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The second installment of the Silver Café was held last August 13, 2009 at the Conference Room A of JJCICSI. Executive Director Gemma Rita Marin served as the moderator of the activity. Two former staff members of the Institute, Atty. Carlos P. Medina Jr. and Ruth Esquillo-Ignacio, were the speakers. The former discussed “Philippine Elections” and the latter presented on the topic “Of Forests and Frontiers.”The event was attended by representatives from JJCICSI’s NGO partners, friends from Myanmar and the Institute’s past and present staff.

Philippine Elections



It was somehow by fate that this Human Rights lawyer ended up with the task of monitoring elections—something he had vowed never to be involved in. But because he chose to address the need of upholding clean elections in the country along with other groups, he responded to this noble call.

Atty. Medina is one of the convenors of LENTE (Legal Network for Truthful Elections), a nationwide, non-partisan network of lawyers, law students, paralegals and trained volunteers engaged in vote monitoring and legal work for the Philippine elections. He is also the Chief Legal Counsel of One Voice (a non-partisan movement regarding political developments in the country) and the Executive Director of the Ateneo Human Rights Center.

During the May 2007 elections, LENTE monitored the canvassing of tallied votes in cities, municipalities and provinces around the country and provided legal services to members of the network during the election period. The work encountered a number of difficulties including a lack of volunteer lawyers as well as significant opposition from groups not familiar with LENTE’s work.

Atty. Medina recalled one of his personal experiences when he was called by a teacher (through a radio program) from Maguindanao who disclosed that in a particular place, teachers and students were being forced to fill up ballots in favor of certain candidates the night before election day. After he revealed this in a press conference, he was forced to go into hiding until the issue subsided.

LENTE was also active during the recent ARMM Elections which served as a pilot test for the coming 2010 presidential elections. They organized around fifty law school students coming from the Mindanao universities and deployed them in areas outside of their hometowns to provide non-partisan monitoring.

Atty. Medina also provided an overview of the upcoming automated elections. He described two types of machines that might be used: the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) Machine and Optical Mark Reader (OMR), although the legalities are still being deliberated in the Supreme Court. In OMR, the names of candidates are printed on a paper and voters choose their candidates by shading with pencil the corresponding ovals. But in DRE, voters tap the name and photograph of their candidates on a computerized screen. The votes will then be counted and canvassed automatically. When asked how cheating will happen in this automated systems, Atty. Medina responded that this might occur while transmitting data to COMELEC, especially with the difficulty of monitoring electronically tallied votes.

Atty. Medina also expressed other reservations. Some people are still afraid of computers and are illiterate to poll automation. He also took note that machines are sensitive to ink smudges and other external factors that might result to possibilities of bogging down. Also, the precincts are expected to be crowded during actual voting since there will be an increase of voters assigned to each precinct to be accommodated by the limited poll automated machines. Given these predicaments, clean elections through automation cannot really be assured.

For Atty. Medina and LENTE, their contribution to the upcoming elections is to provide voters’ education and legal services to different monitoring groups. Through their efforts, people become more aware of the election process. They also vow to “go after cheaters” and make them accountable. Although this is more challenging to pull off, they hope to convince people to be more active in reporting incidents of cheating. Reporting cheaters or acts of cheating does not mean exposing oneself (being a witness), but these are crucial in triggering or conducting initial investigations.

The preparations for the 2010 election have just started in LENTE. They are all set to take the challenge of the next election, whether it be manual or automated in nature.

Atty. Medina recalled his two-year work experience with the Institute under the tutelage of Fr. John Carroll and Dr. Jing Karaos. He also added that JJCICSI may not have a direct link to LENTE but it has its role in voter’s education through its studies.

Of Forests and Frontiers

A sociologist, an educator and a mother, Ruth “Ching” Esquillo-Ignacio reminisced about her past twenty years of being involved in social issues, an commitment which started in JJCICSI. For the talk, she shared not only the memories she had with JJCICSI when it was only five years old but also her current involvements and concerns.

She recalled her first article on the study of Fr. Francis Madigan that showed the impact of socio-economic differences among the rural poor, an article which led to her next assignment of assisting Fr. Peter Walpole in his environmental research and advocacy.

Esquillo-Ignacio recalled the events that happened during the battle of the Bukidnon 13–a group of farmers who stood up to fight against the rampant logging in the area. But two years before that, there were already heightened and intensified people’s action against unbridled logging that led to barricades and picket lines against logging operations. With the support provided by Fr. Pat Kelly, a Scarborough Missionary, ICSI through Fr. Walpole and eventually by DENR Secretary Fulgencio Factoran, the logging permits of the companies were cancelled.

But illegal logging continued the moment DENR Secretary Factoran departed from office. For the people of Bukidnon, it was time to act again. On September 11, 1989 Fr. Pat Kelly went to Manila and ICSI mobilized various institutions (environmental groups, church, and academe) to lend support the to the Bukidnon 13 . Letters were written to the government officials including the late President Cory Aquino, as well as the President of South Korea and the Prime Minister of Japan—the heads of two wood importing countries. The Bukidnon 13 fasted to protest the rapid deforestation in the province.

September 27, 1989 marked the first day of the fasting. For eight days, prayers and press conferences were held along with the drafting of the seven point agreement. Support from cause oriented groups were received until the agreement on safeguarding the forests of Bukidnon was signed. The fasters met with President Aquino who expressed her admiration for their sincerity to act not only for themselves but for the entire country, and for the peaceful means they had chosen to advance their cause.

The battle of the Bukidnon 13 was indeed a landmark event for the history of the Philippine environmental movement. Unfortunately, as the population increases, depletion of the forests continues. Nevertheless, the objective remains the same: “protect the forest, and keep them there.”

Ching also elatedly shared her new frontiers beginning from her happy family to a school she established in Bukidnon, called Marywoods Academy. She and her teachers/faculty are “planting the seeds of the future generation,” and inculcating in their students the values, attitudes, knowledge and skills needed to form the future leaders of our country.

In the various frontiers she has faced Ching acknowledged that her journey began with JJCICSI, and she continues that journey in a spirit of service and generosity.

BACK TO ANNIVERSARY PAGE

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DAY 1
The Founding of the Institute by John J. Carroll, S.J.
JJCICSI as a Social Apostolate by Silvino L. Borres, S.J.

DAY 2
Philippine Electionsby Atty. Carlos P. Medina
Of Forests and Frontiers by Ruth Esquillo-Ignacio

DAY 3
Population and Development by John J. Carroll, S.J.
The Environment by Pedro W. Walpole, S.J.

DAY 4
Urban Land Reform by Marlene Gatpatan-Bedia with Percival C. Chavez
Overseas Migration by Jeremiah M. Opiniano