As Congress resumes session, Government of the Philippines
(GPH) peace panel chair Professor Miriam Coronel–Ferrer Monday once more
appealed to legislators to act on the draft Bangsamoro law, saying that the
recent terrorist attack in Indonesia last week, shows the urgency of countering
the influence of extremist groups among the local population.
“The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and the
draft Bangsamoro law are social justice measures, but from the global security
perspective, these are also a containment measure against jihadist extremism,”
Ferrer said. “I reiterate our appeal to our legislators in the joint peace
panels’ open letter to them which we issued last November 26 after the attack
on Paris, in view of the recent violence in Indonesia, which is so much closer
to home.”
Ferrer said the creation of the Bangsamoro autonomous region
will strengthen current efforts by different stakeholders in Mindanao,
including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which signed a peace
agreement with the Philippine government in March 2014, to stop the armed
conflict in the South and stem the tide of extremism that has sprouted in
Africa and the Middle East in the recent years.
The open letter signed by both Ferrer and MILF peace panel
chair Mohagher Iqbal cited the statement made by National Security Adviser
Cesar Garcia before Congress during the committee hearings on the draft law.
According to Garcia, "(P)assing the BBL can help in
curbing the spread of extremism in Mindanao .
In particular, the Bangsamoro government would be able to help moderate Islamic
leaders to counter the ideology of radicalism being promoted by the Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and steer the Muslim community away from ISIS influence."
According to Garcia, the completion of the Bangsamoro peace
process will have positive national security implications as it will close one
of the serious internal armed conflicts in the country.
“[This will] essentially free up a significant component of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines… to shift resources to focus on external
concerns, principally the protection of our external territorial integrity and
maritime domain which is now being threatened.”
Recently, ISIS claimed responsibility for the terrorist
attack in Jakarta, Indonesia last January 14 which claimed the lives of seven
people, including five of the assailants, and leaving 23 people wounded. This
event raised concerns from the international community to the Philippines due to the continuing delay in the Mindanao peace talks.
In a news report, Asia Foundation Country Representative
Steven Rood said that the presence of foreign fighters in the Philippines
“The [MILF] have clearly said [that] they are committed to
the path to peace no matter what; and if they’re not achieving anything, it’s
harder to keep arguing that you can fight for Islam through peaceful means.” He
added that Philippine lawmakers should expedite the stalled peace plan to deny
extremists an opportunity to win over the country’s disillusioned young
Muslims.
During the Regional Consultative Meeting for Heads of Posts
in Europe, organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) held in Manila
last January 11, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
(OPAPP) Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles said that the that the outcome of the
Bangsamoro peace process would send a message to the leaders of the religious
extremist groups.
“[T]he success of the Bangsamoro peace process can help us
arrest the spread of extremism around the globe by showing clearly that an
Islamic movement can address its grievances and pursue its interests through a
legitimate mode of democratic political engagement while still remaining within
the country’s territorial integrity and constitutional framework, and without
losing their culture and identity,” she said.
“[The completion of the peace negotiations] can show the
global ummah that even Muslim minorities can thrive and contribute to
development through the mutually-beneficial interaction of distinct cultures,”
Deles added.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=847600
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