SW203

Philippine Social
Reality
Reflection Paper

Submitted by: Aiyana A. Martinez

Submitted to: Prof. Rebecca T. Valerio

 All of war and conflict impacts heavily on public services. This is especially true for the
welfare services as they are usually on the frontlines when it comes to trying to diminish the effects
of war by doing relief and crisis intervention. War is normally defined as a state of open, often
prolonged, armed conflict between two or more groups, usually nations, states or other parties.
Wars are usually begun through the clash of interests between the different groups such as territory
or resources. War undercuts or destroys environmental, physical, human and social capital,
destroying all available opportunities for a sustainable development.

The Mindanao conflict, expressed in Muslim armed resistance against the Philippine state,
has deep historical roots. The Muslims, who prefer to be called Moros rather than Filipinos, believe
that they have never been part of the Philippines and that their present struggle is a continuation of
their ancestors’ war for independence. Political conflict and violence between the state and Muslim
separatist movements in Mindanao is fundamentally rooted in combined and integrated causes.
These are: the low degree of political autonomy that would enable Muslims to protect, safeguard
and defend their culture, identity, language, way of life and religion. Meaningful political autonomy
becomes imperative in order to improve the quality of opportunity as well as individual autonomy of
those belonging to Muslim minorities; the inability of the state, in spite of its domineering power and
resources, to adequately meet the basic socio-economic needs of the Muslim community; the belief
among Muslims that they have been victims of the state’s systematic socio-cultural discrimination
and politico-economic exploitation, an impression that is reflected in the present-day economic,
political and social marginalization of the people. The Mindanao conflict is fundamentally triggered
more by the centralism of the state and inadequate democratic space that limits the self-governing
power of the minorities, particularly the Muslims. Probably the biggest cause of war is politics. This
can be international and also internal. International politics causes war and conflict through things
like disputes over borders and territory. Wars and conflicts can also be caused by internal politics.
Perhaps the biggest cause in internal politics is the struggle for power between different groups of
society. Conflict can also stem from places wanting to be independent from there governing body.
An ideology is a body of beliefs of how things should be that people believe in greatly. If another
group or person has contrasting ideas then it can lead to disagreements. These mere
disagreements can then lead to conflict between the groups with contrasting ideas. Some resources
are so valuable and are becoming so rare that countries will fight over them. Examples of these
resources include gas, oil and even water. Since these resources are pretty much immobile and
can’t be moved it means that countries have to take complete control of the area in which these
resources are located. If this area is in another country then it can lead to more conflict. Also if one
country believes an area belongs to them and another believes it belongs to them then conflict can
occur. According to the speaker, an example of this is the war in Middle East. The war usually has
adverse psychological impacts on war victims especially the children. They witness and participate
in a lot of killings and other inhuman acts which affect their psychological wellbeing. Others run into
depression and post-traumatic stress because of being exposed to too much human blood. They
usually find it hard to erase the sad and inhuman moments from their minds. If such victims don’t
find urgent medical and professional help they die from stress and depression related ailments.
Others end up committing suicide because of the traumatizing encounters and experiences. Some
children are born and they experience the war from tender age, as a result war becomes part of
them. Thousands of children recruited are abducted from home, streets and schools. Other self-
recruits do it out of revenge they watched their family members being murdered in cold blood and
others being raped and the anger makes them to join the group to seek revenge for their loved
ones. Such children have their child hood robbed of and they are exposed to physical and
psychological suffering and terrible danger. They are often placed in the combat situation used as
messengers, spies, porters, servants to clear and lay the landmines. During confrontation they are
in most cases put in the front line and they end up being killed the most. Children are used as
soldiers they are easier to brainwash and condition. They are easily manipulated and convinced as
opposed to the elderly people. They eat less food and they are underpaid. They have
underdeveloped sense of danger and as a result they are easier to command in the line of fire. The
children are also uniquely vulnerable to recruitment because of their physical and emotional
immaturity. They are easily drawn and convinced into violence and wars that they are too young to
understand and resist. The children are also more likely to be recruited because of the separation
from their families, high poverty levels displacement from homes, having limited access to education
or living in a combat zone. Some children have parents who are both soldiers and they are born in
the war area. Such children are almost naturally recruited as they don’t find it hard joining and
participating in the war. Many children join the militia groups because of social and economic
pressure that they are exposed to. Others believe that the armed group will offer security and food.
The Government especially welfare agencies need to focus on the welfare of the Children affected
by the war, the former child soldiers should have adequate access to rehabilitation programs which
will help them relocate back to their families or get back to school. They should not be treated as
outcasts but instead they should receive vocational training in order to have an easy time reentering
the civilian life. If the children lack this support they can easily be recruited back to the armed
groups because they will find it hard to cope up and blend in the normal society after their extreme
experiences with the guns. It is the responsibility of every government to ensure that children safety
and rights are safeguarded. The governments should protect all children from being recruited in the
militia activities. They should prohibit forced recruitment of children. One of the critical elements, in
conflict resolution is the conscious construction of a positive outlook towards building a new and
better relationship with an arch-enemy. It is essential that Moros are drawn into the domain of the
state and made to feel part of and a stakeholder in the Philippine nation. What is definite, however,
is that there will be no quick fixes and no short cuts. Wounds that have festered for a long time
cannot heal overnight. Nor can confidence be built or dialogue developed while fresh wounds are
being inflicted. It is a process that requires special and extra effort on the part of the state to
guarantee human rights and uphold the rights of people to their own development. Although the
Philippine peace-making may be difficult, lengthy and exhaustive, but remains the better option
compared to a system that decides conflict through the strength of arms. Despite the promulgation
of the 1991 Local Government Code, local government units (LGUs), including autonomous regions,
have to politically and administratively conduct themselves in accordance with centrally derived
powers. In other words, the autonomy and empowerment of LGUs are dependent on what the
central government allows. Apparently, the state has not been inclined to re-structure itself beyond a
political system it inherited from the Americans. President Duterte wants to alter the present
presidential-unitary governmental set up to a parliamentary-federal political system. But the people
aren’t ready yet to embrace changes in constitution as the historical advocacy of the minorities,
particularly Muslims in Mindanao, to enlarge their participation in local governance and empower
them to decide on matters that affect their lives and future has been equated as mere politicians’
interest. We cannot blame the people as they have lose their trust on government because of
corrupt officials and the idea of changing the institution may give the idea to people that it is just one
of the political scheme that is pushed by politicians’ personal interest.

The ongoing debate, is war good or bad? Usually if we see or hear the word “war” we think
about the negative sides first. There is a saying that a forest fire burns everything in its path and it
does destroy the forest but out of the ashes comes new life. War is similar to this. Out of destruction
comes a new beginning. A country can benefit from war, by gaining wealth or freedom, increasing in
power, and advancing in technology. But the reason why war seems only negative is because there
is also destruction where millions of innocent people die, losing their resources and time, and also
their money. Not only within the country but the whole world could be affected by war economically
and socially. There are plenty of reasons why war is a bad thing. One main thing that comes to us
directly and painfully is the death of the loved ones. Wars may solve problems but in the process it
kills millions of people so war is cruel. On the other hand, war could be seen as a positive influence.
Wars exist because people cannot agree on something. After the war it could be clear and they
would agree and not fight anymore. Sometimes war could give freedom to a country. After war the
country could become more powerful. If the war was because of land, after they win they have a
bigger country with more resources. These resources could make the economy of the country
rocket up. Could this debate ever be over? I do not think so. As you can see, there are many bad
and good sides of war. Overall I think wars are bad, because all these positive things are still not
worth of millions of lives. And the good sides are if you win the war but that is not 100% sure. And
even if things are resolved after the war, we are humans and we constantly want more. If the
countries do not feel satisfied they might go into a second war and then a third and so on. So I think
we should always find more peaceful ways than war such as a re-designed and working political
system that improves and expands the opportunities for addressing the maldistribution of wealth,
social injustices and cultural persecution will not only neutralize political conflict but also ensure
popular support for state apparatuses that enhance the lives of people; people who have staked
their individual and collective hopes on the future of the Philippine nation state. Apart from re-
engineering political institutions in Mindanao, there is a need to place emphasis on, at least at the
local level, good governance, the rule of law, improve civil-military relations, accountability of public
officials for corruption, and human rights protection. These efforts would, to a large extent, facilitate
the early conclusion of conflict, accelerate the process of peace and find a respectable and
honorable final peace agreement between contending forces. Finally, the courage to seek to come
to terms with the past is an essential part of the search for a new way forward.