PHL’s Deles, Ferrer hailed by int’l think-tank for key roles in Bangsamoro peace process

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 15): PHL’s Deles, Ferrer hailed by int’l think-tank for key roles in Bangsamoro peace process

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles and Government Peace Panel Chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer have been feted as ideal women peacemakers in a report recently released by the New York-based International Peace Institute (IPI).

The IPI report, entitled "Reimagining Peacemaking: Women’s Roles in Peace Processes," went into great lengths to study and compare two peace processes that reached milestones in the Philippines: the government peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The report highlighted the breakthrough in the country’s peace process from the time Deles, the Philippines’ first woman peace presidential adviser, took the lead in peace talks in 2010. It likewise underscored the critical roles played by Deles and Ferrer in the GPH-MILF peace negotiations. Ferrer is the first female to chair the Philippine government panel in talks with the MILF.

The study’s authors noted how the inclusive and direct participation of Deles and Ferrer, among other women participants both from the government and the MILF panels, in the peace process impacted the signing of the historic Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), primarily ensuring economic, social, and political guarantees for women through provisions that promote gender equality and greater women’s participation in public life.

“Women negotiators united across the table, both to promote gender issues and to push the overall process forward. They emphasized the importance of this united approach when presenting to the media throughout the talks. They worked to demonstrate progress and build support for the peace process, and to persuade the public that continuing the negotiations was a smarter, better approach than returning to violence,” the authors remarked.

On the other hand, they observed that in the Philippine government-NDF peace talks, “the women’s engagement in the NDF process beyond the peace table in Oslo was limited. The process lacked additional mechanisms for inclusion… the influence of women in the NDF process was weak.”

They added that “women were not meaningful participants in the peace process. Instead, the women participating in the NDF negotiating panel were the wives of the organization’s leaders, which compromised their inputs.”

The authors concluded that “while peace processes between the Philippine government and both the (NDF) and the (MILF) represent(ed) high points of women’s participation, women attained lasting influence only in the MILF process.”

“In the MILF process, direct participation at the negotiation table was combined with official consultations, a transition commission, and mass action,” they said and added: “When the selection of female delegates in the Philippine context was based on qualifications such as their past work for peace or their leadership of organized constituencies of women, they appeared more likely to bring women’s priorities into the negotiations and to push for a sustainable agreement.”

Also, the IPI report took note how Deles and Ferrer remained steadfast and resilient in their roles as peace negotiators even after they were vilified by government critics following the tragedy in late January that killed 44 Special Action Force (SAF) troopers during an encounter with members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

The Mamasapano tragedy slowed down congressional deliberations on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), an important component in the CAB. This, however, did not diminish the resolve of the peace panel to continue the peace process with the MILF.

“Though the immediate future remains uncertain, the panels are utilizing their established links to women’s groups and pro-peace civil society groups to rebuild public support for the Bangsamoro agreement. As with every peace process, reaching an agreement is only the first step on a long and arduous road toward rebuilding trust. (And) based on their (Deles and Ferrer) experiences in helping to bring about the Comprehensive Agreement, women will likely have more contributions to make in this journey toward peace,” the IPI report added.

The IPI report affirmed Deles’ testimony in the recently held United Nation (UN) discussion on Power of Empowered Women in Geneva, where she recalled how she bravely took the challenges that she endured each time she presented herself as the head of the country’s peace negotiating panel in meetings, which were attended mostly by men. She said that because of her determination, those who doubted her in the beginning subsequently acknowledged and accepted her role as the first woman in the Philippines to negotiate peace.

“Their judgment made me choose something that I felt needed to be done, because my children are growing up and I don’t want a world of violence for them,” she told her audience of international women peace leaders, adding that she came prepared for the job and was relentless and persistent, ready to discuss and debate with her male counterparts.

The IPI report likewise acknowledged the vital roles that other women played in the Philippines’ peace process, among them, Irene Santiago, who served as one of the first female negotiators for the Philippine government in its negotiations with the MILF, from 2001 to 2004; Emily Marohombsar, 2001-2004; Annabelle Abaya, another female leader of conflict resolution initiatives, who was presidential adviser from November 2009 to June 2010; and, Raissa Jajurie, who served as key negotiator and consultant on behalf of the MILF in 2013.

Also mentioned were members of the Philippines peace panel during the GPH-NDF talks, among them Jurgette Honculada and Maria Lourdes Tison, who were appointed in late 2010.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=782964