Catching Up In Cotabato
/Lapit mga Kaibigan, at makinig kayo
Ako’y may dala-dalang balita, galing sa bayan ko
(Come near, my friends, and listen
I have news from my hometown)
Meanwhile, during my recent trip down south, a particular Asin song kept playing in my head for obvious reasons: Cotabato.
Ako'y isinilang sa isang bayan ng Cotabato
‘Singgulo ng tao
Kasinggulo ng mundo
Dahil ‘di magkasundo
Sa relihiyon at prinsipyo nagkagulo
(I was born in the town of Cotabato
Chaotic like humans
In chaos like the world
Because they could not agree
In religion and principles
They got into this mess.)
The song was written by Cesar “Saro” Bañares, who hailed from Koronadal City, South Cotabato and died there in 1993 under ironic circumstances. The well-regarded icon of refined progressive music was killed in, of all places, a karaoke bar – where music is more than occasionally and unintentionally despoiled and desecrated. What started as a heated exchange led to a mauling which led to a shooting. I’m not sure if this was true, but legend has it that Saro was being asked by the assailants, with some insistence, to sing My Way, a song that has undeservedly earned a bad rap. It is now referred to in jest as the “deadliest” song in history, at least in the Philippines. Anyway, I was hoping I could get to visit that ill-famed karaoke bar during a visit to Koronadal last January 2024. Alas, the Vision KTV Karaoke is no longer there, according to friends from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Region 12, who hosted our short trip.
Cesar “Saro” Bañares of Asin
“Hindi na rin masyadong magulo rito sa region ng SOCCSKSARGEN” (it’s also no longer that chaotic here in SOCCSKSARGEN, or Region 12, which occupies the southern-central section of Mindanao, covering four provinces and one highly urbanized city: Cotabato, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and General Santos City), said the OIC Regional Director of CHR 12 Atty. Keysie Gomez, who started working in the office only in 2020. Keysie was in private practice before working at CHR, but was drawn into human rights work by her law professor Atty. Jonnie Landoy Dabuco, the current head of CHR Western Visayas region based in Iloilo.
With Atty. Keysie Gomez, head of the Commission on Human Rights region 12 (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
“What’s the human rights situation now in region 12?” I asked her while we were on the road from Koronadal to Kidapawan.
She said that human rights violations have gone down, specifically the extrajudicial killings, torture, and other cases related to the “war on drugs” launched by the previous administration. Other usual cases however, such as gender-based violence, remain the same.
Furthermore, while region 12 is relatively more peaceful now, the adjacent provinces under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) continue to have their peace and order challenges, especially during election season.
Which Cotabato, in the First Place?
The uninitiated should be aware that “Cotabato” needs to be qualified, as there is more than one. Strictly speaking, Cotabato refers to North Cotabato, whose capital is the city of Kidapawan. Below it is South Cotabato, whose capital, Koronadal City, houses the PRIME Regional Government Center. Then there is Cotabato City, the regional center of the BARMM, which is located neither in the North or South Cotabato, but in the province of Maguindanao del Norte.
Map of Southern Mindanao (Source: Google)
On 16th January 2024, we arrived in Koronadal via an early morning flight from Manila to General Santos City (GenSan). From GenSan, we traveled northwest by land, passing by Polomolok and, after an hour’s drive, making a planned stop at the Strawberry-Guyabano (SG) Farm in the town of Tupi at the foot of Mt. Matutum. It was cold when we reached SG Farm, which was not unusual given the area’s elevation. In fact, earlier that morning a thick fog blanketed the place. The farm tourism site, sitting on fertile ground in Sitio Glanda, Barangay Kablon, has a rural European vibe. When I posted photos of SG Farm on Facebook, a few people asked if I was in Amsterdam!
At the SG Farm, Tupi, South Cotabato (Photo courtesy of Bobby Garcia)
My companions were from the CHR Central Office – Atty. Gemma Parojinog, Dr. Jerrick Go, and John Prado – and we were to meet other work colleagues later in the day. We still had time to tour the place and were a bit amused when we entered the brightly-labeled “Pet Zone.” The “zone” seemed a bit outsized for the animals housed inside: all of two rabbits.
Meanwhile, the greenhouse was fascinating at least for me because I am a bit of a chili afficionado. I grow bhut jolokia (ghost pepper) at home. Bhut jolokia was once the hottest chili in the world until it was surpassed (in Scoville units, if we want to be technical) by the Carolina Reaper, which they were also growing at the SG Greenhouse.
One of the two rabbits inside the Pet Zone (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
We started feeling hungry. We haven’t had a decent breakfast because of the early 6 a.m. flight, and domestic Philippine Airlines flights serve nothing more than small, sorry-looking biscuits and half a cup of coffee. Good thing there was the SG Rainforest Cafe inside the farm. The biscocho (traditional Filipino style biscotti) was done well, not too hard like the usual biscochos, and not too sweet. The orange-brown translucent kutsinta (glutinous rice cake), sprinkled with shredded mature coconut meat, was also deliciously chewy and went down well with the steaming coffee.
The SG Rainforest Cafe (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
Gemma Parojinog, Jerric Tan, John Prado, and myself having hot coffee at the cool cafe (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
We still had a few minutes to kill, and there was no other choice but to try the “giant swing” with PEACE AND JOY in big, bold letters in the background. It did not look particularly daunting, at least until one tries it. You get strapped into a wooden plank tied to two long dangling ropes and then get pushed by a guy from behind; you swing out with a clear view of the deep gorge down below. You repeatedly get hurled, as the pusher takes your photo while you’re smiling or screaming. It’s a cute, pleasant thrill for some, a shocking horror for others. “Not a few people have wet themselves on this swing,” says the guy who pushes and shoots. PEES AND JOY, my friends.
My turn on the swing (Photo courtesy of Bobby Garcia)
With our host from the CHR 12 office, Caloy (rightmost) (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
From SG Farm our group proceeded to the CHR Regional Office in Koronadal. The office building is rather new, but it has sustained severe damage from the magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Southern Mindanao last November 17, 2023. The temblor, hitting Koronadal with reported Intensity VI, caused wide cracks in the walls, floors, and ceilings of the new CHR building. Thus they need to vacate and find temporary office space. The staff were on the verge of tears as they showed a video of the violent shaking and recounted the incident.
The earthquake-damaged wall of the fairly new CHR 12 building (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
Lakaran
Our visit was part of CHR’s program called Lakbay Karapatan Tungo sa Kamalayan (Lakaran), or Human Rights Caravan, which is the Commission’s way of reaching out to grassroots communities to deliver the message of human rights and listen to their human rights woes. Lakaran is thus designed to be highly interactive, engaging the local government, soldiers and police, media, and civil society organizations through dialogue. Human rights issues are brought up and deliberated.
Throughout the various Lakarans including this one, the CHR has received complaints of “red-tagging,” or the practice of labeling certain groups or individuals as members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). Such branding has, on occasion, led to serious repercussions such as arrest and detention without basis and even assassination.
CHR Chair Richard Palpal-latoc in a dialogue with media and civil society in Kidapawan City (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
This, for example, was the fate of Jerry “Boyet” Loyola, the Indigenous People’s (IP) affairs desk officer of Makilala town in North Cotabato, who was shot and killed by gunmen riding-in-tandem on a motorbike on January 11, 2024. He had been active in contentious advocacies and was also red-tagged prior to his death.
Red-tagging and political killings are inevitably linked to political and environmental issues that bring about tensions among economic interest groups, politicians, and opposition groups, such as those involving mines and coal-fired power plants. In face of these, CHR keeps to its mandate by focusing on those whose rights are being undermined. It reserves its powers and resources for individuals at risk and directly threatened, as well as those rendered vulnerable because of their peculiar circumstances. These include activists who lack means to enjoy their basic economic rights but must challenge powerful entities and individuals
These also include persons deprived of liberty (PDLs). Detention facilities are often places where violations are alarmingly high, and therefore need special attention. Thus, the Lakaran in region 12 included a visit to the North Cotabato District Jail in Barangay Amas, Kidapawan, North Cotabato under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). It is a very new facility; they have transferred there only on December 1, 2023 from the previous, far more congested jail also in Amas, which is now used as barracks.
Up to 276 persons are currently detained within the new three-floor building. It still has steel bars in front of the cells, though these are more to prevent suicide attempts. “One time, at the old jailhouse,” said District Jail Warden JCInsp Teddy Uchi, “an inmate from his upper-deck bed jumped head first into the toilet bowl. He was injured, but fortunately survived the attempt with no major injuries.”
The new district jail in Amas, Kidapawan City (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
With CHR officials and jail officials (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
At the new district jail, they try to alleviate the difficulties inherent in conditions of detention, introducing activities that prevent boredom, provide livelihood, and create a sense of community. Such as making pan de coco (coconut and sugar-filled buns). One PDL, a former baker, serves as lead instructor for inhouse baking lessons. An oven and basic amenities are provided for the purpose. We got to sample their product, and the warm, freshly-baked bread was a most welome treat. They said it was invariably fresh because all the buns were consumed within the day.
Besides breadmaking, they also have woodcraft. One section is devoted to making miniature decorative houses and ukuleles. I tried playing the latter, just a couple of strums, and my friends heaved a sigh of relief when I stopped short of a full performance.
Jailhouse art (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
Surveying the cells (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
Part of the jail visit was a basic orientation that reminded the PDLs of their rights, including the right against torture and the right to decent living conditions. It also occasioned a one-on-one legal consultation between some pre-identified PDLs and CHR’s lawyers, including Chair Richard Palpal-latoc, Director Keysie, and Atty. Gemma Parojinog, as well HR Special Investigator Miguel A. Peñaloza.
CHR provides legal assistance and advice (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
Checking on the condition of PDLs (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
Bringing Back Fruits and Memories
The entire Lakaran finally came to an end on day four, and we started tracing our route back from Koronadal to GenSan. My return travel this time was with another work colleague Arvin Chua, a Mindanawon from Davao, driving. We made a planned stop again at Tupi, this time at Villa Edna Farm, which is less flamboyant than SG Farm but more homey. We were warmly welcomed by a neighbor in Antipolo from way back, Tita Edna Claudio, whose family decided to relocate back to their hometown down south and nurture their sprawling farm. Tita Edna’s son, Atty. Kim Claudio, is another colleague at the CHR.
Surveying a tilapia fishpond (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
The tour around the farm-resort was a welcome finale to our Cotabato trip. The natural spring-fed swimming pool was truly inviting, and I would have dived straight if I did not have a plane to catch. The tilapia and hito (catfish) ponds, various fruit trees of lanzones, papaya, mangosteen, macapuno, and what-not, were all over the place. Tita Edna said they did not have to market these outside, as buyers just come in and haul their bountiful products by the truckload. It is heartening to see firsthand how our old neighbor contributes to food security in general, and to filling our own personal stomachs in particular. And of course, which Filipino traveler could avoid the ubiquitous pasalubong (travel gifts, souvenirs)? Before we left we were lavished with boxes of take-home fruits that posed some challenge to baggage limits. (Upon weighing at the airport check-in, they did exceed. But through the uniquely Pinoy talent of creative consolidation and reorganization of checked-in and handcarried bags, I got through without the extra charges.)
“She said human rights violations have gone down, specifically the extrajudicial killings, torture, and other cases related to the 'war on drugs' launched by the previous administration. Other usual cases however, such as gender-based violence, remain the same.”
Finally, on the road from Tupi to GenSan, we had to succumb to the inevitability of MG3 pineapples at the roadside of Polomoloc, South Cotabato. The sample alone made the final stop worth it. I did not see exactly how they did it (I want this skill!), but they sliced the pineapple’s soft yellow flesh into bite-size pieces inside while retaining the outside whole, making it easy to fork out chunks of that sweetest delight straight into our mouths. What’s the glycemic index of this thing? I wondered, as I swallowed more than the reasonable amount of “free taste.”
Try it. Just one bite, if you can stop (Photo by Bobby Garcia)
“There and back again,” as The Hobbit Bilbo Baggins put it, and I find it always a fitting phrase to the end of any trip. It was not my first time to Cotabato, but like any other repeat journey, one finds something new everytime. “There are three things that represent Kidapawan,” said its young Mayor Jose Paolo Evangelista during the day one program of Lakaran, “fruits, water, and people.” I believe it is as true for the rest of Socscsargen, even the rest of Mindanao and, for that matter, the rest of the Philippines.
Bobby Garcia is the author of To Suffer thy Comrades: How the Revolution Decimated its Own. He was Undersecretary at the Office of the Political Adviser for President Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. – under whose term the Philippines filed the WPS territorial claim with the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
He presently leads the Technical Assistance Team of Governance in Justice (GOJUST) II – Human Rights, supporting the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) through funds from the European Union (EU) and the Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) of Spain.
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