JUSTICE AND PEACE AND INTEGRITY OF CREATION

SOCIAL  ACTION CENTER

DIOCESE OF MARBEL

PROFILE

1.      Accreditation of Membership ( South Cotabato )

·        Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council- member

·        Provincial Development Council- member

·        Provincial Executive Committee of PDC- member

·        Provincial  Peace and Order Council- member

·        Provincial Drug Watch Council (SP)- member

·         Protected Area Management Board of Mt. Matutum and Allah Valley Watershed Area of DENR 12 – member, chair of the Grievance Committee

·        Provincial Multi-Forest Protection  Committee of DENR- chair

2.      Organizational Profile

The Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation Desk- Social Action is one of the social arms of the Diocese of Marbel. It started its social services in the year 1991 and currently has 14 full time staff member. Its clientless include victims of human-made and natural disasters, children and women., indigenous peoples, farmers, laborers and other basic sectors of the provinces of South Cotabato and Sarangani including General Santos City. Its program and services are the following:

·         Legal Services

The organization has no one full time lawyer and retainer lawyer at the Satellite Office in Sarangani and General Santos area and a paralegal officer. The component handles direct legal cases, legal counseling and litigation of cases. Currently, the office is handling around 60 legal cases involving the protection of women and children from abuses such as rape, child abuse, land related cases involving farmers and ancestral domains of the indigenous peoples, labor cases and cases involving human rights especially of the poor.

 ·         Advocacy and Networking

The office regularly conducts advocacy initiatives on child and women rights, environment, ancestral domain, agrarian reform, human rights, and sustainable  agriculture.

·        Capability Building

Conducts community organizing and consolidation, education and training to the basic sectors of the society and Justice and Peace  Committees and Action Groups in the parishes.

·         Research, Databank and Publication

Facilitates research and publication on issues and initiatives, updates and accomplishments of the different program components.

·         Services for Women and Children in Crisis

Gives education and training on women and children related laws and issues in the parishes and communities.Provides intervention  for the abused women and children such as counseling, legal services and in-house treatment. A women and children in crisis center have been put up to facilitate rehabilitation or in-house treatment of the clients.

·         Community Support Services

Facilitates rehabilitation of natural and man-made displacement of communities through livelihood projects, crop production loans, working animals, cooperative, development, agro-forestry and environmental rehabilitation particularly in T’boli and Polomolok. Facilitates and resettlement of urban through DSWD in Koronadal City, livelihood assistance to victims of child and women abuse. ( See attached reports/ publications)

3.      CITATIONS AND AWARDS  

·       Certificate of Recognition as PARCOM member – Department of Agrarian        Reform ( January 2006)

·       Outstanding Achievement in Environment and Natural Resources Award (June 2007)

·        Plaque of Recognition- Provincial Development Council (June 2007)

·        Certificate of Participation- Transparency and Accountability Network (May 2007)

·        Once judged as the regional winner in human rights works by CHR  Region 11

·        Letter of appreciation by 601^st Infantry Brigade for social works among the indigenous peoples.

4.      MEMBERSHIP IN NETWORKS

               Refer to the mentioned membership which includes: 

·        Coalition of Social Development Organizations in South Cotabato  (founding   member, member of the executive board and Vice-Chair of ExeCom)

·         National Secretariat of Social Action ( NASSA)

·         Legal Rights Center

·         Third World Network

·         Transparency and Accountability Network ( TAN-South Cotabato)

·         SALIGAN-Alternative Law Groups

·         WAND- Women  Action Network for Development

·         Alyansa Tigil Mina- National Network on Anti- Mining Campaign

·         Mindanao Coalition AGAINST GMO

·         Coalition of Anti- Mining Movement

5.      SCOPE OF OPERATION  

·         South Cotabato, General Santos City and Sarangani Province

6.      SUSTAINABILITY  

·         Plans

The Justice and Peace Desk is currently the lead NGO in the civil society’s initiatives dub as Allah Valley Development ( ALVADEV) in rehabilitating the Allah River through reforestation on the watershed in order to prevent natural disasters. We are now engaged in the rehabilitation of the periphery of Lake Parker or Lake Holon. As chair of the Province Multi Sectoral Forest Protection Committee we are partner of all the LGUs thru their MENRO office regarding cutting of trees, its protection and rehabilitation of our forest. The office will also continue to extend legal services to children and women victims of various abuses, facilitate in-house treatment and rehabilitation of these abused as well as gender education to the community.

·         Coordination mechanism with LGUs and other organizations

The office has been a long time partner of DENR (Multi- sectoral Forest Protection Committee, Protected Area and Management Board (PAMB), PPDO, PARCOM, DSWD in various concerns and disaster related initiatives through its membership to several government councils. The JPIC is a member or chair in most of the major government agencies initiated councils which deal with social services (see accredited membership data). The JPD is an active member of the coalition of non-government organizations in the province.

·         Major Accomplishments

The on-going partnership of JP with DENR, MFPC, PPDO, DSWD in the protection and sustainable development of our natural resources and act as intermediary with the ongoing concerns of the resettled Urban Poor in Koronadal City. Currently, the office is handling around eight (8) cases of rape, Child abuse and other forms of violence against women. The establishment of Women and Children in Crisis Center has been a major accomplishment and development in the programs and campaigns of the JP Desk against GMO, against Mining other development aggression activities. And also the promotion and selling of organic products especially the organic rice.

·         Institutional Capacities

The Justice and Peace Desk have 14 full time staff members. One from a religious community (nun), two lawyers, one licensed social worker and others are all graduates of various degrees. The office has also hundreds of volunteers in every parishes and municipalities. The staff members have undergone several trainings on disaster management, social case studies, Inter-religious dialogues, Gender and development, feminist counseling, annual retreats, environment advocacy, databanking , policy and advocacy and paralegal trainings on various subjects.

·         Logistics

The major source of funds is accessed abroad and through local resource mobilization. The office has complete lime of communications like telephones, fax machines and internet connections. Transportation and other distribution points are in place through our parish point persons and volunteers in every municipalities or parishes of South Cotabato and Sarangani provinces and General Santos City.

7.             Vision/Mission

·   Vision Statement

“Justice and Peace in the new millennium envisions that the poor men and women shall experience a just and fair relationships as a foretaste of God’s Reign in the midst of the given paradigm”.

.   Mission Statement

We commit to:

·        reclaim the worth and dignity of the poor men and women in their quest for quality life in its fullness and;

·         respect all life forms 

8.            Goal

To assist people in their efforts to establish a more humane, just, free and peaceful society.

9.            Specific Objectives

The program seeks to address the issue of development aggression affecting the materially poor men and women and the marginalized sectors of society expressed in the six pastoral themes through the following:

·         Education and training based on the six pastoral themes to help people become more aware of their basic human rights and will hopefully lead to peoples’ action in behalf of justice;

.         Promotion of direct legal assistance for individuals or communities;

.         Community reconstruction to victims of human made calamities;

.         Advocacy work that will allow people to mobilize themselves toward attainment of justice, peace, human rights, and basic kingdom values;

.         organizing client communities, Justice and Peace Committees in the parishes/areas and Justice and Peace communities or GKK;

.         Research, publication and databank of issues and concerns relating to the five (5) pastoral themes.

10.        Pastoral Themes

.         Genuine Agrarian Reform

.         Indigenous People’s/Ancestral Domain

.         Integrity of Creation

.         Human Rights

.         Peace building