'We commit to peace'

By Aurea Calica

MANILA, Philippines - The government signed yesterday a landmark framework peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a development that President Aquino said has opened a “new chapter” in the nation’s history and declared to the world that “we commit to peace.”

“This agreement not only marks a new chapter in our history; it now defines the very path we take as a people – one where opinions are heard and hope is shared; where understanding and consensus breed meaningful solutions for all stakeholders; one where every child is offered the opportunity to shape his own destiny,” Aquino said before witnessing the signing of the preliminary accord together with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and MILF chief Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.

“A peace that will be sustained through democratic ideals; a peace that heals and empowers; a peace that recognizes the many narratives of the Filipino people, and weaves them into a single, national aspiration for equitable progress,” Aquino said.

“Today is a great day of hope. A day which sees the dawn of a new beginning for the people of Mindanao,” Najib said.

“We are here to put an end to the adversarial relationship between the Bangsamoro and the Philippine nation and we pray never to see again the refugee camps… the camps with old folks, women and children wallowing in squalor and misery, and never witness again the wholesale violations of human rights,” Murad said.

The President praised the members of the negotiating panels from the government led by Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles and chief negotiator Marvic Leonen, and MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal as well as Tengku Dato Ab Ghafar Tengku Mohamed, the Malaysian facilitator.

Leonen and Iqbal signed the agreement in the presence of Organization of Islamic Cooperation secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and his delegation, members of the diplomatic corps, MILF members, government officials and other guests in the jampacked Rizal Hall of Malacañang.  

The OIC has been helping the Philippines reach an accord with Muslim rebel groups since the time of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chief Nur Misuari, who established the MNLF in 1972.

“We understand all too well the cycle of suffering that our people have had to go through for the past two generations. We have seen children torn from their homes, and communities, driven away from the land they have tilled. We have seen lives lost and justice sought, but because of the system’s failure to provide avenues for understanding and effective redress of grievances, many resorted to the path of vengeance and violence,” Aquino said.

Aquino said he could understand the rage that had reigned in the hearts of former enemies, citing his own thirst for revenge after the assassination of his father and namesake in August 1983.

“I myself thirsted for justice, and was deprived of it then by the dictatorship. I empathize with our Bangsamoro brothers and sisters, and can only vow to work as hard as I can to see that the culture of impunity is dismantled, and that the foundations of righteousness and cooperation are laid,” he said.

“We will give our people what is truly due them: a chance to direct their lives towards advancement in a democratic, peaceful, and safe society,” he added.

The President thanked Najib and his countrymen for their “commitment to our peace process (that) shone as a beacon of peace to the international community,” as well as Murad “whose very able and genuine leadership provided us with a partner who, even while striving for the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people, remained an astute statesman who realized that progress lay in building consensus among the many stakeholders in the region.”

“He led not with dogmatism or hardened ideology, but with a flexibility and open-mindedness borne of trust. We all owe him our collective thanks,” Aquino said.

The President and Murad met in Japan in August 2011 in a secret meeting that was criticized by some sectors, who accused Aquino of supposedly “demeaning the presidency” by meeting with a rebel leader.

“But I approached the meeting with chairman Murad as a fellow Filipino; not as combatants with opposing views, but as fellow victims of a non-responsive system which has so often driven our people towards bloodshed and suffering,” Aquino said.

“We looked at each other as brothers, responsible and committed to the attainment of the aspirations of our people. This mindset, I am certain, percolated throughout the negotiating process and our respective panels. We now all share in the triumph of this framework agreement,” he said.

“Let me now echo both panels’ challenge to the people: Much work remains to be done in order to fully reap the fruits of this framework agreement. We have commitments to fulfill, people to lead, and dreams to achieve. The details to be laid out in the annexes, in particular, provide us with a solid opportunity to expand the common ground whose principles we have already articulated through the agreement,” he pointed out.

“But as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. We are now at the beginning of a comprehensive agreement that will map out the detailed steps, detailed commitments, and detailed programs that will lead to the fulfillment of our long-term goals,” he said.

“We are committed to enabling our partners to transform themselves to a genuine political party that can help facilitate the region’s transition towards a truly peaceful and progressive place.

Allocation

This year, Aquino said the government committed P8.59 billion for the Transition Investment Support Plan, on top of the P12.93 billion already allocated in the budget.

“We are committed to giving the region its rightful share, not just now but each and every time, confident that it will redound to the benefit of all citizens, and will not just line the pockets of a very select few,” Aquino said.

“And to all the partners who have long sought this peace, and who have committed to its fruition in the coming years – our friends from the international community, academe, and civil society – thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The Filipino people share this victory with you,” he said.

“A child in Lamitan will be offered the same education as a child in Quezon City; the sick of Patikul will gain access to the same healthcare as those in Pasig; tourists visiting Boracay will also have Sulu in their itineraries; a businessman will earn a profit whether he sets up shop in Marikina or Marawi,” he said.

“Together, we move forward with a conviction to lift each other, so that in turn, our nation may grow and reach greater heights. We implore God, or Allah, to continue guiding all of us, so that our dreams may turn into concrete, tangible realities,” he said.

‘Assalamu Alaikum’

 Murad began his speech with “Assalamu Alaikum” or “Peace be upon you” and said, “I must confess that this is the first time in my life to step in the grounds of Malacañang.”

“I come in peace,” he said.

“Today it humbles me to say before you that we have stayed the course, our perseverance has prevailed over those whose obsession is to perpetuate war,” Murad said.

“We have inked the most important document in the chapter of our history,” he added.

Murad said that the MILF had never wavered in its desire for a negotiated settlement since the decision was made by the late Hashim Salamat in 1997 and that for 15 years, the MILF consistently kept the doors to peace open despite three all-out wars launched by two Philippine presidents against the rebels.

“Today we extend our hand for partnership, for a historic journey to rebuild our homeland and restore normalcy,” Murad added.

Murad also urged the MNLF to take part in the peace talks between the government and the MILF, saying it was time for unity.

“Let me have this opportunity to call on our MNLF brethren to support the framework agreement, to take this historic journey with us and rebuild (our homeland),” Murad said.

“This is not the time for recriminations, this is the time for unity, the time to think and act as one Bangsamoro, as we summon all our strength to face the daunting task of (self rule),” he added.

Never let go

Najib, in his speech, said “today something has changed” after decades of conflict that had robbed Mindanao of opportunities for development.

“After four decades, peace is within reach. Let us grasp it with both hands, and never let go,” Najib said.

The Malaysian leader said framework agreement was a “tribute to the quiet bravery of negotiations.”

“In confronting the differences and finding common ground, both sides have given something,” Najib said. “But the people of the southern Philippines have gained everything.

“For Mindanao, there can be no more lost generations,” he added. “The Koran says, whoever saves a single life, it is as if he has saved all of mankind.”

He expressed hope the agreement would usher in a period of tolerance “where the practice of religion and the right to a peaceful existence are never again in conflict” and “where people of different faiths live together, united by common values, under a common constitution.”

He said his government would also help build institutions and invest in land development so that farmers in Bangsamoro who were formerly rebels could now reap the harvest of peace.

Ihsanoglu also congratulated the Philippine government and the MILF peace panels for reaching an agreement.

“The OIC received the news with both hope and cautious optimism, hoping that it will constitute a solid foundation for an overall agreement that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Bangsamoro people,” Ihsanoglu said. 

Presence says a lot

Deles said the presence of OIC’s Ihsanoglu as well as officials and members of the MNLF is another proof of overwhelming support for the framework agreement.

“Their attendance in the event means that they are one with the government and the MILF in pursuing a common peace and development track in Mindanao,” she said.

Deles reiterated that MNLF representatives were consulted on the draft framework agreement through Indonesia which, as chair of the OIC Peace Commission for Southern Philippines, brokered the 1992-1996 GPH-MNLF peace negotiations that led to the signing of the Final Peace Agreement on Sept. 2, 1996.

Deles said even ARMM acting vice governor and MNLF senior leader Hadja Bainon Karon had called on Mindanaoans to support the Framework Agreement in a speech recently in Cotabato City.

Leonen, for his part, stressed there was no “fatal error” in the framework deal as some critics were claiming.

“We find no fatal error in the agreement and we find it is not unconstitutional or illegal,” Leonen said.

“It is the most constitutional, democratic, the most people driven agreement ever,” Leonen said, addressing groups who wanted the signing of the agreement deferred.

Meanwhile, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), a federation of public school teachers’ associations all over the country, said it welcomed the signing of the framework agreement.

ARMM support

Officer-in-charge Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao(ARMM) expressed support for the framework agreement.

Hataman called on ARMM residents to support the agreement through their participation in the democratic process by providing useful inputs to a Transition Commission that will draft the law creating the new Bangsamoro region in coordination with Congress.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome reiterated the full support of the police force to the framework agreement. 

“It’s worth giving serious attention. We’ve always been looking for genuine peace in Mindanao and this is one good opportunity to discuss things and be able to forge an agreement for a lasting peace,” Bartolome said.

In a statement, Hataman underscored the current role of the ARMM in providing inputs to the process through the review and study of Republic Act 9054, the region’s charter, which had been conducted by incumbent members of the Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) in all five component provinces and one city of the ARMM. Hataman said the RLA inputs would be part of the Transitional Commission’s databank in shaping the Bangsamoro entity.

He said he had also talked with Misuari and Muslimen Sema in an emotionally charged meeting on the future of the Moro people in relation to the historic signing of the peace draft in Malacañang.

He said among several concerns taken up was Misuari’s proposal that a chief minister of a Bangsamoro entity should be elected from ministers of a unicameral legislative assembly.

Hataman said the transitional process may take at least one and at most two years, before he exits the leadership of the current ARMM.

Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III urged the government and the MILF to reach out to all rebel groups in Mindanao to avoid the formation of new breakaway groups. “Considering the fact that the MILF is an offshoot of the MNLF, this is the challenge, if we do not have a comprehensive peace agreement before President Aquino steps down, there might be another group that will emerge and we will have difficulty in achieving peace,” Tañada said at the weekly Kapihan sa Diamond Hotel media forum.

Organized labor supports agreement

“The government and MILF are in the right direction. We call on both parties to include labor and other basic sectors in social dialogue to bring peace to Mindanao,” Federation of Free Workers (FFW) president Sonny Matula said.

Matula said that genuine peace can only be achieved if the citizens could climb out of poverty, which can be addressed substantially with the generation of decent employment.

Mindanao upbeat

Mindanao local officials backed the signing yesterday of the framework agreement between the government and the MILF.

North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Talio-Mendoza said she supports the efforts of President Aquino so peace could be achieved in the South.

Mendoza said the signing of the agreement yesterday would signal the beginning of better things to come in Mindanao.

“I am optimistic, like all the rest, that this will be the beginning of a better understanding, trust and respect among the tri-people, as well as a more progressive Mindanao with investors and tourists coming,” she said. Compostela Valley Gov. Arturo Uy expressed confidence the framework agreement could be the first step in achieving peace in Mindanao.

“It is really possible that first steps could be taken for peace in the region which has been home to Muslims, Christians and other tribes,” he said. – With Delon Porcalla, Roel Pareño, Rainier Allan Ronda, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Mayen Jaymalin, Helen Flores, Marvin Sy, Roel Pareño, Jigger Jerusalem, Dino Balabo, Edith Regalado, John Unson, Evelyn Macairan, Jose Rodel Clapano