciousness on the internal or “psychic” level.

Evolution as Movement Towards Unity

Further reflection on the basic data available for the study of the evolutionary nature of the universe enables Teilhard to conclude that evolution can also be described as a steady movement from multiplicity to unity all throughout the process. The significance of this insight lies primarily in the fact that it -provides us with a clearer understanding of the path that evolution must continue to take if it is to achieve its final goal. This is crucial for us as it also points out the direction we must take in order to achieve the great task ahead of us. For, as Teilhard points out so insistently, with the birth of self-consciousness in the human person, a new dynamic comes into play within the evolutionary process itself.

Whereas in the earlier stages of evolution various “natural forces” of interaction and forward movement were at work, further developments in the process now lie within the realm of human freedom and responsibility. That is to say, we must now consciously move—within the “Noosphere” or network of human interactions that accompanied the birth of self-consciousness—from multiplicity to unity along the path of increasing complexity-consciousness until we attain what Teilhard envisions as the final goal of evolution. For him, that final goal is the birth of “Humankind”.

By this he means the attainment of the highest possible degree of unity and consciousness which can only take place when all of us shall have, as it were, become one quasi-organic whole spread all over the face of the earth. In the light of this overall view of the evolutionary process, Teilhard actually calls the total process “Anthropogenesis” or the Birth of Humankind. Within this perspective, humanity is evisaged—singly and corporately—as being both the fruit of the “evolutionary tree” and at the same time the final responsible agent to whom has been entrusted the ultimate historical outcome of the very process that gave us birth. The future of evolution is, therefore, in our hands. Hence the need for a vision to guide us into that future.

Thus the stage is set for another—this time “upward”— extrapolation or projection of the basic principle of evolution into the future. It is here that Teilhard establishes the fundamental basis of what he believes to be the ultimate solution to his original “problem” of integrating his love for God and his love for the World. He finds that basis in what he calls the “Omega Point” or final element which he believes is crucial to his basic vision if we are to achieve the ultimate goal of evolution.

     Omega-Point

The development of this aspect of his evolutionary theory takes place in the epilogue of The Phenomenon of Man. There he observes that if his basic vision of the evolutionary process is valid, there is need to affirm—initially by projection—another element in the process which will provide a “super-center” or universal focal point around and towards which humanity can organize and integrate its corporate effort to achieve its goal of maximum unity/complexity-consciousness.

In order for this reality to fulfill its basic function, Teilhard proceeds to identify some basic characteristics which he believes it must possess. We will take a brief look at these now.

First of all, since humanity in its most radical nature is personal—i.e.,capable of knowing and being known, of loving and being loved—Teilhard insists that this center must also be personal. It must be a Who, not an It. Furthermore, since there must be a fundamental unity in the whole process—from beginning to end—this center must also have been present and active in some way from the very beginning. At the same time, it must be irrevocably present and active right up to the very end. Again, since it is, as it were, the guiding force of the whole process, it must also be ontologically independent of the process and superior to it. This is to say, it must not only be immanent to the process; it must also be transcendent. Finally, if this being is to serve as the focal point of human striving towards it as a concrete goal, its existence must be capable of being known and ascertained.

In addition to this human need for some kind of a super-center to strive towards, a further consideration also arises from the obvious fact that, if all goes as envisioned and dearly hoped, a time will come when humanity—and therefore, evolution itself—will have reached its highest level of unity/complexity-consciousness and thus, in principle, be unable to progress any further. Such a situation leaves us with only two possibilities: either the termination of evolution at the very moment of the “glorious attainment” of its goal or a moment of break-through into the realm of the transcendent—beyond space and time.

Cosmic Christ/Christ-Omega

These two related but distinct issues lead Teilhard to turn his gaze to another arena of human endeavour, the realms of philosophy and religion where such issues as those just raised are most thoroughly and appropriately explored. Because of the nature of his attempt at a “scientific” presentation of his case for evolution, as he conceives of it, he makes it clear that his approach to philosophy—and especially to religion—is purely phenomenological, i.e. it in no way presupposes nor does it invite one to adhere to any specific philosophical or religious system as such. He simply wants us to look at these systems as they present themselves to an unbiased observer in order to see if they can help us supply the missing piece of the evolutionary theory that he wishes to share with us.

In the process of identifying and critiqueing the major religious and philosophical systems that present themselves to hi m, Teilhard singles out the phenomenon of the Christian religion as the only one that embodies in its basic belief system a center that manifests the very same characteristics as the basic characteristics which he claims are essential to “Omega Point”. Thus, he sees in Christianity—specifically as influenced by.the “Cosmic Christ” of the writings of St. Paul—a phenomenological “confirmation” of the projected existence of “Omega Point”. With this discovery, he concludes that the process of evolution can best be described as a process of “Christogenesis” wherein the whole material universe becomes, a5 it were, the “Body”—i.e., the visible manifestation and agent of interaction with the evolving universe—of “Christ-Omega” or the “Cosmic Christ”. The latter, as envisioned by St. Paul, is the one through whom “God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things…(For) God created the Whole universe through him and for him. He existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place” (COL. 1:16-17).

Again, in Ephesians 1:8b-10, Paul tells us that “in all his wisdom and insight, God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ. This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as Head.” It is texts like these, and the tradition built up around them, that led Teilhard to the conclusion that Christ is indeed the Omega Point of evolution that he was seeking.

     The Divinization of Our Activities

Armed with the convictions derived from The Phenomenon regarding our basic rootedness and solidarity in the evolving universe which “gave us birth” and the centrality of the “Cosmic Christ” as the “soul” of this universe, we can now move on to a very brief overview of relevant parts of Teilhard’s spiritual classic, The Divine Milieu. In the first part of that work Teilhard leads us to the conclusion that our souls—which tradition has always taught us are made for God in Jesus Christ – cannot attain their goal apart from the material world which nourishes those souls. Here he reflects with us on the significance of that aspect of our human experience that we call our activities. For he invites us to be aware of the fact that it is precisely through our activities and encounters within the realm of the material world that our spirits are nourished.

We need only recall the extent to which our personal growth necessarily takes place precisely through our physical labors— whether it be scrubbing the floor, writing a letter, or sewing a hole in someone’s socks; through our artistic creativity; through our scientific research; through our encounters with the beauties of nature; and especially through our encounters with one another, encounters that always begin necessarily on the level of sense experience. He calls these efforts to sharpen our awareness of the spiritual implications of our earthly activities the process of “divinization” of those activities by finding God’s (Christ’s) presence in them. Or as St. Paul would say, “whether you eat or drink, do all for the glory of God” (cf.1 Cor. 10:31)  for all things are yours and you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s” 3:22b-23). (Cf. 1 Cor. 3:22b-23).

                         The Divinization of Our Passivities

Teilhard attempts to do the same with the other dimension of our experience in this world—that of our “passivities”, i.e. of being acted upon. Thus, in his very beautiful meditation on “The Two Hands of God”, he invites us to enter deeply into our own inner core and to hear in the dark, unfathomable abyss that we find there the voice of God assuring us: ” Be not afraid! It is I! ” Then he urges us to rise from those inner depths, which bring us into contact with our common roots in the Divine within us , and to allow our consciousness to expand outwards into the furthest reaches of outer space until we encounter another terrifying form of Infinity outside of us wherein, once again, we are invited to listen for the same reassuring words : “Be not afraid! It is I.”

Thus, exploring these two dimensions of reality—the within and the without—we are brought into a conscious encounter with the ultimate Divine reality acting upon us in and through both of them. This enables us to sense God’s creative action and presence within us, filling us with Life and the myriad gifts and potentialities that are nourished by the universe in which we live and which we must develop through our actions and encounters in the material world entrusted to our care. But we are also enabled to see that Divine reality operative all around us in the immense variety of forces which sustain us in the concrete situation we find ourselves in at any given place in space and moment of time. This pervasive Divine presence and action—i.e., this “Divine Milieu”—reveals the universe to us as an “immense womb” in which we are empowered to become the persons we are called to be only in and through one or pother kind of encounter with the material world of which we are a small but vital part. It must be noted, however briefly, here that this process of becoming is not only individual but radically social or corporate. But more of that later.

   Teilhardian Understanding of Matter

At the end of the second part of his essay, Teilhard attempts to redefine, as it were, some of the basic spiritual concepts at the heart of traditional Christian ascetical teaching and practice, which is precisely where his original problem of reconciling his “two great Loves” arose.

In the third section of this attempt he addresses the somewhat negative attitude that this tradition has nurtured with regard to the material world. In the course of his discussion Teilhard makes an important distinction between what he calls “carnal” matter and “spiritual” matter. The former would correspond to that aspect of our relationship with the material world which leads to the negative attitude referred to, while the latter would be more in keeping with his earlier reflection on the positive contribution of our activities—precisely in this material world—to the process of our spiritual growth.

Let us take a brief look at these two related but contrasting concepts. First of all, by “carnal” matter Teilhard understands matter that proves to be an obstacle towards spiritual growth in so far as it invites us to various forms of sloth and regressive self-indulgence. Included in this area of “carnal” matter would be excesses in the use, let us say, of food and drink or compulsive tendencies towards a consumerist lifestyle. The tendency to ” rest on our laurels” and to give up the challenge of incessant growth in the development and use of our talents, which living in an evolutionary world demands, would also be seen as a manifestation of this “carnal” aspect of matter.

“Spiritual” matter, on the other hand, would be just the reverse. It would refer to the material world precisely as the venue for those daily encounters with our physical environment and ” wordly situation” which provide us with that endless series of opportunities and challenges for personal growth discussed in his earlier treatment of the divinization of our activities.
To concretize this distinction between “carnal” and “spiritual” matter, Teilhard characteristically makes use of a strikingly specific physical image, namely that of climbing a mountain. In this image, “spiritual matter” would be associated with the task of climbing laboriously up that mountain, a task that could obviously not be achieved without the materiality of the mountain. “Carnal” matter, on the other hand, would be envisioned as that part of the mountain that has already been traversed and which no longer serves as an incentive for personal, i.e.. “spiritual” growth. That is to say that, what would have been acknowledged as “spiritual” matter yesterday is no longer of any real use to us. Teilhard insists here that it is the withdrawal fro n this aspect of matter, and only from this aspect of matter, that authentic Christian ascetism—or self-denial—calls us.

The Centrality of the Eucharist

The last element in Teilhard’s attempt to “find God everywhere” in this material world of ours – which I consider to he essential for developing an authentically Christian attitude towards our environment – can be found in his treatment of the Eucharist which appears in the third part of The Divine Milieu.

At the beginning of this part of his essay, he explicitly acknowledges and clarifies the reason for the obviously “individualistic” approach that pervades the first two parts of the same. He notes that this was unavoidable as a preliminary stage of his overall presentation, since it involved bringing us personally face to face with the basic issues of living out our own Christian lives in this world of ours. This only at this point that he feels we are ready to look at the social or corporate aspect of Christian life which is so central, not only to Christianity but also to his own radically communal view of reality as basically one of constant evolution towards the quasi-organic corporate reality of “Humankind” mentioned earlier. At the heart of this radically communal aspect of Christian life is the phenomenon of what he calls the “Great Communion”. Let us look at this for a moment.

Before looking at his treatment of the Eucharist in the Divine Milieu, it might be of help to note that in another of his important works, The Hymn of the Universe, Teilhard recalls a mystical experience he had one day as he sat gazing at the Blessed Sacrament exposed in a monstrance on the altar of a small chapel where he had gone to pray. As he contemplated that host, its edges seemed to melt and he envisaged the densely concentrated energy of Divine Love hidden therein as pouring itself out and permeating every particle of matter in the universe with its transforming power. Thus, a “Universal Host”, filled with the Divine “Eucharistic Presence” of the self-same Christ that he had envisaged as being at the heart of the evolving universe. Thus he became profoundly aware of a radical convergence between the Christ of the Eucharist and the reality of the Cosmic-Christ/Christ-Omega whom he had postulated as being central to that universe in the epilogue of The Phenomenon of Man.

This realization that in the Eucharist we encounter in a very real and dynamic way the Christ-Omega of Christogenesis is at the heart of Teilhard’s reflections on the Eucharist in The Divine Milieu. But here he goes further by observing that this encounter binds us not only with the Cosmic Christ but also with, each other, not only in the here and now but also in the past and in the future for, as he observes, there is really only one “Great Communion” that has been operative from the very beginning. Individual communions are thus to be seen only as momentary, personal experiences of the one overriding reality of the Eucharistic Christ drawing us all into Himself and, with us and through us, the whole of the material universe that continually nourishes us. Conversely, as we—and all creation through us- are drawn more and more deeply into the reality of the Cosmic Christ, his radiant energy of Love radiates back through us into the material world, making his Divine Eucharistic Presence a transforming force continually “sanctifying”, that world. In keeping with the flow of this reflection, he speaks of the whole world as one great “Universal Host” over which the Cosmic Christ himself will, upon his Second Coming, speak the traditional words of Consecration used at Mass, “This is My Body”, thus explicitly identifying it as his own true Body.

This perception of the Universe as being one immense “host” is very strikingly developed in another of Teilhard’s classic essays, “The Mass on the World”, where he recounts another experience regarding the Eucharist. It might be helpful to mention here. In this particular essay, he shares with us an experience which he found himself unable to celebrate Mass because of a lack of bread and wine. The thought then came to him that the universe itself was just one big host and cup of wine that he could “consecrate’ and offer to God as his worship for that day. In this “Cosmic act of worship” he offered all the experiences and forces of growth at work in the universe as the “Cosmic Bread” and all the suffering and pain and other forms of diminishment being undergone at the same time within the universe as the “Cosmic Wine” which he would offer to the glory of the Father in union with the Cosmic Christ whom he sensed as being present and active at the heart of it all.

In the light of these reflections it is easy to understand how he could claim at the end of his treatment of the Eucharist in The Divine Milieu that in leaving the presence of the localized Christ of the Eucharistic Bread and Wine at the end of the Mass to return to the world he was not leaving Jesus at all but moving from one form of Divine presence to another more Cosmic one, His dynamic evolutionary presence in the World that Teilhard loved so much.

       Conclusion

Perhaps now that we have finished our rather cursory tour of some of the key ideas of Teilhard de Chardin with regard to this material world of ours and our relationship with it, we can draw a few conclusions with regard to our basic attitude towards our environment.

The first and most basic truth that Teilhard has helped me, at least, to become more aware of is the fact that we are an intrinsic part of this material world since we find the very roots of our being there. We are neither outside of it nor above it but a part of it. Our bodies contain the same basic fundamental elements that make up all the other beings which share this world with us. From the very first moment that the material world began to exist, the matter which constitutes the material aspect of our personal and corporate humanity also began its existence. For millions—maybe billions— of years it has undergone the general process of evolution, moving from the most simple to the most complex forms of matter until it has assumed the particular form that constitutes a part of our own being at this moment. Using one of Teilhard’s favorite images, we are the fruit of the tree of evolution, its crowning glory. To destroy the material world in any way, therefore ,is to destroy our very own selves; to exploit it senselessly and irrationally is to show our own fundamental ignorance of who and what we really are.

As we have seen also, through the eyes of Teilhard, our present existence and future destiny are no less dependent on a positive and reverential relationship with this material universe of ours. For our growth as persons—both materially and spiritually, both individually and socially, both actively and passively—takes place in and through our interaction with the world of matter. Our radical nature as relational beings who are., by definition, incarnate spirits—not bodies and souls—further affirms the inalienable bond that exists between us and our environment, not in a purely static way but in a radically dynamic way. We are and we become who we are called to be in and through and with our material world.

On an even deeper level, Teilhard’s insights into ourselves and our relationship with the world in which we “live and move and have our being”—to steal a phrase St. Paul uses to speak of God (cf.Acts 17:29)—enable us to discover that it is not only in our love for one another, but also in our love for the Universe, that we show our love for God—or more specifically, for the Cosmic Christ. If John could say in his first letter that the person who says he/she loves God but doesn’t love his/her neighbor is a liar (cf. 1 John 4:20), can we not say the same thing about our love and respect for the material world? For how can we love the God we do not see if we do not love the created Universe which He has made for us and entrusted to our care and which we-do see? As Teilhard’s reflections in The Phenomenon of Man have led us to see, it is in Christ-Omega that we find the “inner soul” or ultimate identity, as it were, of our evolving universe. This , in turn, suggests that we can justifiably look upon this same Universe as the “Body of the Cosmic Christ-Omega”.

Such a way of looking at the material world is further sharpened and developed, as we saw, in Teilhard’s reflections on the Eucharist in both The Divine Milieu and his essay, “The Mass on the World”. It is precisely this perception of the intimate relationship between the material universe and the Cosmic reality of Christ-Omega that conditioned my response to the massive pollution of the sea mentioned at the beginning of this essay—i.e., the sense of Jesus being crucified again and again in the wanton destruction of our environment in so many senseless and almost “sacrilegious” ways.

In bringing these reflections to a close, I would also like to share with you another experience of the religious implications, for me, of environmental pollution and exploitation. For it is also becoming more and more difficult for me to pray with the Church every Sunday morning when we are invited to sing a song of praise to God in behalf of all creation in the moving words of Daniel 3:57-86, words that Teilhard surely prayed with great love and affection during his life time but words which, today, would certainly have also caused him great anguish and pain. I would like to end this sharing by quoting several verses from that song in the hope that the day may come when we shall have come to our senses and have

learned to treat our world with the same love and care with which Almighty God continues to create and sustain it for the good of us all:

Let the earth bless the Lord,
Praise and exalt him above all forever.
Mountains and hills, bless the Lord.
Everything growing from the earth, bless the
Lord.
You springs, bless the Lord
Seas and rivers, bless the Lord.
You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the
Lord. All you birds of the air, bless the Lord.
All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord.
You sons of men, bless the Lord. (Dan. 3:74-82)

Historical Evolution of the Tulunan Peace Zones

Peace Zones do not just crop up like mushrooms that grow out of spores scattered by the wind. A peace zone grows out of a historical process. It evolves out of a conflict situation. It grows out from the crying hope of a people mired in the midst of man-made calamities. It presents itself as a human right demanded by the historical necessity in an extraordinary predicament of a people in the pursuit of a dignified existence.
Peace is a constant desire of individuals as well as a collective aspiration of a community of humans in any social milieu. It is, like any other attribute of human existence, relative, varying in degree of necessity according to the particularity of the community’s or a people’s history. But its relative necessity becomes absolutely intense in a human settlement caught in the midst of conflicting forces. It is the ultimate cry of a people enmeshed in the crossfire between warring forces that make them veritable victims of the brutal consequences of armed conflict.
The Tulunan Peace Zone is one such historical outgrowth of an armed conflict situation. As such, it has its roots in the particularity of its history within the larger peculiar history of Mindanao where it is situated. To better appreciate, therefore, the evolution of the Tulunan Peace Zone is to know and understand the specific features of Mindanao history.
Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippine archipelago, is endowed with very rich natural resources (Montiel & Briones 1997). If only because of that, it is an important part of the country’s politico-economic map. It has been called the “Land of Promise” (Turner, May & Turner 1992).
In early times, purely tribal communities inhabited Mindanao. When Islam was introduced into the island, a considerable portion of the tribes became Muslims. This religious-cultural phenomenon resulted in the development of the Sultanate as the socio-political organization that dominated Mindanao. The Spanish conquest and the colonization of the Philippine Islands in the sixteenth century ushered in Christianity and its attendant medieval European culture. As a feudal ideology, it could not subjugate a parallel feudal ideology, which at the time had reached a certain level of social and political consolidation in Muslim Mindinao. The Spaniards pursued the “sword and cross” style of aggressions against the people of Mindanao, causing the implantation of deeply ingrained mutual hatred and prejudices in the collective psyche of Christians and Muslims through the centuries (Montiel & Briones 1997).
Indeed, the diverse religious beliefs, cultural disparities and traditions in the island have created a gaping chasm between two peoples, inflicting deep wounds that would not heal through time. This was complicated by the, massive migrations of Christian settlers from the northern provinces to Mindanao during the early twentieth century. As early as 1900, the Manila government encouraged migration of Christians to the island, thus finding them scattered throughout the “Promised Land.”
Later, multinational corporations made their entry into Mindanao as part of government policy under the guise of development agenda (Montiel & Briones 1997). These initiatives would in time prove detrimental to The local inhabitants, Muslims and Christians alike.
In the 1960s, the worsening political situation of the country, the man-administration of resources, and rampant corruption in the government bureaucracy exacerbated the Muslim-Christian conflict. Warlordism became a militarist prop for corrupt power politics. Private armies emerged. And in Mindanao, the infamous Muslim “Blackshirts” and “Barracudas” were organized as part of local Muslim politicians’ drive for power. These private armies were widely known as “Moro bandits.” In response to this, the late 1960s saw the emergence of cultist groups called Ilaga (literally means rat) and the Tadtad (chop-chop) whose primary purpose was to fight the Muslim bandits. The period that followed witnessed the atrocities and massacres perpetrated alternately by Muslim armed bands and Christian cultists against civilians of both peoples (Montiel & Briones 1997).
The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was a historical child born out of the escalating internecine violence that gripped the entire island. It was a separatist political movement that aimed to establish an independent Moro nation-state in Mindanao. It embodied the ideals and captured the sentiment of the entire Muslim population, uniting them in a veritable declaration of war against the Philippine government. At the same time, as part of a growing national phenomenon, the New People’s Army (NPA) showed its presence in Mindanao (Montiel & Briones 1997).
These two politico-military forces, albeit adopting diverse political ideals, were both fighting the national government and aimed to seize political power. The NPA had its beginning in Central Luzon and soon spread throughout the whole archipelago, including Mindanao. The MNLF wanted to establish its own “Moro Bangsa” nation state in Mindanao, distinct and separate from the Republic of the Philippines. Objectively, they were in alliance against a common enemy, the Philippine Government. The Ilaga was known to have been used by the government armed forces as a para-military unit in its campaigns against the NPA rebels and the Moro separatists.

Tulunan Municipality

Tulunan is a fifth class municipality located at the southern tip of Cotabato province. It consists of twenty nine (29) barangays. Two of these barangays and two sitios of two other barangays have been declared and given national recognition as PEACE ZONES. Tulunan is basically Ilonggo territory whose populace is composed of migrants from Iloilo province. It became the natural home ground for Ilaga cult members. At the height of the Christian-Muslim conflicts in the late 1960s and well toward the 1970s, the residents of Barangays Banayal, Bituan, Nabundasan and Miatub and other neighboring barangays of Tulunan experienced sporadic disturbances from Moro armed attacks. Often their houses were subjected to strafing and other forms of violent harassments.
Tulunan was not spared from NPA groundwork objectives, making it one of the areas within the ambit of its guerilla activities. This made Tulunan a hotbed area where government military operations against rebel forces were conducted.
Under these deplorable conditions, it was always the civilian population who suffered. They were not only inflicted with physical pain and injuries and deprived of the lives of their loved ones, but they were also subjected to psychological wounds where a “culture of fear” was implanted in their individual and community life. Fear became a constant ingredient of their day-to-day existence.
Outbreaks of violence not only destroyed the peace in Tulunan but also resulted in rampant stealing of livestock, farm implements and agricultural produce. Massive evacuation of the residents from the affected barangays ensued. In the 1960s, when the conflict was between the Ilaga/
Tadtad and the Moro bandits, the La Fortuna barangay school building was used as the evacuation center. Some private houses in Barangay Perez and Barangay Nabundasan were also utilized for refuge. After a while, people started to go back to their respective farms to work. But it was an “off and on” situation at the evacuation center because Muslim armed bands kept on corning back to attack other nearby barangays.
In the 1980s, at the height of government counter-insurgency program, massive evacuation also happened. This time the Banayal Elementary School and high school buildings became the evacuation center. At the evacuation center, there was a marked rise in the incidence of sickness particularly among children due to malnutrition. Schools were temporarily closed, causing many students to drop out. The menfolk were recruited to join the para-military units such as the “Barangay Self-Defense Unit” (BSDU) which was later renamed “Civilian Home Defense Force” (CHDF). This was purportedly to defend their lives against the NPA whose presence in Tulunan was very evident (interview with Felecita Acosta-Barrredo).

Life at the Evacuation Center

The refugees in the Banayal evacuation center knew misery in all its adverse consequence& Here they learned to live daily with fear, unfreedom, hunger, undernourishment, and illnesses, and the emotional and psychological effects of deprivations, indignities and injuries.

All in all, the evacuees numbered as follows: 45 families from Bituan; 78 families from Sitio New Alimodian; 32 families from Lampagan & seven families from Tuburan and seven families from Bacong. They constituted a total of 159 families or 784 individuals, including children.

The people sought help from government and non-government organizations. In response, food was delivered and free clinics were conducted. An expression of active hope and resilience was evident as they began to organize themselves by forming the Barangay Disaster Committee. Other committees were identified and formed, namely: health, finance, education, negotiating panel, accommodation, and research and documentation.

In September 1989, the Barangay Disaster Committee was changed into Inter-Barangay Disaster Coordinating Council, representing 70 families from New Alimodian, 50 families from Bituan and 20 families from Lampagang.

The Birth, of the Tulunan Peace Zones

In the face of the harsh realities, the residents of Tulunan organized their ranks as a liberative process of people empowerment. Their action at the evacuation center caught the attention of concerned authorities, non-government organizations, the media and other concerned sectors and individuals.
Every dialogue and meeting with these concerned agencies and groups was center lighted with that one single desire of the people: to live permanently in a place free from armed conflicts and other violent hostilities. This desire gave birth to the concept of a “peace zone”.

One Church leader mentioned the experience of the people of Hunduan, who managed to get the NPA to withdraw from the locality, and made a determined stand to bar the military from installing a detachment outpost in their place. This was promptly picked up by the evacuees and they started to hold caucuses on the possibility of establishing a “zone of peace” in their area in Tulunan.

The Bituan Peace Zone

With this notion clear in everyone’s mind, the people at the evacuation center decided to establish a place free from militarization and armed conflicts. The place to become the first peace zone was to be Barangay Bituan.

A Brief Background of Bituan

In the 1950s, a group of Ilonggo from Iloilo in Panay came to settle in a place that was occupied by tribal peoples called T’bolis and B’laans. These tribal peoples called the Ilonggo settlers “Batiwan”, which the Christians interpreted as Bituan and so the place was named Bituan. Bituan was declared a barangay of Tulunan in 1958 (Bituan PZ file). As Visayan Christians, the Ilonggo settlers brought along with them the traditional practice of celebrating fiesta every year, highlighted by ball games, horse fights, and even wrestling bouts.
The place was really a promised land for these Ilonggos. They lived peacefully and harmoniously until the 1970s when, with the declaration of martial law in 1972, the peacefulness in the area was disturbed by sporadic armed encounters between Muslims and Christians. These armed engagements resulted in off-and-on evacuations from one place to another.
By 1978, the Bituan residents were back and settled peacefully in their place. But it was only for a brief period of time. The following years saw the NPA frequenting the area. They started giving “teach-ins” to the residents. As a result, government military troops were deployed in Barangays Banayal, Bituan and Tuburan in order to establish detachment outposts.
In the 1980s, which was the height of the government counter-insurgency program, massive military operations were conducted in the area. These caused untold difficulties to the residents who suffered from the mortar shellings, bombings, killings, and tortures, and other brutalities. The victims included Church leaders and Church workers who were “salvaged” together with farmers. Houses of residents suspected to be NPA members were demolished and burned down.
There seemed to be no end to the inhumanities and indignities committed against innocent civilians. Tired of this situation, some young adults were forced to join either the NPA or the paramilitary units called Citizens Armed Forces of a Geographical Unit (CAFGU). Meanwhile the families who lived within the affected areas such as Barangays Bituan, Lampagang, and Sitio New Alimodian evacuated to Barangay Banayal and occupied the school buildings.
But as told above, life at the evacuation center provided the stimulus for the people to search for ways by which they could obtain peace for themselves and their children. The harsh realities at the evacuation center taught them to hope and dream, organize and harness their human resources and capacities, and above all, to decide for themselves their own courses of action vis-à-vis the prevailing situation. And so, in December 1989, the people at the evacuation center signed a resolution declaring their intention and decision to establish a place free from military activities and armed hostilities by and between conflicting/ warring forces. Bituan became the first peace zone in Mindanao (Manila Chronicle, 2 March 1990).
Some of the salient provisions of the Peace Zone Resolution were:

1. The place covered by the peace zone is the whole of Barangay Bituan.
2. No one enters the peace zone without the knowledge and consent of the screening and admission committee of the people who live in the area.
3. The carrying of firearms (by military/CAFGU and NPA) is prohibited in the peace zone.
4. No detachment is to be established in the whole area of the peace zone.
5. No armed group is allowed to enter the peace zone.
6. No firing of arms is allowed within the peace zone.
7. No organization of the CAFGU or the Civilian Volunteer Organization (CVO) is allowed in the said place.
8. There shall be no threats on and harassments of civilians and transportation.
9. There shall be no selling or drinking of alcoholic drinks within the peace zone.
10. Public buildings (chapel, schools) cannot be used without the permission of concerned authorities.
11. An Ad Hoc Committee will be organized to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire.
12. The same Ad Hoc Committee shall convey the violations of the agreement and the recommendation for a more exact and smoother implementation to the Municipal Peace and Order Council (MOPC)/ Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) and Peace Commission.
13. This resolution shall be respected by the two warring forces and witnessed by the Ad Hoc Committee before the appellants.
This resolution. was submitted to the local government and copies furnished the provincial, national government and the Church. Then a series of dialogues was conducted.
Some of the major dialogues were:
On 17 January 1990, a consultative meeting was held which was attended by Fr. Ronilo Villamor, Congressman Gregorio Andolana, the Municipal Councilors of Tulunan and a military officer assigned in the area. The proposal of a peace zone was presented. The military representative agreed to the idea but said that the final decision would come from higher authorities.
On 25 January 1990, the evacuees called for a general assembly to validate their resolution. Congressman Gregorio Andolana, the Sangguniang Bayan members of Tulunan and representatives from various government agencies attended this assembly.
On 5 February 1990, the leaders of the communities, with Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, Fr. Ronilo Villamor, and Congressman Gregorio Andolana met with Brig. Gen. Orlando Soriano, commanding officer of the 6th Infantry Brigade and other high ranking officials. The agenda included: military recognition of the peace initiative, the suspension of the restriction on the delivery of the relief supplies including food and the release of confiscated goods for the peace zone residents. General Soriano responded positively by assuring them of the immediate pullout of troops in the area on the condition that NPA would also withdraw. Fr. Villamor relayed this through the radio station DXND and the rebels agreed.

The Return

The people were so determined that while the negotiation was still going on, they started to clear the peace zone area, which is Bituan. On the 10th of February 1990, they were all prepared for the return. It started with a mass celebration officiated by Fr. Ronilo Villamor. Immediately after the Liturgy of the Word, the people started to pack up their belongings, got hold of their livestock and started to move out. The military stopped them for a picture-taking According to the military, the photo would serve as survey record for an effective monitoring of the people residing in the peace zone. After the picture-taking, the procession continued. Upon reaching the big mango tree at the entrance of the proposed area, the caravan stopped and the celebration of the mass continued. Just before the final blessing was made, the presider sounded a reminder, “Now that you have declared the Peace Zone, be faithful to its provisions. No to power of the guns and let Yahweh God be your chief security guard, no longer the NPA nor the military!” After the mass, a child was baptized, then everyone sat down to a thanksgiving meal.
A series of dialogue was still conducted even after the return to Bituan. Representatives from the Church, the local government, the military, and non-government organizations attended these dialogues. The military consented to the peace zone concept but allowed only a one-kilometer radius. That meant that beyond the one-kilometer radius, military operations may take place. Because of the strong determination of the people, the local government also adopted and approved the request of the evacuees to recognize Bituan as a zone of peace.
One major dialogue that really ensured the success of the Bituan experiment was the one held with Commissioner Haydee Yorac of the Commission on Elections and Senator Rodolfo Biazon in Miatub. Senator Biazon drafted and sponsored a resolution in the Congress of the Philippines urging the Executive Department to declare Bituan with other areas in Tulunan a zone of peace. Eventually,
on June 23, 1993 Bituan and the other peace zones in Tulunan were declared a special development area by the national government (interview with Maximo Casulocan).

Sitio New Alimodian

New Alimodian is the lone sitio of Barangay Banayal. All of the pioneers of this place came from Alimodian, in Iloilo, thus the name New Alimodian. It became a sitio in 1955, its population being big enough to warrant the status of a sitio.
As a Catholic community, New Alimodianons also held a yearly fiesta celebration as a form of thanksgiving for the abundance they received in the past year. This was particularly displayed in the way they welcomed and treated their fiesta guests. All of the households offered sumptuous food to anybody who came into the house, a practice that gave them favorable reputation among other barangays.
Peace reigned among the sitio populace until the 1970s, when after the declaration of martial law in the country, the people began to live again in constant fear. Their livelihood was greatly disrupted. As a matter of fact, they experienced displacements from their homes and farms every time the Moro armed band attacked.
In later part of the 1970s peace was restored in New Alimodian. People went back to their farms. But they realized the need to forge stronger unity and to work harder for the rehabilitation of their place. This led to the establishment of a farmers’ organization called Hiniusang Mag-uuma sa New Alimodian (United Farmers of the New Alimodian) in 1982. They also formed a sectoral council, called the Babaye Barug Alang sa Kalingkawasan in 1986. These organizations were affiliated with the Kilusang Magbubukid sa Pilipinas (KMP), a militant national movement of farmers and rural workers. Because of this, the people of New Alimodian were suspected as members of the NPA. And so, a series of military operations was conducted in the area. Military detachments were also established in Barangay Banayal and Barangay Tuburan.
The poor civilians were caught in the middle of these armed forces. They suffered salvaging and tortures committed by the military. An unforgettable incident occurred on 19 July 1989. New Alimodian was subjected to intense mortar shellings at four thirty in the afternoon. The perpetrator of the grave abuse of authority was the Alpha Company of the 27th Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army under the command of 2nd Lt. Espiritu, and based in Barangay Tuburan. The New Alimodian residents promptly abandoned their homes and evacuated to Banayal Elementary School. Residents of other barangays such as Bituan and Lampagang joined them.

Birth of the New Alimodian Peace Zone

The New Alimodian peace zone is a child of the Bituan peace zone. Actually, the residents of New Alimodian were part of the Bituan experiment, which created the Bituan peace zone. While at the Bituan peace zone, the residents of New Alimodian were experiencing an economic crisis on account of the scarcity of farmland to till. But they realized that they had their own place and properties.

On 5 February 1992, the Alimodianons called a meeting and decided to leave Bituan and go back to New Alimodian. They drafted a resolution and worked for the declaration of New Alimodian as a zone of peace. They negotiated with local, provincial and national government authorities. The proposal contained the following provisions:
1. The area to be declared as a peace zone is the whole of sitio New Alimodian.
2. No armed group shall dictate to the community in times of war or peace.
3. Members of the NPA and AFP who want to live peacefully are welcome in the peace zone.
4. Government line agencies, NGOs and religious sectors or groups are welcome to help in the total development of the community.
5. Violations of the provisions by the NPA will be reported to the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Return Part Two

On 15 February 1992, a second movement of people took place from Bituan to New Alimodian. Representatives from the local and national governments, the Church, the non government organizations and the media witnessed it. Just like the first exodus, it started with the celebration of the mass by Fr. Rondo Villamor as the presider. The journey started after the homily. When they reached the area, the mass continued and ended up with the baptism of two children and a thanksgiving meal. Immediately thereafter the residents of New Alimodian Peace Zone organized themselves by coming up with what was called the Sitio New
Alimodian Development Council. They put up a cooperative. They established linkage with the Bituan Peace Zone and other concerned agencies for the speedy declaration of their place as a peace zone. They joined in dialogues with the military and other government agencies until finally, they received national recognition as a peace zone on 23 June 1993 (interview with Francisco Abihon, Jr.).

Barangay Nabundasan

The story of the people of the Barangay Nabundasan is no different from that of the other barangays. It followed a storyline similar to the other peace zones in the neighboring barangays. They lived peacefully and in relative economic abundance from the time the place was established as a barangay up to the 1960s. All of the residents therein were likewise Ilonggos, which means their place of origin is Iloilo.
The secret underlying the peacefulness and abundance of the place was really the farmers’ organizing efforts, which gave rise to what was called the Banayal-Tuburan-Nabundasan Foundation or BATUNA. Essentially, it arose from the collaborative efforts of three barangays with the assistance of the Catholic Church parish of Tulunan. It had for its objectives the spiritual and economic upliftment of the residents. Ironically, this socio-economic development program aroused the suspicion of the military establishment. The local folks were suspected to be organized by the NPA. Undeniably, the presence of the NPA in the area was evident.
And so, military operations started to be launched by government forces in the 1970s, especially after martial law was declared. Many armed confrontations between two opposing forces took place in the barangay, causing disastrous economic dislocations among the residents. Oftentimes they were forced to vacate their homes, leaving their valuable belongings and livestock behind. Whenever the government military moved out of the area, they returned to their houses and took whatever useful things they needed in their places of refuge, including their goats, pigs, chickens and other livestock. There were times when the military burned down their houses, thus rendering them homeless when they emerged from their hiding places.
During military operations, the people experienced grave harassments and intimidations. Some people were tortured; others received threats of summary execution or salvaging. Certain cases left indelible marks in the memory of the people. Alfonso Fajardo, a teen-ager, was mercilessly tortured and killed; Ramon Panibayo and Felomino Nobleza were both tortured and salvaged; and Diosdado Tacalan suffered unbearable tortures that rendered him disabled and therefore unable to work in his farm for two years; and the most gruesome of all was what happened to Custodio Nim, a farmer leader, who was chopped to death.
Another experience that paralyzed the livelihood activities of the people was the so-called “hamletting” whereby all the villagers were herded by the military and made to stay in two chapels as hamlet centers for weeks or months on end, purportedly to monitor their daily activities. In the hamlet centers children got sick. An old man died. As a military strategy to counteract insurgency and ostensibly for the protection of the local people, the village menfolk were recruited to become members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU). But this was resented by the people because of the risks involved, aside from the fact that their livelihood would be affected with less time for farm work once they joined the para-military unit. In one instance, a group of village men was forcibly brought by the military to their detachment outpost in New Panay for the para-military training. But their wives went with them and refused to leave the outpost until their husbands were sent home together with them.

The Birth of the Nabundasan Peace Zone

Having gone through a series of militarization, the residents of Barangay Nabundasan decided to declare their area as a zone of peace. They drafted a resolution and submitted it to the Peace Commissioners, the Governor, Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, and Col. Cresencio Villanueva, to mention a few. Some provisions of the resolution were:
1. That we shall not allow arms to be brought within our barangay especially those borne by the military troops; neither shall we allow detachments within the barangay.
2. That we shall not allow the recruitment of civilians into the CAFGU or CVO.
3. That no armed groups shall be allowed to enter our barangay especially the military, the NPA and other armed groups.
4. We are united in declaring our Barangay Nabundasan as a zone of peace. They also established linkages with other peace zone areas and joined the dialogues held in relation to peace zones. Finally, Barangay Nabundasan won national recognition as a peace zone, along with those of Bituan, New Alimodian and Miatub on 23 June 1993 (Interview with Jerry Nim).

Sitio Miatub

Miatub was created as a sitio of Barangay Tuburan only when some of the residents from Barangay Tuburan opted to live in a peace zone. Residents of this sitio came from Miag-ao and Tubungan of Iloilo, thus the name “Miatub” from the first syllables of both places.
Life in Barangay Tuburan was peaceful until the 1970s, when the NPA entered the place and started conducting teach-ins among the local residents. This was coupled with organizing. Some joined the NPA, but many refused to go with them. At any rate, the organization brought in some positive effects, as some of the vices in the community, like drunkenness, were eliminated.
In the 1970s, the barangay was one of the areas that figured in the counter-insurgency program of the government. A detachment outpost.. was put up in Barangay Tuburan, and the special operations team began to conduct counter-insurgency activities in the area. Armed engagements between the military and the NPA caused civilian casualties caught in the crossfire. Some people received harassments and intimidations from the military. What the people resented most was the violation of their dwellings. The military just entered their houses at night to see if there were NPAs around. Again, purportedly for the protection of the people, the military recruited men to join the CAFGU, but again the people resented this.
The Barangay Tuburan villagers likewise experienced evacuation runs even if only within the barangay. If the armed encounter between the military forces and the NPA was in the southern part of the village, they moved to the north and vice versa. Just the same, these movements were physically and emotionally exhausting.

The Birth of the Miatub Peace Zone

Having heard of the Bituan Peace zone, some of the barangay officials of Tuburan visited Bituan for an exposure. They were inspired by what they saw and observed so that they started to work for the establishment of a peace zone in their own barangay.
An assembly among the barangay residents was called to present the idea of a peace zone. A survey soon followed to determine how many to have their village become a peace zone. The result of the survey showed that eighty percent (80%) of the residents were in favor of a peace zone to be put up in the barangay.

Alternate Exodus

Immediately after the barangay council designated an area to be the peace zone, the people prepared a resolution requesting Sitio Miatub to be recognized and declared as a peace zone. In the drafting of the resolution, some individuals from Barangay Nabundasan were involved because many Miatub and Nabundasan residents were blood relatives, coming as they were from the same place in Iloilo. Consequently, the provisions proposed in the Miatub peace zone were a virtual replica of the Nabunadasan peace zone.
It was unfortunate that in the process of negotiation for the declaration of the Miatub peace zone, one of the active members was tortured and summarily executed. However, it did not deter nor discouraged the people. They became even more intent and courageous to pursue the undertaking One day, the people called for a bayanihan. Men were gathered to help transfer the houses from the barangay proper to the designated peace zone site. The womenfolk helped with other tasks, such as cooking and fixing the houses. The bayanihan of carrying the houses lasted for a day. At the day’s end, everybody was already in the designated Miatub Peace Zone.
The people recounted that at night some unidentified men were sometimes observed to be moving in the vicinity of the peace zone. To protect themselves, the people organized a group of six to seven men to do a round-the-clock night watch activity. An alert system was devised. The night watch was to beat apiece of bamboo in case unidentified persons were noticed or an untoward happening occurred. Every house would then respond by beating a similar instrument. This simultaneous sound alarm would rouse the entire community to be vigilant and be ready for whatever may happen.
The Miatub residents soon established linkage with other peace zones. They earnestly joined dialogues called to discuss matters related to the peace zone negotiations. They hosted the big dialogue that was participated in by the four peace zones and graced by the presence of Senator Rodolfo Biazon. Miatub, with the other areas, was declared a zone of peace on 23 June 1993 (Interview with Crispino Fajurano).

Structure of the Peace Zone

Each peace zone has its political structure. It has a Peace Zone Council composed of three representatives from the Church sector, three from the farmers’ group, and three from the barangay government. For a sound working relationship, the four peace zones decided I to form the Inter-Peace Zone Development Council (IPZDC) composed of three representatives from each peace zone. Among themselves, they elect the chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, treasurer and auditor. The IPZDC has the power to decide and transact business in behalf of the peace zones. But after some reflection, the IPZDC was changed into Inter-Peace Zone Coordination Committee to emphasize the idea that the power to decide was with the people’s assembly and not with the council members.

Features of the Peace Zone

Principle
The assembly believes that we, the people, are the foundation of life, peace and progress based on the principle of divine providence and nationalism. We believe in the safeguard of our rights in harnessing our initiatives without reservation and free from the dictates of any armed group in times of war or peace; and we recognize, respect and uphold civilian authority at all times and in any situation.

Program
The assembly follows its own method of implementing and monitoring its programs. Our organization exercises no reservations in helping its member areas, especially when requested by the people.

Goal
The empowerment of the people is based on full participation in the decision-making and implementation of the undertakings for the upliftment of their economic, political and cultural life.

Mission
Solidarity of the people through education and organization in order to strengthen themselves towards sustainable peace and prosperity.

Objective
Seek and attain full security, justice, and development through people empowerment.

Method / Strategy
The assembly follows the democratic process of educating and organizing consultations, dialogues among the people, and forging alliances with groups having the same orientation and objectives as ours.