From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 11):
A new era of peace dawns in Mindanao (Special Report)
A new era of peace has dawned in Mindanao with the recent signing of the
Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) between the Government of the
Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that would
finally pave the way to full development of untapped mineral resources,
including oil, that are abundant in the region.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles said that
alongside with the economic development of Mindanao dubbed as the “
Land of
Promise,”
millions of children – Christians, Muslims and Indigenous Peoples of school age
- will benefit with a lasting peace in place in southern
Philippines
which was hounded by violence since the Spanish era.
“Of course, school children will greatly benefit with the signing of the
CAB,” Deles told the Philippines News Agency at the sideline of the Forum
dubbed as “Women at the Peace Table” at the SDC Conference Room in Ateneo de
Manila University in Quezon City last Tuesday.
The historic signing will be a plus factor as this will enable children in
conflict areas to pursue their studies and attain a higher education as their
ticket to a better future.
The government and non-government organizations (NGOs) have been working
hand-on-hand in providing free books and feeding program for children in
poverty-stricken areas in
Mindanao.
These noble programs are being pushed by the Ninoy and Cory Foundation, the
MyLibrary Program of Ayala Foundation/Philippine Development Foundation, to
name a few.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) headed
by Deles conducted a series of consultations with various sectors long before
the signing of the CAB on March 27, 2014.
Aside from that, she and members of the GPH peace panel chaired by Prof.
Miriam Coronel-Ferrer also talked with “Cabinet secretaries for consultations
with the whole of government moving.”
But most of all, Deles acknowledged that Masses and prayers offered by
prayer warriors all over the country long before the CAB signing greatly helped
because “if we have only ourselves to depend on, we won’t get it.”
The OPAPP chair also quoted Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the MILF peace
panel, as saying that the impact of the signing was felt on the ground,
apparently referring to the MILF people.
During the Ateneo forum, the women members of the GPH peace panel led by
Ferrer were asked if women-dominated panel was a factor in the signing, the
panel said that maybe “women are more meticulous.”
Ferrer hastened to add kiddingly: “Men are comfortable delegating work to women,”
that generated laughter from the audience.
She also said that during the early stage of the peace negotiations, there
were “some nasty remarks” about women as “second class” but “we got over with.”
Breaking the ice during those tense moments were the jokes and funny
stories, including gender jokes made by both sides.
It was a learning process and during the negotiations there were lots of
haggling.
Ferrer said it was a meaningful participation even as both panels “played
hardball (and) dealt with lots of lawyers.”
For the GPH peace panel, “we pushed the limit of our mandate.”
On the other hand, Deles said that the “very difficult” part of negotiation
was about power and revenue sharing.
During the negotiation period that lasted for 43 rounds spanning over 17
years, there was a lot of burdens and sacrifices on both sides.
But there was hope and the faith persisted that with the many “problems we
can work together,” Deles said.
The GPH panel agreed with Deles that at the beginning of the talks it was
“hard sell.”
While there was lot of pressure during the talks both panels did not lose
hope.
In fact, the GPH women panel members dubbed themselves as “women of steel.”
Asked by TV host Che Che Lazaro, the moderator of the forum, on what was the
“stress buster” when things were rough, the panel members said aside from
ranting while going home, they would go shopping “guerrilla-style” – meaning
shopping for small items in one store then moving to another, and of course
eating.
But they praised Iqbal for keeping his cool.
The GPH panel is composed of Prof. Ferrer as chair with Undersecretary
Zenonin Brosas, Atty. Anna Tarhata Basman, Undersecretary Yasmin Busran-Lao and
Iona Gracia-Jalaiijali, head, panel secretariat.
Wrapping up an agreement - delicate as the CAB - was not easy to resolve 17
long years of conflict that started in 1997 shortly after the government and
the then Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the main Muslim rebel group,
mounted a rebellion in southern
Philippines
in 1974 following the infamous burning of Jolo, Sulu.
The MILF, which broke away from the MNLF after the latter signed a final
peace agreement with the government on Sept. 2, 1996, opposed the peace accord
and continued the war in
Mindanao.
Knowing its implication, then President Fidel V. Ramos reached out to talk
to the breakaway MILF which resulted in the signing of the Agreement for
General Cessation of Hostilities and its Implementing Administrative Guidelines
on July 21, 1997, followed by the Sept. 12, 1997 Implementing Operational
Guidelines of the (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) GRP-MILF
Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities on Nov. 14, 1997.
When the six-year term of President Ramos ended on June 30, 1998, incoming
President Joseph Estrada took over the reins of government.
There was a lull in the government peace negotiations with the MILF as the
latter resumed the hostilities.
In 1999, the peace process was in limbo and by year 2000 the Mindanao conflict
broke into the open when MILF forces occupied the town of
Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte and took hundreds
of civilians as hostages.
This prompted President Estrada to declare an all-out war against the MILF.
The military crushed the MILF during a four-month bloody war in the summer
of 2000 and captured 46 MILF camps, including Camp Abubakar Al-Saddique, the
main and the largest MILF camp on July 9, 2000.
Though defeated in battle, the MILF remained a force to reckon with as it
continued its armed struggle.
For Deles, the signing of the CAB was “a day of joy and gladness.”
In her speech on March 27, Deles said: “Today we embrace peace with the
crushing might of a people; and banish war with the great power of a nation
united. Today we embrace peace with the courage of equals rather than the
cowardice of bigots, deceivers, and exploiters. Today we embrace peace with
deep gratitude and thanksgiving for the gift, the blessing of peace, that only
Providence can truly
bestow upon humanity.
“And speaking of blessings, I also remember the gift bestowed upon us in the
person of Ibrahim Rahman, a village leader of Pigkawayan, North Cotabato, in
Mindanao. One night in August of 2008, amidst the distant
clap of cannons and gunfire, Ibrahim woke up to the sight of hundreds of
children of all shapes and sizes, in front of his house.
“The children were apparently told by their parents to flee their homes for
safety — by themselves, without food, with only the clothes they wore on their
frail bodies. In ragtag fashion and with the bravado of hardy sons and
daughters of war, they crossed the Libungan river in bancas to safer sanctuary,
and landed, luckily, in Ibrahim’s front door. Ibrahim called out to others in
the community.
“They took in the young ones in different homes, fed them, and sheltered
them in the madrasah. In a state of confusion, the child refugees or “bakwits”
would cry themselves to sleep and wake up not knowing where their parents were.
“It was weeks later that their parents came for them and brought them back
home, when the guns were silent for a while. Ibrahim would later lend his
10-hectare ancestral land to these children’s families, whose areas of
residence kept changing, depending on where and when it was safe — depending on
when and where the bombs fell or the guns roared.
"Today those families are sheltered in Ibrahim’s ancestral land, and
are being served by the government’s shelter assistance program. And on this
day itself, as they hear the words said in this historic ceremony, they are
finally invested with hope in a permanent peace, the hope that their children
will finally have the chance not only to survive, but to live and to thrive in
an enduring community.
"We stand here today to declare that, henceforth, no family shall be
forced to drive their children away for fear of their being maimed and wounded
by conflict; and that no child has ever again to cross a raging river and knock
on a stranger’s door to beg for protection.
"Outside these gates, parents, students, and children are in Luneta
flying kites for peace, while our allies from many noble persuasions are in
Mendiola and Quiapo in solidarity with us. In various areas in
Mindanao, people have turned major roads green with
waving peace flags and will be holding "peace-tahan" events to
celebrate today's momentous occasion.
"The signal and prayers are so strong and unrelenting -- no more war,
no more children scampering for safety, no more evacuees, no more lost
schooldays or school months, no more injustice, no more mis-governance, no more
poverty, no more fear and no more want. Tama na, we are all tired of it.
"A new dawn has come, the dawn for books, not bullets; for
paintbrushes, not knives; for whole communities, not evacuation centers; and
for rewarding toil, not endless strife. The work is far from over even as the
pledges are sealed.
"But I bear faith that our common intentions will drive us forward, and
that noble leaders will clasp hands and pull our future together. Most of all,
I bear the deepest faith that the Almighty will hold us all in the palm of His
hand — constantly delivering us from the instincts of war and keeping us within
the fold of peace each waking day.
"Today, the Bangsamoro rises with
Mindanao,
the nation, the region and the world — part of our great heritage and identity
as a nation, a political and economic force for all generations
"Mr. President (Benigno S. Aquino III, thank you for leading us forward
with a clear vision and indomitable steadfastness. Now I know that 'tuwid na
daan' also means peace for all. We could not have made it without you.
"Mr. President, allow me to express our gratitude to
Malaysia for
being a faithful and patient partner of the peace process. We can ask nothing
more of a good and trusted neighbor. Chairman Murad, you are truly a warrior
for all seasons; we salute your fortitude and tenacity in leading the MILF in
war and now in peace.
"To all who have been our partners in the journey, thank you from the
bottom of our hearts. I am humbled by your own love for peace and your
willingness to live and fight for the dream.
"And to you all who have toiled by my side and chose to walk these
difficult paths and navigated the complicated currents of peace-making as we
know it now.
"You know who you all are -- the men and women of OPAPP, with our
families, I can only say thank you."
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=10&sid=&nid=10&rid=634527
