The government peace panel in talks with the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) reiterated today the firm resolve of the Aquino
administration to bring peace and development to Mindanao
despite the controversies and political issues.
"We have seen this strong commitment as early as
President Aquino’s inauguration in 2010,” government peace panel chair Prof.
Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said.
During his inauguration in June 30, 2010, Aquino declared
his government “will be sincere in dealing with all the peoples of Mindanao ,” adding “we are committed to a peaceful and
just settlement of conflict, inclusive of the interests of all—they be Lumads,
Bangsamoro, or Christian.”
"There have been so many challenges along the way, but
President Aquino remains determined to bring peace to Mindanao, and with the
people's support, we have gone this far in the process," said Ferrer.
Ferrer cited the +23 public rating on the administration's
efforts in “Restoring peace to Mindanao ,” up
from +12 in March, with majority of Filipinos (52%) expressing satisfaction as
shown in the Second Quarter 2015 survey of the Social Weather Stations.
Chair of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on
the Bangsamoro and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez echoed Ferrer’s
statement, saying that “President Aquino’s commitment to bring peace and
development to our fellow Filipinos in Mindanao is unparalleled by previous
administrations.”
“We can see that in how he is doing all he can to move the
peace process forward,” Rodriguez noted.
“We have achieved so much in this peace process because the
president continued pushing for it. Some are using the peace process to attack
the president for the sake of their own political ambitions, yet President
Aquino continues to stand his ground,” said Young Moro Professionals Network
(YMPN)
Among the unprecedented and historic peace milestones
achieved under the Aquino administration are the signing of the Framework
Agreement on the Bangsamoro, a preliminary peace agreement, last October 15,
2012; the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which
successfully concludes the more than 17 long years of negotiations, last March
27, 2014; the submission of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law last September 10,
2014; and the beginning of the decommissioning process with the ceremonial
turnover and decommissioning of MILF weapons and forces last June 16, 2015.
“We had Al-Barka in 2011, the Sabah
standoff and the Zamboanga siege in 2013, and the tragedy in Mamasapano early
this year. While the peace process did not cause these events, we cannot deny
that they are related,” Ferrer said.
“Some sectors have called for an end to the peace talks and
even for all-out war in the aftermath of these tragedies. And yet the President
stood his ground. He knew the stakes, and he knew what a united Filipino nation
can achieve through dialogue and principled compromise," Ferrer said.
Ferrer said President Aquino has been equally firm in his
conviction that the peace talks and ensuing agreements are all within the 1987
Constitution.
“If we recall the Memorandum of Instruction issued by the
President to the government peace panel in 2010, we can see that the first of
his instructions is to ensure that negotiations will be guided by the
Constitution,” Ferrer pointed out.
The Memorandum of Instruction, dated October 7, 2010, was
addressed to then-peace panel chair and now Supreme Court Associate Justice
Marvic Leonen. In sum, the President instructed the government panel that
negotiations should be guided by the Philippine Constitution, inclusive of the
flexibilities therein; the lessons learned from past negotiations; the
government’s ability to deliver its commitments; and inclusiveness and
transparency in order to restore public trust and confidence in the peace
process.
Proof of this, according to Ferrer, is the historic August
2011 meeting between Aquino and MILF Chair Al Haj Murad, which was welcomed by
the armed group as “a great leap forward for both leaders,” raising hopes for a
much-needed “closure to the conflict in Mindanao .”
Ferrer explained that “the fact that the MILF dropped its
earlier advocacy of secession and instead pursued greater political autonomy
for Mindanao—which is mandated by the 1987 Constitution—is a big factor in the
President’s decision to meet Chairman Murad.”
“President Aquino continues to work to push the peace
process forward, not because he seeks fame or personal gain, but because he
knows the people, the children of Mindanao
badly need peace and development,” Ferrer said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=786932
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