Gov’t, MILF forge framework
for peace agreement

New role for the MILF?

An MILF rebel keeps the peace in Maguindanao following clashes between government and another breakaway group in August

CALLING THE AUTONOMOUS REGION IN MUSLIM MINDANAO  (ARMM) a “failed experiment” that merely “tightened the shackles of poverty” in the region, President Benigno S. Aquino III announced that the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation front has hammered out the framework for a new peace agreement that would hopefully put an end to decades of fighting in the southern Philippines.

In a televised address to the nation Sunday, President Aquino announced that the two peace panels have hammered out the parameters that would define a new political entity that would replace the ARMM. The new political entity, to be created through the passage of a “basic law” by Congress, would simply be called “Bangsamoro.”

“We have forged an agreement that seeks to correct these problems. It defines our parameters and our objectives, while upholding the integrity and sovereignty of our nation,” the President said. “This agreement creates a new political entity, and it deserves a name that symbolizes and honors the struggles of our forebears in Mindanao, and celebrates the history and character of that part of our nation. That name will be Bangsamoro.”

The President gave the public his firm assurance that the new political entity would still be part of the Philippine Republic, and would not in any way diminish the integrity and sovereignty of the country. At the same time, he said the Bangsamoro entity would uphold all the aspirations of all the major rebel groups that have fought for independence since the late 1960s.

“This framework agreement is about rising above our prejudices. It is about casting aside the distrust and myopia that has plagued the efforts of the past; it is about learning hard lessons and building on the gains we have achieved. It is about acknowledging that trust has to be earned—it is about forging a partnership that rests on the bedrock of sincerity, good will, and hard work,” the President said.

The President said the basic law will first be drafted by a transition commission. The bill will go through the legislative wringer in Congress, with the full endorsement of Malacanang. Once it is passed, the creation of the new Bangsamoro entity will then be subject to ratification by all the voters in the proposed area of coverage of the Bangsamoro entity. Only after this is ratified will elections be held for the leaders of the new political entity.

“This Framework Agreement paves the way for a final, enduring peace in Mindanao. It brings all former secessionist groups into the fold; no longer does the Moro Islamic Liberation Front aspire for a separate state. This means that hands that once held rifles will be put to use tilling land, selling produce, manning work stations, and opening doorways of opportunity for other citizens,” the President said.

However, the President remained mum on the details and the political nature of this new Bangsamoro entity, and the powers and responsibilities that will be devolved upon the new entity, as compared to the existing ARMM. The original ARMM underwent a similar creation process during the time of President Aquino’s mother, President Corazon C. Aquino, where the Organic Act of Muslim Mindanao was first passed by Congress, and then ratified by four of the 13 provinces where a plebiscite was held in 1989.

The ARMM however had failed to address the grievances raised by both the MILF and its predecessor, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The MNLF signed a peace agreement of its own with then President Fidel V. Ramos in 1996, giving the rebel group control of the ARMM and the creation a Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development, a coordinating body that was supposed to take charge of channeling all development efforts in Mindanao.

The MNLF has since fallen out of grace, with the imprisonment of its chairman Nur Misuari on rebellion charges. The MNLF had also lost control of the ARMM to the Ampatuan clan.

In 2008, the government of then President Gloria Arroyo almost forged a peace agreement with the MILF. The peace deal was aborted following protests by several political personalities amid concerns that the government had committed to amendments in the Constitution to cause the creation of a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. Critics of the aborted agreement, ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, say that the deal would have dismembered the country.

However, President Aquino assured the public that this new deal with the MILF ensures that the country remains whole, even as the residents of the Bangsamoro political entity would finally be assured of a fair and equitable tax share and the fruits of their natural resources. Also, the national government would retain exclusive powers over defense, security, foreign policy, citizenship and naturalization, and monetary policy.

The President added that the government will publish the basic principles and outlines of the agreement in the next few days for the perusal of the public. He asked everyone to take part in the discussions and debates that are certain to follow as more details of the framework deal come out.

“Basahin po sana natin ang kasunduang ito hindi bilang “sila” at “kami,” kundi bilang nagkakaisang “tayo” sa ilalim ng bandilang Pilipino,” the President said. “Tapos na po ang panahon ng hindi pagkakaunawaan, at kung iisipin natin ang kapakanan ng isa’t isa, oras na lang ang usapan; oras na lang bago matapos ang karahasan; oras na lang bago maabot ang normalidad sa buhay ng mga Pilipinong nasa Bangsamoro.”

(As we read the Agreement, let us not think in terms of “them” and “us”, but rather as a “we” united under a single flag. The time for misunderstandings has passed, and if we truly care for one another, then it is only a matter of time: a matter of time before we put an end to violence; a matter of time before normalcy is restored to the Filipinos of Bangsamoro.)