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Sustaining the morale of women justice seekers and peace builders in the Philippines Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights (EcuVoice) “A lot of the women leaders who are involved in women’s organizations and movements are the targets of state terrorism. These women are not silenced. These women do not fear. These women pursue and develop all the more their resolve to be part of the struggle, and to have that courage in order for the struggle to achieve its objectives.” —Vernie Yocogan-Diano, Program Coordinator, Ecumenical Voice for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (EcuVoice).
Like other Indigenous women activists, Vernie YocoganDiano puts her life on the line to defend basic human rights and to empower women traumatized by armed conflict in the Philippines. Yocogan-Diano is KankanaeyIgorot, an Indigenous group from northern Philippines; she has counselled women victims of the decades-old civil war. A trained medical technologist from a middle class background, Yocogan-Diano decided to serve communities impacted by military and paramilitary violence and mining when she was a student. She currently lives in the north part of Luzon, the country’s largest island. As with most wars, systemic rape and sexual violence against women as a weapon continues to be employed in the Philippines. According to a joint study by Innabuyog and Cordillera Women’s Education Action Research Center sexual violence against women is one military strategy to demoralize communities and impress women’s powerlessness.1
EcuVoice is one of five global partners of KAIROS supported by a $4.5M grant from Global Affairs Canada in KAIROS’ five year Women of Courage: Women Peace and Security program. EcuVoice will receive an annual grant of approximately $100,000 for five years, including additional funding for multilateral meetings and exchanges with the four other partners that include the Organización Femenina Popular in Colombia; the South Sudan Council of Churches-National Women’s Programme in South Sudan; Héritiers de la Justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Wi’am in the West Bank. KAIROS and its member churches will invest $1.3 million to match 25 percent of the funding from Global Affairs Canada. The Canadian financial support will strengthen the work of EcuVoice to rebuild the dignity of victims of gender-based violence and empower them to contribute to a just and lasting peace in the Philippines. Specifically, the funding will increase the capacity of EcuVoice to provide women with psycho-social and medical accompaniment, women’s rights training, and
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This strategy has had the opposite effect, motivating women like Yocogan-Diano to build movements, which are assertive yet non-violent. Her organization, EcuVoice is part of this human rights and peace- building movement,
helping women heal from trauma and training them as human rights defenders.
The war and its gendered impacts The Philippines’ struggle for peace is grounded in the struggle for justice that began well before the official Peace talks.
support in navigating the judicial system. EcuVoice believes that human rights training sustains the morale and resolve of women to resist draconian actions of the state against them and to help them advocate for justice and peace building. The funding will enable EcuVoice to expand its services into militarized regions like the Cordillera and Mindanao. With this KAIROS program, EcuVoice will work with a consortium of five women and human rights organizations which include the Women Desk of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Innabuyog Indigenous Women’s Alliance in the Cordillera region, Workers Assistance Center, Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights, and the National Union of People’s Lawyers. The Indigenous Women’s Experience, Vernie YocoganDiano; Women Resisting Crisis and War, Asia Pacific Research Network, 2012
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KAIROS gratefully acknowledges financial support from Global Affairs Canada for this program.
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives 310 Dupont Street, Suite 200 Toronto ON M5R 1V9 416-463-5312 | 1-877-403-8933
In 1969, an armed force of landless peasants called the New People’s Army (NPA) was forged to fight for agrarian reform and national democracy in the country during the emerging Marcos dictatorship. The NPA established a nation-wide presence to resist despotic actions of landlords, warlords, multinational mining and plantation companies, and government-sponsored mercenaries. Peace talks began after the fall of Marcos’ regime in 1986, and have been ongoing ever since, dissolving and picking up again depending on the mood of the governing party. The revolutionary organizations were represented by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in the peace process. The NDFP has consistently underscored that the peace talks should address the root causes of the armed conflict that include poverty, injustice and oppression. The process has never been smooth. Governments have sought capitulation of the revolutionary organizations and refused to recognize previous agreements like the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. There was optimism for the peace talks with the current government; however, President Rodrigo Duterte declared war
against the NDFP and the NPA when they did not succumb to his call for surrender. The failing human rights record of the Duterte government arising from his anti-drug war campaign, his war against terrorism and the increasing impunity in the country have sparked protests at national and international levels. Women and girls continue to be subjected to sexual and genderbased violence. Contributing factors include socio-economic injustice, persistent patriarchal traditions and the lack of political leadership to enforce existing laws and legislation to protect women’s rights. While the Philippines remains the highest-ranked country in Asia and the Pacific in terms of gender equality and has enacted 37 national laws in support of women’s rights, a women or child is battered every 16 minutes and a woman or girl is raped every 53 minutes, according to the Center for Women’s Resources. “Women have been at the frontlines for peace, justice, access to land and resources; however, they need to participate in formal peace processes,” says YocoganDiano. “Their agenda needs to be amplified and adopted in peace building processes.” Opportunities exist to strengthen adherence to and enforcement of the 37 laws pertaining to the protection of women and children in the Philippines. EcuVoice believes that these legal mechanisms are a strong basis for advocacy to improve women’s role in peace building, conflict resolution and community development.
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