Teodoro’s take on peace: be practical

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro wants to approach peace with a “strong dose of practicality, pragmatism and political realism” as he questioned the approach of solving the root causes of conflict” because “has any society been able to solve the root causes of conflict?”

He told the 8th Mindanao Island Conference of the Provincial Board Members League of the Philippines on Wednesday night that the first lesson he learned in approaching the problem of peace and order is to do it with “the backing of some values and some idealism and with strong dose of practicality, pragmatism, and political realism”.

Peace education, Mindanao context

Peace education is such a dynamic subject to teach at the university.

Chiza approached me for help to update the syllabus given to her by her superiors at Bukidnon State University over the break. One night we missed a favorite TV show just to gather and review the syllabi and lesson plans of previous lecturers of the subject.

We feel there’s got to be updating on content and context without veering away from the approved objectives of the course.

She decided on factoring in more of the Mindanao context in peace education using local exemplars, examples, experiences, stories, instructional materials, and lessons learned. (Photo by Bobby Timonera, grabbed from http://www.mindaNews.com)

The “Bukidnon Our Home” place blog

Since last month, I started publishing the Bukidnon Our Home blog (formerly Bukidnon My Home).

So far I am enjoying it and slowly it has gained traffic. I was contemplating whether I should continue a strain of posts that offered only the good news. The reason of doubt is I feel that Bukidnon people from around the world wanted to get as much accuracy of the situation as possible.

To add to the features of the Bukidnon place blog, I wish to link it with more bloggers especially the place bloggers of the province’s 20 towns, two cities, and 464 barangays!

Of course I decided to show bias for the good news but I will not blur on the bad news too.

I plan to appear in a meeting of an association of Bukidnon’s public information officers next month to share to them the potentials of blogging. The move will be an effort to reestablish link with them for my journalistic endeavors, too.

I joined RP2010 Election Watchblog

I just want to announce that I joined RP2010 The Election Watch Blog created recently by Davao blog icon Blogie Robillo.

Here’s what I got from the new blog’s “About” page:

The RP2010.com blog endeavors to be the poll watchdog for the Philippine Presidential Elections in the year 2010. As such, we, the bloggers behind it, commit to helping ensure clean and honest elections through non-partisan coverage of election-related news and commentary.

I like poll blogging. I think this blog is different, however, because it will not only be a venue for just ANY commentary. This one leans towards and focuses on advocacy for clean and honest elections.

Watching Obama battle McCain from Kalasungay

If anything, one reason I was glued to the run up to the US presidential election is my interest on electoral reforms in the Philippines.

Following through the campaign from the primaries to nomination and to the general election, I never really developed an addiction or affiliation towards any of the candidates.

Mindanao is “One”: with some parts scarred, ruined, healing, growing

“There is only one Mindanao”.

We don’t have a Mindanao with two faces.

But the “one face” is scarred in some parts, ruined in another, healing in most parts, and mostly growing.”

I got into this reflection over the weekend when asked in an informal forum on whether there are two Mindanaos.

I said there is only one Mindanao. I compared it to the human anatomy.

Maybe the whole body is OK. But there are some parts that are injured –and the pain shows in the face of Mindanao, as others might see as the image of Mindanao.

Yes, we have to recognize that Mindanao has 27 provinces and 33 cities. Each province and city has distinct history, culture, plans, circumstances, and challenges.

But since these provinces and cities belong to one homeland or heart land, there are dynamics that occur in each locality that affects the others. The growth or pain in one, could be felt in another.

The way to heal the ailing part is not to cut it or to conceal it or just to forget about it.

There is not just one solution. There could be many ways to approach it. But it has to be cured using direct and indirect means. There has to be a constant search to find these means.