The peace advocate wears Esperon's cap

Romy B. Elusfa/MindaNews

Saturday, 14 June 2008 20:17

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/14 June) – “I was looking at his picture the other night (in the office). He was wearing a cap. Mukhang galing sa akin ‘yon” (I think that came from me), Hermogenes Esperon, the retired Armed Forces Chief of Staff who is now Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, told peace advocates here late Friday afternoon. Esperon was referring to the published photograph of Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo, chair of the Mindanao Peoples’ Caucus (MPC), who was kidnapped June 8 in Sulu along with ABS-CBN senior reporter Ces Drilon and cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderrama. Valderrama was freed Thursday night but has yet to talk about what happened. That dark green cap, he said, looked very familiar. Dinampo wearing the cap. Toto Lozano/AKP Images ”PSHS. Four stars. Kawal. Pisay,” he said, smiling as peace advocates inside the Lawin function room of the Waterfront Insular Hotel took turns saying, “yes, that came from you,” “that’s his favorite cap.” Esperon, then newly-appointed Armed Forces Chief of Staff, gave away the personalized cap to the Mindanao Peaceweavers, a coalition of peace groups of which MPC is a member, after a meeting on August 10, 2006 at Camp Aguinaldo. Dinampo, who was among the last to leave Esperon’s office, got the cap. The cap was among the leftovers from his PSHS golf fundraiser, Esperon later told MindaNews. “Kawal” means soldier, PSHS stands for Philippine Science High School and Pisay is the shortened version of PSHS. Esperon finished high school at the PSHS, Class 1970 and is a Class 1974 graduate of the Philippine Military Academy. Shortly before talking about the cap, Esperon told peace advocates that the professor had already been released by their abductors. But the MPC officials were quick to tell Esperon that the news about Dinampo's release, which first came out on June 11, "is not true and is part of a campaign to discredit Prof. Octa." Lawyer Mary Ann Arnado, secretary-general of MPC, where Dinampo is presiding chair, relayed to Esperon a report published by the Philippine Star on June 11, quoting Regional Police Director Joel Goltiao of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as saying they were still investigating if the Prof. is a victim of kidnapping or "part of the kidnappers." "Please tell the police to be extra-careful in its pronouncements," Arnado told Esperon while stressing that the "assault against the credibility of Octa is also an assault against the entire peace movement in Mindanao." Aside from being the MPC presiding chair, Dinampo is also provincial chair of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, said Salic Ibrahim, another MPC council member who heads the PPCRV in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. He is also co-convenor of the Mindanao Peace Weavers (MPW) and chair of the Jolo-based Tulong Lupah Sug. Carmen Lauzon-Gatmaytan of the Initiatives for International Dialogue, the secretariat of the MPW, told Esperon that the news on Dinampo's release and the reported police investigation to determine if the professor is "part of the kidnappers," was "character assassination." "I am sorry, I was misled by the information," Esperon responded after he was told that Dinampo had not been released. He picked up his mobile phone and called Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of the Jolo-based Task Force Comet. "Just remember, nasa Bantay Ceasefire yan," Esperon told Sabban. Dinampo heads the MPC’s Bantay Ceasefire (Ceasefire Watch) in Sulu. To the peace advocates, he said, “if indeed he served as guide (of the ABS-CBN news team), so what? He has knowledge on how to go there…How can you implicate him? Legally, anong kasalanan nya? Escorting a victim?" Esperon asked. He said very few people in Manila know that Dinampo is chair of MPC, a reason he advised the peace groups "to tell the people that he is chair of MPC and leader of Bantay Ceasefire and therefore he would be the last person to commit infraction of the law." Various peace groups in Mindanao, Asia and even from the global Nonviolent Peace Force have issue statements vouching for the credibility of Dinampo. Among the most recent statements is from the Local Government Support Program in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (LGSPA). "Professor Octavio Dinampo has been actively engaged in promoting peace and development through good governance, in more recent times in partnership with the Canada-funded LGSPA." Marion Villanueva of LGSPA described Dinampo "as one who was quite excited about future plans to work more directly with local governments, the security sector and community leaders to broaden the peace constituency in Sulu." "We know Prof. Octa to be an active participant of civil society and peace-related processes. Just recently, Prof. Octa was engaged in discussions on peace and conflict impact assessment and on setting the CSO agenda for peace and development in Bangsamoro areas. He is a sought-after resource person on the Bangsamoro and Sulu situation," added Villanueva. "LGSPA joins other organizations in the clamor for the safety and immediate release of the kidnap victims in a manner that will not fuel future conflicts that would only displace communities in the area,” Villanueva said. LGSPA supports capacity development for LGUs, government agencies, CSOs and peace networks in the Autonomous Region. LGSPA and the MPC are working together on a peace initiative in Sulu. (Romy B. Elusfa/MindaNews)