Because I ended last week's martial law update with a note about a CIA linked organisation, The Asia Foundation, being involved in the peace process I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the many foreign NGO's and local groups working for peace in Mindanao and elsewhere in the Philippines. The questions asked about each group will be as follows:
1. Who are they?
2. Where are they located?
3. What are their sources of funding?
4. What are their goals?
This list will not cover every single group but hopefully it will cover those of most importance. Especially when it comes to financing the name of the game is discretion which means even the revealed sources of funding won't necessarily be all the sources of funding. At this point I do not think it would be wise to make any predetermined conclusions or bold claims about these groups. Let's just look at the information and see what it has to reveal.
The first group to look at is the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation or OIC.
This group helped negotiate the Tripoli Agreement between Marcos and the MNLF which eventually paved the way for the ARMM.
In July 1975, in a second acknowledgment of the MNLF’s status, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)—an international body of Muslim states and institutions later known as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation—officially recognized the MNLF as the legitimate representative of the Moro separatist movement. The OIC urged the Philippine government to reach a political settlement with the MNLF.
http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/379
The OIC is still active in the peace process today with the last update on their page specifically about their involvement being from 2016.
OIC Continues Engagement with the Peace Process in Southern Philippines. The MNLF is the recognised by the OIC as the only official Moro organisation from the Philippines and in March 2019 Misuari attended two OIC conferences.
The founding history and goals of the OIC is as follows:
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The Organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world. It endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.
The Organization was established upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco on 12th Rajab 1389 Hijra (25 September 1969) following the criminal arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
https://www.oic-oci.org/page/?p_id=52&p_ref=26&lan=en
The OIC is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Funding likely comes from member nation dues but I cannot find any definitive information.
Next is the Mindanao Peaceweavers.
This is an umbrella organisation composed of seven different groups.
Mindanao Peaceweavers (MPW) is a convergence of peace advocates in Mindanao. It was conceived during the “Peace in MindaNOW Conference” held in Apo View Hotel, Davao City on May 13-15, 2003, and convened by seven (7) peace groups that coalesced in the spirit of cooperation, complementation and concerted action towards a common advocacy peace platform. It currently represents the broadest network of peace constituency in Mindanao cutting across NGOs, academe, religious, human rights groups, peoples organizations and grassroots communities in advancing a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Mindanao.
It envisions to promote unity, information-sharing and coordination among peace advocates in the areas of humanitarian protection, peace and human rights advocacy, peace talks and ceasefire monitoring, and peacebuilding. It seeks to engage government and revolutionary armed groups in the formal peace talks, implement civilian-led ceasefire monitoring and broaden the peace constituency. The Mindanao Peaceweavers’ launch pad in pursuing joint-coordinated peace advocacy was the campaign calling for a Bilateral Ceasefire between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The seven groups are:
Inter-religious Solidarity Movement for Peace
Agong Network
Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society
Mindanao Peace Advocates Conference
Mindanao Peoples Caucus
Mindanao Peoples Peace Movement
Mindanao Solidarity Network
Four groups are listed as being the secretaries of the Mindanao Peaceweavers and they are not the same as the founders.
Initiatives for International Dialogue
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Mindanao
Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN) Mindanaw
Technical Assistance Center for the Development of the Rural and Urban Poor (TACDRUP)
Next is the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute which is located in Davao.
The Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) is an Asian training institute grounded in the Mindanao, Philippines, context that provides a space for people of diverse backgrounds to gather together, share and learn in a safe environment where all viewpoints are encouraged and respected. MPI is a resource for peacebuilders: providing skills, conducting research and building solidarity within the Asia-Pacific Region.
MPI was established in the year 2000 through the collective effort of the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to bring together peacebuilders of diverse cultures from the Asia-Pacific Region to participate in its annual peacebuilding training. Since its inception, MPI has been a meeting point of peacebuilders from countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji Islands, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, USA, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
The MPI is a school for training peace builders. Their international partners include:
Bread for the World – Protestant Development Service
Catholic Relief Services
DKA - Austria
Elizabethtown College Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking
Mennonite Central Committee
Northeat Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute
Summer Peacebuilding Institute
United Methodist Church - USA
Philippine partners include:
Ecosystems Works for Essential Benefits, Inc.
Mindanao Peaceweavers
Pikhumpongan Dlibon Subanen, Inc.
Mindanao Peaceweavers and Catholic Relief services are both listed as partners and both receive money from CIA linked organisations.
UK based charity Oxfam is also involved in the peace process in the Philippines.
We will work towards the transformation of ideas, beliefs and institutions ot end violent conflict and promote sustainable peace in the Bangsamoro by:
- Young men and women recognise the identity, diversity, and unique needs and aspirations of the Bangsamoro;
- Bangsamoro leaders and citizens develop and implement inclusive development plans and achieve greater social accountability;
- Essential services that support human development and gender equity are prioritised and resourced to benefit women in the Bangsamoro.
https://philippines.oxfam.org/what-we-do/we-work-peace
According to their
latest annual report Oxfam receives grants and funding from governments, corporations, and trusts including UNICEF, USAID, EuropeAid, Asian Development Bank, Paypal, Unilever, Google, Comic Relief, and The World Bank.
The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue is another big player in the Philippines Peace Process.
This group, located in Switzerland, first became involved in the Philippines in 2005 helping to negotiate the release of Misuari from detention. They also set up the Peace Working Group which was later renamed Tumikang Sama Sama which brings local native Tausug groups together to solve their differences. In 2007, after the collapse of the Memorandum on Ancestral Domain, they created the International Contact Group. This group is comprised of:
the Governments of Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Kingdom as well as international non-governmental organisations: Conciliation Resources, Muhammadiyah and the Community of Sant’Egidio (an original member, the Asia Foundation later joined the Third Party Monitoring Team in 2013).
https://www.hdcentre.org/activities/philippines-mindanao/
Funding for the CHD comes from a variety of sources.
In 2016, HD’s annual income reached CHF 31 million from 25 government, private foundation, organisation and individual donors including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, the European Union, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Peace Support Fund, the Bosch Foundation, the Hoffmann Foundation, the Third Millennium Foundation, Humanity United, the United Nations, and the City of Geneva.
https://www.hdcentre.org/who-we-are/about/
Peering back behind the curtain to 2004 we see that CHD received funding from USAID and the Rockefeller foundation both which have connections to the CIA.
How much funding is still received, if any, from USAID and the Rockefeller Foundations is unclear.
As for the International Contact Group it consists of:
Conciliation Resources
Muhammadiyah
The Community of Sant’Egidio
The Asia Foundation was an original member and we will look at TAF separately.
Conciliation Resources is a UK based NGO which does work in West Africa and other conflict ridden areas.
Conciliation Resources is an international organisation committed to stopping violent conflict and creating more peaceful societies. We work with people impacted by war and violence, bringing diverse voices together to make change that lasts.
Working across society, we connect community perspectives with political dialogue. Learning from peace processes around the world, we share experience and expertise to find creative solutions to violent conflict.
https://www.c-r.org/who-we-are
Their latest audited account is from 2017. Sources of funding range from USAID, the NED, and various embassies. For their work in the Philippines they list the following as their sources of funding:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
Department of Foreign Affairs, Canada
UK Aid
European Union
United Nations Development Programme
https://www.c-r.org/downloads/Directors’%20and%20trustees’%20report%20and%20accounts%202017.pdf
Muhammadiyah is an Islamic NGO based in Indonesia.
The organization was founded in 1912 by Ahmad Dahlan in the city of Yogyakarta as a reformist socioreligious movement, advocating ijtihad - individual interpretation of Qur'an and sunnah, as opposed to taqlid - the acceptance of the traditional interpretations propounded by the ulama. Since its establishment, Muhammadiyah has adopted a reformist platform mixing religious and secular education, primarily as a way to promote the upward mobility of Muslims toward a 'modern' community and to purify Indonesian Islam of local syncretic practices.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammadiyah
Exact funding for this NGO is not clear but they have received grants from
USAID and
AusAid.
The Community of Sant’Egidio is a lay Catholic group.
Sant’Egidio is a Christian community born in 1968, right after the second Vatican Council. An initiative of Andrea Riccardi, it was born in a secondary school in the centre of Rome. With the years, it has become a network of communities in more than 70 countries of the world. The Community pays attention to the periphery and peripheral people, gathering men and women of all ages and conditions, united by a fraternal tie through the listening of the Gospel and the voluntary and free commitment for the poor and peace.
https://www.santegidio.org/pageID/30008/langID/en/THE-COMMUNITY.html
Funding for this group is not easily available but
USAID is interested in partnering with them.
The Third Party Monitoring Team is the next group to take a look at.
The purpose of this group is as follows:
An independent body mandated by the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to monitor, review and assess the implementation of all GPH-MILF signed agreements, including in particular the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and its annexes.
It is composed of four NGOs.
United Youth for Peace and Development, Inc.
Gaston Z Ortigas Peace Institute
IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation
The Asia Foundation
UNYPAD is a group based in Cotabato City. Their stated goal is:
Funding for their projects comes from the following sources:
The Asia Foundation
The European Union
Save the Children Philippines
EU via the United Nations Development Programme
UNICEF
The Asia Foundation in partnership with the Australian Embassy
The Asia Foundation through generous support of United Kingdom's Department for International Dev. Program Partnerships Agreements (DFID PPA)
The Embassy of Japan
Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) thru TAF
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ("FAO")
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
Latter Day Saint (LDS)
Lutheran World Relief (LWR)International Organization for Migrants (IOM)
The Asia Foundation (TAF)/USAID
That is just a sampling from 2018. Of course TAF and USAID are CIA linked organisations and thrown into the mix are the Lutherans, Mormons, Canadians, Australians, and the UN.
The Gaston Z Ortigas Peace Institute's mission is as follows:
The Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute commits to provide, nurture and shelter for Philippine Basic Sectors and Citizen Peacemakers in the search for, creation of, and insistence on the peaceful settlement and transformation of conflicts, even as it continuously organizes a constituency committed to freedom and social justice.
https://gzopi.wordpress.com/about-gzo-peace/brief-history-vision-and-mission/
The IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation is a Turkish NGO located in Istanbul.
IHH has been working since 1992 with the purpose to deliver aid to all people who are in need, who had a catastrophe, who are victims of war, natural disaster, etc. or wounded, crippled, starved, homeless and persecuted thereof, wherever they are regardless of their religion, language, race or sect and to prevent the violation of the basic human rights and freedoms of those people. IHH’s voluntary relief activities have evolved to an official organization in 1995 and spread around five continents as it established a bridge of goodwill stretching from Turkey to 135 countries and territories.
https://www.ihh.org.tr/en/about-us
This foundation is a member of:
United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) membership of a consultant status
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) membership of a consultant status
Organization of Islamic Cooperation Humanitarian Funds (OICHF) councillorship
Humanitarian Forum (THF) membership
Union of NGOs of the Islamic World (IDSP) membership
Turkey Voluntary Agencies Foundation (TGTV) membership
International Council of Voluntary Agencies
https://www.ihh.org.tr/en/about-us
As for funding:
In 2014 had reported income of 411.4 million Turkish lira (~$141.8 million) and reported expenses of 372.8 million Turkish lira.
According to the New York Times (June 1, 2010): “The organization is funded entirely on donations…money that comes from Turkey’s religious merchant class, an affluent section of Turkish society that has brought the party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to power.” Another Times report expanded on IHH’s “extensive connections with Turkey’s political elite,” and cited a Turkish paper’s editorial that referred to IHH as a “governmental-nongovernmental-organization” (GNGO).
https://www.ngo-monitor.org/ngos/ihh_insani_yardim_vakfi_/
IHH is a member of the Union of the Good, an umbrella of 50+ Islamic organizations, which was designated by the US government as “an organization created by Hamas leadership to transfer funds to the terrorist organization.”
https://www.ngo-monitor.org/ngos/ihh_insani_yardim_vakfi_/
The Union of Good's executive leadership and board of directors includes Hamas leaders, Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), and other terrorist supporters. The secretary general of the Union of Good, for example, also acts as the vice-chairman of the United Kingdom-based Interpal, which was designated in 2003 for providing financial support to Hamas under the cover of charitable activity. As of mid-2007, this official served on the Hamas executive committee under Hamas leader Khaled Misha'al.
https://web.archive.org/web/20090403105313/https://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/hp1267.htm
Is a terrorist organisation actually part of the peace process in the Philippines?
Finally there is The Asia Foundation.
TAF is an NGO based in San Fransisco. Their website relates the following about their founding and mission:
In 1954, a group of forward-thinking citizens who shared a strong interest in Asia, distinguished personal achievements, and dedicated public service established The Asia Foundation— a private, non-governmental organization devoted to promoting democracy, rule of law, and market-based development in post-war Asia.
The truth is a lot more storied as TAF started out under a different name.
"The Asia Foundation (TAF), a Central Intelligence Agency proprietary, was established in 1954 to undertake cultural and educational activities on behalf of the United States Government in ways not open to official U.S. agencies."
The Asia Foundation is an outgrowth of the Committee for a Free Asia, which was founded by the U.S. government in 1951. CIA funding and support of the Committee for a Free Asia and the Asia Foundation were assigned the CIA code name "Project DTPILLAR".
In 1954, the Committee for a Free Asia was renamed the Asia Foundation (TAF) and incorporated in California as a private, nominally non-governmental organization devoted to promoting democracy, rule of law, and market-based development in post-war Asia.
The TAF then takes that money and distributes it amongst the many programs they work with throughout Asia. TAF's annual project list only dates back to 2011. Looking back we see the following groups TAF partnered with in regards to the peace process over the past decade.
2011
Basilan Advocates for Peace, Environment, and Sustainable Development Association Inc.
Mangungaya Center for PALMA Inc.
Ranao Institute for Peace and Development, Inc.
Ulangig Mindanao Inc.
Young Moro Professionals Network
https://asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/ProjectList2011FINALWEB.pdf
2010
Ateneo de Zamboanga University
Basilan Advocates for Peace, Environment, and Sustainable Development Association
Bangsamoro Center for Justpeace in the Philippines, Inc.
Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA)
Bangsamoro Muslim Aid Phils., Inc.
Bishops-Ulama Conference
Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society, Inc.
Government of the Republic of the Philippines Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities; Institute of Bangsamoro Studies
Integral Development Services Philippines, Inc.
Liguasan Youth Association for Sustainable Development, Inc.
Magungaya Center for PALMA Inc.
Mindanawan Community Development Organization, Inc.
Mindanao Economic Development Council
Mindanao News and Information Cooperative Centre
Peace and Development Advocate League, Inc.
Peacemakers’ Circle Foundation, Inc.
Philippine Political Science Association
Reconciliatory Initiatives for Development Opportunities, Inc.
Research, Education, and Institutional Development Foundation, Inc.
Regional Conference on the Role of Religious and Community Leaders in Advancing Development in Asia
Sultan Kudarat Descendants Organization of the Philippines
Sustainable Alternatives for the Advancement of Mindanao, Inc.
The Samdhana Institute
Ulangig Mindanao, Inc.
United Muslim Professional for Peace and Development Association
United Youth for Peace and Development
https://asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/2010ProjectList.pdf
Similar project lists can be found for 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005. TAF supports governance programs, economic programs, as well as conflict resolution initiatives throughout the Philippines. Many of these are one-off's such as support for a TV debate forum on ABS-CBN titled, "Mindnano: The Way Foraward" in 2009.
What can we learn from all this? For one thing the same groups, notably the UN, the EU, and the US government, are funnelling enormous sums of money to various NGO's in the Philippines to facilitate the peace process. Many of these NGO's are also funded by corporations and private foundations. The money trail leading to the Philippines is surely tangled and complicated. Even aside from the peace process foreign NGO's are funding many projects in the Philippines. Vice President Leni Robredo's Angat Buhay program has the US embassy as a financial backer.
Vice President Leni Robredo awarded here Thursday 10 youth groups P25,000 cash each in support of their peace-bulding programs addressing violent religious extremism.
The selection of the 10 organizations, from among 28, was premised on extensive assessments initiated during a prior Angat Buhay Summit facilitated jointly by the Office of the Vice President and the executive department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
In a statement, the Bureau of Public Information-ARMM said it was the United States embassy that provided for the cash awards Robredo released to the 10 peace-advocacy groups.
The US Embassy is a key benefactor of the Angat Buhay program of Robredo’s office.
In 2019 her goal is to
find more partnerships abroad to sustain Angat Buhay. Does receiving foreign aid for her pet project make her a puppet? Are all the groups which receive foreign funding puppets? The Philippine government receives millions each year from the EU and the USA who also provides military training and equipment. Is the Philippine government a puppet?
I would say no. It takes more than funding to make one a puppet. To be a puppet means one is doing the bidding of the one handing out the money. If any of these NGO's are puppets and puppet masters it would require a lot more investigation to figure out the details. More than mere guilt by association. That does not mean some NGO's in the Philippines are unwitting puppets. When Trump threatened to cut foreign aid to Central American countries who did not stop sending illegal aliens the USA Sen. Bob Mendez had this to say:
"U.S. foreign assistance is not charity; it advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens,” Menendez said. "This latest reported move shows the Administration still does not understand that the United States cuts foreign aid to Central America at our own peril."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-administration-says-it-will-cut-foreign-aid-guatemala-honduras-n989246
That is quite a revelatory statement. Just how it applies to the Philippines, what strategic interests are being advanced, I do not know but it is not out of the question that foreign NGO's funded by the US government and other governments are doing that very thing. Why has peace in Mindanao become a global concern? How does peace in the Philippines benefit the West? Surely foreign governments are not giving billions to NGOs working the Philippines out of the kindness of their hearts.
