Challenges beyond peace deal

From the Business World (Dec 5): Challenges beyond peace deal

Several challenges need to be hurdled beyond the signing of a peace plan even as both the government and Moro rebels embark on a crucial meeting this month to iron out differences on the key issues of wealth and power sharing, and the transition process. Addressing corruption, bad governance and security threats remains a huge challenge, said Laissa Alamia, regional director of the Commission on Human Rights in the autonomous Muslim region. She added that family feud, the displacement of war victims, and poverty are still perennial problems in Mindanao.

The call was made following a recent forum on the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro wherein Johaira C. Wahab, the head of the government’s technical team who was involved in drafting the deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), challenged civic groups to take a proactive stand in the peace process. Issues on "transitional healing and reconciliation," trans-border mechanisms to protect the environment, and affirmative action for Muslim Filipinos residing outside of the future Bangsamoro region remain to be tackled in the peace talks. Government and Moro negotiators are expected to meet this month to finalize an agreement on three major points: wealth and power sharing, and normalization that includes the gradual laying down of arms by thousands of MILF fighters.
Long Road Ahead

The agreement, which will give birth to a new Bangsamoro region that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), is expected to take a long process as it will entail the crafting of a basic law for the new region and afterwards to be presented in a plebiscite that will be held among residents in the new region. Ms. Wahab said the framework agreement and its eventual Basic Law will be a radical change from the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front in terms of power sharing. This time, she explained, the framework and the Basic Law will dwell more on principles rather than mere enumeration of rights and duties to make the Bangsamoro autonomy both workable and genuine.

For his part, Claretian priest Angel C. Calvo, president of Peace Advocates Zamboanga (PAZ), said the planned peace agreement could be the starting point as issues related to the Bangsamoro will affect all of Mindanao. The proposed Bangsamoro will group the five provinces of ARMM, namely, Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and include other surrounding areas in Cotabato and Lanao del Norte, among others. PAZ, along with the Bishop-Ulama Conference, led the recent Mindanao Week of Peace that was anchored on the theme: "Journeying Towards Sustainable Peace in Mindanao."

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=Challenges-beyond-peace-deal&id=62523