Letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

The Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society Organizations
KFI Compound, Doña Pilar Street Poblacion IV, Cotabato City 9600, Philippines


Sixth Peace Consultation Series, Davao City, Mindanao
Southern Philippines, October 22-23, 2008

23rd of October 2008


UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
The United Nations General Headquarters
New York

Through: The Honorable Hilario Davide Jr.
Head of the Philippine Mission to the United Nations


His Excellency, the UN Secretary-General:

WE, that constitute the Bangsamoro Civil Society sectors in a series of peace consultations in the Southern Philippines, express our grateful appreciation for the UN Secretary General’s August 13 pronouncement over an emerging humanitarian crisis for which he appealed for greater restraint, protection of all civilians as well as broader provision of access to humanitarian assistance. Along that line, the International Committee on the Red Cross (ICRC) has been on a fruitful working cooperation with the Civil Society which is allied to some extent with international programs. Just recently, the Ambassador of the European Union enunciated Europe’s commitment to help rebuild communities ruined by ongoing wars in Central Mindanao.

Towards our collective end of addressing the conflict in the Southern Philippines, we earnestly appeal to the Office of the UN Secretary-General for a continuing support to the Civil Society’s efforts in peace-building, conflict prevention and transformation.

In addition to existing UN Programs on conflict prevention and transformation that have effectively implemented appropriate mechanisms and projects based on collaborative mandates, we do believe that a timely intervention of the UN Department of Political Affairs is reasonably called for in any event of the resumption of the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

In a statement titled “Fixing Mindanao,” seven former US Ambassadors to the Philippines foretold the Supreme Court’s ruling on October 13: “The Court will soon identify constitutional flaws in the suspended (Memorandum of) agreement (on Ancestral Domain).” “The question now is how to proceed,” said the statement jointly issued on September 30 by Stephen Bosworth, Thomas Hubbard, Richard Murphy, Nicolas Platt, Francis Ricciardone, Richard Solomon and Frank Wisner. (Solomon is the current president of the US Institute for Peace, and two other signatories of the statement—G. Eugene Martin and Ms. Astrid Tuminez—led USIP Facilitation Project which supported the Mindanao Peace Process from 2003 to 2007).

But while the erudite American diplomats and peace experts mentioned foresaw the court’s rejection of the draft accord, they are also of the view that, “Something very much like the recently (shelved) agreement would have to be part of any future settlement.”

It is in this premise and, above all, the suffering of the people in this part of the world that we are appealing to the Office of the UN Secretary General to effect, in the soonest possible time, the intervention of the UN Department of Political Affairs as the most valuable contribution of the international community to our people’s age-old aspiration for peace settlement in the Southern Philippines.

In ending, we quote the motto of the UN Department of Political Affairs: “No task is more fundamental to the United Nations than the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict.”


Most respectfully yours,


GUIAMEL M. ALIM
Kadtuntaya Foundation Inc. (KFI)

SAMMY MAULANA
Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS)

BAI OUARDA S. KALIM
Mindanao Women for Active Governance

LIGAYA PAYOPAS
Bangsamoro Women Federation of Peace and Development. Inc.

NORJANAH NORIEL
CDYDO

HAZEL PANUGO
COMVAL-FED

AMOR ANTONIO
UNYPHIL

AISHA RODORA CASILEN
CBSC

ABDUL RASAD SAWAT
LKMF

ANWAR CUDA
UNYPAD

SAMMY M. BUAT
SALAM-DS

HAYRIA MOHAMAD
PDAL-DDS

ABDUL BARRY DANIAL
Peace and Development Advocates League (PDAL)

MOHSIN SAPAC
PDAL

CAMLON C. BUAT
SALAM-DS

NORSALEM B. DISAWIS
PDAL

ALOY A. YATAS
DCATU

HASIM J. MANAMPAD
BYO Davao City

BENCH U. CASILEN
Tagum City Muslims

ABDULKHUDDUS A. GUIAMBLANG
MYRO

HJ. DICK MURAD
Islamic Da’wah

NAIDZ ACASARON
AMOMA

NELSON D. MIRANDA
TCFAE

ZAFRULLAH S. BUDAY
UYNYPHIL

ALIMUDIN N. KANDONG
CIAPDI

AHMAD G. AMPUAN
TMV-MPC

ABDULRAHIM S. CAWANAN
DOISPROM, Davao City

NORHAYA MAMPAO
Rabotaton Misa Cooperative, Inc.

JABRIAL SAM BUAT
Office of Muslim Affairs, Davao Sur

TARHATA A. CASILEN
MWPPDI

GOLDEN LINGAS
SIGAY

HAFIZ SAMUEL
UNYPHIL/ LUPON

JOMAR C. MAYO
UNYPHIL/ MATI

REX MORALA
MDFI

ABDULGAHI JALALAIN
PDAL

TUROM CASSING
UKYPAD

BENJAMIN B. RANAIN
LKMFI/ Compostela Valley

ARNEL PINDURUAN
LKMFI/ Compostela Valley

JORISKIE ONTONG
Youth Leaders League

JANETH CASILEN
CBCS RMC Tagum City

WAHAD TANGAYON
Arabic Teachers’ Federation

ARIEL MACLA
Halal-PRAC. Panabo

JIMYASHIER TALANGTALANG
UNYPHIL

MONTANIER GAWAN
UNYPHIL

ESMAEL M. GONZALES
LIDA-CBCS-DRMC

FAROUK D. MENSAB
LIDA Incorporated

MICHAEL M. MAMUKID
Youth Sector

SITTIE HAYDEE D. LUPAPAK
CBCS/ MATI