GRP-MILF PEACE TALKS TRENDS UNDER THE AQUINO REGIME

GRP-MILF PEACE TALKS TRENDS UNDER THE AQUINO REGIME
By: Mike G. Kulat

Resolute but Vague Start

Summing up, the GRP-MILF Peace Talks in the first one hundred days of the Aquino Administration although a mixture of optimism and pessimism is undoubtedly cumbersome on the bright prospects of negotiation in the eyes of peace activists.

The upheaval started when President Benigno Aquino III in his inaugural speech, the centuries old Bangsamoro Question in Mindanao earned only a sentence or so. Although the statement is typified by resoluteness to solve the problem “within his term”, it was lighten when he lumped the problem altogether as “situwasion sa Mindanao” (Mindanao situation). This was followed further by media statements that the peace talks will start after the month long fasting in Ramadhan to end in September 10, 2010.

The matter raised public opinions that lumping together the already deep-rooted and complex Moro problem in “Mindanao situation” will exaggerate its complexity. A holistic outlook and approach of the Mindanao problem will surface the issue of Abu Sayyaf Group, the so-called terrorists such as the Jama’ah Islamiyah, Al-Qaeda and Kidnap for Ransom Groups. Along with this is the problem of impunity, the proliferation of loose firearms, rampant private armies and vigilantes under the guise of para-military in the control of politicians and the widespread poverty in Muslim Mindanao areas notwithstanding the communist insurgency. This is the predicament of the president’s statement that might drown the hope of the Bangsamoro for self-determination through the GRP-MILF Peace Talks.

Blended Emotions

The fading hope for the peace talks twisted positively when in early August 2010, the GRP announced the composition of their panel, remarkably with the appointment of Dean Marvic Leonen of the University of the Philippines College of Law with members composed of former Secretary Senen Bacani, UP Professor Miriam Ferrer-Coronel and later Dr. Hamid Bara and Upi vice mayor Ramon N. Piang. The bright prospect was anchored on the integrity and expertise of the new GRP Panel on both domestic, international framework and knowledge of the Bangsamoro Question.

But the optimism for peace was quelled down when one reporter of Inquirer Mindanao interpreted in his own language the statement of MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim during the forum on the GRP – MILF Peace Process with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) held at Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao on August 9, 2010. During the forum Chairman Murad with a news titled “The Only Way for the Peace Process is Forward” was quoted as saying: “It is our hope that the Moro Question and armed conflict in Mindanao will be settled in our lifetime, otherwise, this struggle of our people for freedom and right to self-determination will drag on for generation after generation. To ensure this, we are preparing the young generations to carry on the great task of liberating our people from the yoke of oppression and thralldom,” in response to the question of their prospect for peace.

Jeoffrey Maitem in his article with a title: “MILF girds for war; Aquino braces for talks” adding among others that the Moro rebels are amassing guns, undergoing trainings and prepared for war if negotiation does not resume. As natural reaction, Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesperson of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command quoted in the same article to have said: “If they [MILF] are ready for war, we are also prepared to go to battle.” And, “We will not permit them to gain more guns while we have peace talks. They must show they are sincere.” Prior to this there were already pronouncements by no less than P-Noy’s Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to defeat all ‘insurgent” in Mindanao within 2013. Pundits have it that by the word “all insurgents” to mean including the MILF.

Sensing the sensitivity of the situation, Mindanao Development Authority Chair Jesus Dureza in reaction to the article was quoted in MindaNews in its August 14, 2010 issue to have warned: “that giving news reports a wrong ‘angle’ could compromise the outcome of peace negotiations [with the rebels]”, this he stated in his speech before editors and senior journalists in the First Northern Mindanao Media Conference in Davao City.

Waning the Heat

Chair of the GRP Panel Dean Marvic Leonen underpinning the early pronouncement of the government that the “negotiation will start after Ramadhan” the fasting month of the Muslims all over the world. Earlier he was quoted by MindaNews in its August 13, 2010 issue to have said, “let us make peace happen immediately.” Later in a speaking engagement to ANC, Atty Leonen further boosted the positive hope for peace by hinting that “the talks may resume even before end of Ramadhan in September 10.”
Reinforcing the expectations for peace is seemingly rising support expressed from notable local government unit officials and some religious leaders for early resumption of the GRP-MILF Peace Talks. Noteworthy of them was Lanao Norte Provincial Peace and Order Council Resolution headed by Governor Khalid Dimaporo urging President Benigno Aquino III to order the immediate resumption of the peace negotiation between the government and MILF. Likewise, Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene Dominguez urging the government and MILF to start the stalled talks and quoted in MindaNews in its August 12 issue to have said: “begin in earnest the resumption of the peace talks to put an end to the Mindanao conflict.”

Marawi City Bishop Edwin Dela Pena was quoted by media in his article in news site of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines of being supportive of the GRP-MILF Peace Talks and even at the expense of changing the 1987 Constitution if only to ensure reaching a peace agreement between the government and MILF. He was further quoted to have said: “We can change some provision in the Constitution… that would be the best way to go forward."

The above scenarios are new occurrence in the existence of the GRP-MILF Peace Talks as the local government unit officials and some Catholic Religious groups used to be the leading figures in blocking smooth flow of the negotiation or just simply heedless of the peace process in the past decade.

Muddled Hope

Boosting the hope for peace stakeholders are the statements pronounced by the GRP Panel Chair of the bright prospects of the GRP-MILF Talks in his various speech engagements and media outlets culled from his dealing with different sectors of society.

The positive outlook of the GRP Panel Chair Dean Marvic Leonen is rooted on the “political will” of President Aquino to solve the problem which was absent in the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration. He based his viewpoint that the president “won landslide” in the presidential race in May 2010 election and therefore have the backing of the majority Filipinos.

Dean Leonen went on stressing in several instances that “the government will be open for the discussion of constitutional amendments if it is the demand of time.” Or “there is no problem in changing the constitution” if only to reach sustainable and concrete agreement to end the Mindanao conflict.

However, the arena of hopes at once was extinguished by contradicting statements by key figures within the Aquino administration itself. No less than Secretary Teresita “Ging” Quintos-Deles of the Office on Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and Aquino’s Communication head Ricky Carandang were quick to release statements that “discussions of constitutional amendments is not an agenda of the Aquino administration” and “that discussion of constitutional amendments is not priority of the Aquino administration” respectively. At the Lower House of the Congress, Representative Rodolfo Biazon threatens to sponsor legislative actions against any attempt to change the 1987 Constitution saying: “changing the constitution to accommodate any GRP-MILF Agreement is tantamount to surrendering the state to insurgents.” It should be recalled that during his stint as senator under Gloria Macapagal_Arroyo’s administration already filed Resolution No. 81 seeking to stop the GRP-MILF Peace Talks.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the first one hundred days of the Aquino administration dissecting at the viewpoint of the negotiation ended with a mixed optimism and pessimism characterized by rhetoric hope from the government’s peace instrumentalities and contradicting assertion of the other half coupled with provocative work of the military and police establishments on the ground.

The only modest hope remained in this period was the formation of the MILF Panel on September 12, 2010 and the continuing struggle of the new additions to the peace talk’s structure such as the International Contact Group (ICG) and the Civilian Protection Component (CPC) of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) to carry out their mandated task. Nevertheless, they can only do that much as the source of their power and authority is from the GRP and MILF Panels which is virtually non-existent since they have not yet met nor any hope in the near future.