Of vows to love and to protect

By Amina Rasul


MANDALUYONG CITY (MindaNews/04 November) -- As I sat on the pew behind comedian Jon Santos and in front of Richard Gomez, witnessing the exchange of vows between Sen. Mar Roxas and broadcaster Korina Sanchez at the Santo Domingo Church, I received a text message. (Like most in the church, we could not cut the umbilical cord of the mobile phone but kept it in silent mode). The urgent message was from Carol Arguillas, editor in chief of MindaNews, asking for comments on a new development: the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had signed in Kuala Lumpur a new document ensuring the protection of civilians in armed conflict areas in Mindanao.

It seemed fitting to receive such a message as I was witnessing vice presidentiable Mar’s wedding. I thought: if only he had not demonized the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) with references like “rape of our nation” or “dismemberment of the state”!

Newly appointed Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Annabelle Abaya was very pleased with the signing of Agreement on the Civilian Protection Component of the International Monitoring Team. It is a strong block for Secretary Abaya to continue peace building with. The agreements, inked on the heels of the devastating consequences of the non-signing of the MOA-AD, included the Suspension of Military Operations and Suspension of Military Activities and the agreement on the formation of the International Contact Group.

The Government of the Republic of the Philippines-MILF agreement for civilian protection, welcomed by most civil society groups in Mindanao, “reconfirm their obligations under humanitarian law and human rights law to take constant care to protect the civilian population and civilian properties against the dangers arising in armed conflict situations.” Further, the GRP and the MILF also agree to:

1. Refrain from intentionally targeting or attacking non-combatants, prevent suffering of the civilian population and avoid acts that would cause collateral damage to civilians;

2. Refrain from targeting or intentionally attacking civilian properties or facilities such as schools, hospitals, religious premises, health and food distribution centers, or relief operations or objects or facilities indispensable to the survival of the civilian population and of a civilian nature;

3. Take all necessary actions to facilitate the provision of relief supplies to affected communities;

4. Take all precautions feasible to avoid incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, and danger to civilian objects;

5. Ensure that all protective and relief actions shall be undertaken in a purely nondiscriminatory basis covering all affected communities.

The responsibility for civilian protection has been placed under the International Monitoring Team (Article 2). This will be part of the Terms of Reference of the IMT to be negotiated when the Parties formally resume their peace talks.

The agreement was signed by Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, chief government negotiator and his MILF counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Datuk Othman bin Abdul Razak of Malaysia facilitated.

The Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy (PCID) welcomes this agreement and hopes that its implementation will not fall prey to the lack of political and moral credibility of this administration whose record on peace inspires very low expectations.

In a previous column (June 28, 2009), I wrote about the concept of the “Responsibility to Protect.” The term was first presented in the report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) in December 2001. The ICISS had been formed in response to Kofi Annan’s question of when the international community must intervene for human protection purposes. That report reinterprets the concept of state sovereignty to include its primary responsibility for the protection of its people. “The idea that sovereign states have a responsibility to protect their own citizens from avoidable catastrophe—from mass murder and rape, from starvation—but that when they are unwilling or unable to do so, that responsibility must be borne by the broader community of states.”

The State’s responsibility to protect embraces three specific responsibilities: the responsibility to prevent monstrous crimes; the responsibility to react to situations of compelling human need with appropriate measures, which may include coercive measures like sanctions and international prosecution, and in extreme cases military intervention; and the responsibility to rebuild post-conflict both physical and human infrastructure.

Will the principles of R2P find support in the Philippines now that the Philippine government and the MILF have signed a new document ensuring the protection of civilians in armed conflict areas in Mindanao?

We from the PCID are particularly interested in R2P’s reworking of the definition of state sovereignty away from its traditional notion of protecting the interest of the state. Sovereignty is to be reinterpreted as implying responsibility of the state to its own people, that the primary responsibility for the protection of its people lies with the state itself. Should the state violate the responsibility, the international community is obligated to intervene.

It is quite interesting to know if R2P will be relevant to this agreement for the protection of civilians. More significantly, I wonder, amidst the political circus that surrounds the upcoming elections, how the prospective candidates for president stand on R2P?

Oh, by the way, my reply to Carol’s text message: “Since I have very low expectations, I am very happy with the agreement.”

And finally they kissed!


(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Amina Rasul is convenor of the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy. This column first appeared in The Manila Times).


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Montesa is new gov’t chair for Tripartite Review of 1996 GRP-MNLF pact

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/06 November) – Peace Process Assistant Secretary Camilo Miguel “Bong” Montesa is the new chair of the government in the Tripartite Committee that is tasked to review the 1996 Final Peace Agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

The MNLF holds an observer status in the pan-Islamic organization.

Montesa takes over the chairmanship from Nabil Tan, the first vice governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and vice chair of the government peace panel that forged the final peace pact with the MNLF in 1996.

Tan, who resigned from his post on November 3, served as government chair and head of delegation since the first tripartite meeting in November 2007 in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Tripartite Committee reviews the implementation of the 1996 agreement.

Montesa was named new chair by Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Annabelle T. Abaya.

Montesa, a lawyer who hails from Cagayan de Oro, is head of the Peacekeeping and Peacemaking Group at OPAPP and has served for a couple of years in the government peace panel that is negotiating peace with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

In a press statement, Abaya directed Montesa to “find ways to hasten the review process and complete the implementation of the remaining pending issues” of the 1996 pact.

Montesa said there is a “need for a more inclusive process to review the implementation of the Final Peace Agreement and to see whether or not the implementation adheres to the basic agreement and whether it responds to the core issues which brought the conflict in the first place.”

“The proof of the pudding is whether there is more peace, more development in Mindanao to date,” he added.

Under Phase 1 of the implementation, a total of 7,500 former MNLF fighters had been integrated into the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

In addition, some 13,000 former MNLF rebels and their families in 115 municipalities in Mindanao have been given livelihood assistance, skills training, resettlement housing and study grants, the press statement said.

The government also implemented 937 projects and sub-projects related to education, health and sanitation, water supply, agriculture and transportation infrastructures such as bridges, piers, and farm-to-market roads, it added.

The USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program has implemented 745 projects and sub-projects, the press statement read.

Other projects undertaken by the Action for Conflict and Transformation (ACT) For Peace program included seaweeds production, ice-making project, cattle-raising, corn and vegetable production, and other livelihood assistance in addition to the provision of a Bangsamoro Community Fund Assistance in Maguindanao and Tawi-Tawi, it added. (MindaNews)

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Civilian protection will be done by “new entrants into the IMT”

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/29 October) – Civilian protection monitoring will be an added mandate for the International Monitoring Team (IMT) but it will be done by “new entrants into the IMT, including international and local NGOs,” government peace panel spokesperson Camilo Montesa said. Montesa, also Peace Process Undersecretary, told MindaNews that while civilian protection monitoring has been added to the IMT’s ceasefire monitoring and development monitoring roles, “the civilian protection monitoring will be done by new entrants into the IMT.”

Peace groups welcomed the October 27 agreement but doubts were expressed about its implementation, with only eight months left to the end of the Arroyo administration.

Amirah Lidasan of Suara Bangsamoro said the agreement is “okay.”
“Inshallah, it will help protect the civilians. This is just a reiteration of the UNDHR (United Nations Declaration of Human Rights), Geneva protocols and the GRP-NDF’s Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL).”

“As Human Rights defenders, aside from pushing government to implement the agreement, we should also push for the GRP-AFP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines-Armed Forces of the Philippines) to answer for the human rights violations committed during the conduct of the war in the previous years,” she said.

“GRP has signed so many agreements to protect civilian rights, and yet we still have a high number of cases of human rights violations and no one from government has answered for their atrocities against the people,” she added.

The Mindanao Peoples’ Caucus (MPC) and its allied women’s organizations in a press statement said they were “highly dismayed” in that civilian protection “to be simply delegated as an added function of the International Monitoring Team tends to create the false impression that it is simply an afterthought – an adjunct to the ceasefire monitoring mandate of the IMT which at this point in time it has not even fulfilled for a reason which is not of its own fault” (see separate story).

“We did our part,” MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal told MindaNews, adding, “negotiation is a two-way process.”

Montesa said there is “no reason to be dismayed” as the agreement is “win-win for everyone.”

He explained that MPC itself or its Bantay Ceasefire, women’s groups can be part of the new entrants into the IMT that would be dealing with civilian protection monitoring.

Iqbal said MPC and other applicants for civilian protection monitoring can, indeed, be among the new entrants into the IMT based on the agreement.

But MPC secretary-general Mary Ann Arnado said Montesa “misses the point.”

“MPC/Bantay Ceasefire is dismayed not because we wanted to be part of the mechanism itself but because of the apparent weakness and loopholes in the agreed framework that the peace panels have managed to achieve in their Oct27 exploratory meetings. MPC has proposed for the establishment of an International Mission for the Protection of Civilians in Mindanao (IMPCM) which, like the IMT, can also be international in character -- but very much focused on ensuring that human rights and international humanitarian law are observed and civilians are spared and protected in the conduct of the war in Mindanao. This is a very important survival issue for millions of innocent civilians in the conflict-affected areas thus the need for a separate, effective, influential international protection mission which the United Nations -- with or without the Philippine government and the MILF, can within its powers, do anyway under the principle of the Right to Protect.”


In its July 29, 2009 Joint Statement in Kuala Lumpur, the first after a year-long impasse, the government and MILF agreed on four points including working “for a framework agreement on the establishment of a mechanism on the protection of non-combatants in armed conflict” and on the setting up of an International Contact Group.

The framework agreement on the ICG was done on September 15, also in Kuala Lumpur.

The October 27 agreement on the protection of civilians provides that the IMT “shall monitor, verify and report non-compliance by the Parties to their basic undertaking to protect civilian communities.”

The agreement also provides that when the IMT ceases to operate, “the civilian protection component shall remain in place and continue to perform such function.”

“The Parties shall designate humanitarian organizations and non-governmental organizations, both international and national, with proven track record for impartiality, neutrality and independence, to carry out the civilian protection function.”

Montesa said this is important because even if the IMT ceases to operate, the civilian protection component will continue to function.

Iqbal said the two parties’ next meeting will be the review of the terms of reference of the IMT.

Both parties are also expected to immediately request the reactivation of the IMT.

The IMT started operations in 2004, with a mandate renewed annually upon request of both parties. The Malaysian-led IMT’s tour of duty ended on November 30 last year and had not been renewed as the talks collapsed in August last year following the aborted signing of the already initialed Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) and the government peace panel, disbanded on September 3, was reconstituted only in December.

The IMT was composed initially of military contingents from Malaysia, Brunei and Libya and later, a development expert from Japan.

The October 27 agreement came just as thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) continued to remain in evacuation sites or with their relatives.

In its last press statement dated October 22, the Bureau of Pubic Information of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) reported that based on the records of its Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC), “as of October 15, 2009, out of the total 70,135 affected families in 196 conflict-affected barangays in the ARMM, 36,770 are still in evacuation centers and 12,423 are staying outside evacuation centers while 16,405 families have already returned to their homes.”

The ARMM statement did not say where the remaining 4,137 families are since the total number of families in the evacuation centers and outside as well as those who have returned home, according to its press statement, is 65,998 families. The latter represents some 330,000 residents.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) in its last report on the issue of IDPs said a total of 115,434 families or 745,763 persons were served from August 10, 2008 to July 7, 2009 and that as of July 7, 2009, there were still 51,326 families served inside evacuation centers and home-based, or 254,119 persons.

Thousands of IDPs, dubbed “enemy reserve force” by 6th ID spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, took to the streets on July 23 demanding ceasefire and the resumption of the peace talks so they could return home.

Malacanang that afternoon issued a suspension of offensive military operations (SOMO) while the MILF reciprocated two days later with a suspension of military action.”

For Prof. Abhoud Syed Lingga, executive director of the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies, making civilian protection monitoring a component of the IMT “reduces the number of structures of the peace process.”

Lingga was referring to the other structures in the peace process like the Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of Hostilities, and International Contact Group.

Gus Miclat, executive director of the Initiatives for International Dialogue said the agreement is “attuned to UNSC (United Nations Security Council) Res. 1474 on protecting civilians in armed conflict. Also r2p (right to protect) doctrine plus UNSC 1325 and UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (UNGPID). IID and allied networks commit to help ensure this. Kudos to both panels.”

Amina Rasul, convenor of the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy (PCID) said, “since I have no expectations that any substantive agreement can be reached under Mrs. Arroyo, this agreement is a good step. It does not provide full protection of civilians or respond to the needs of the displaced, but since I have low expectations, I am happy. My problem lies in implementation of any agreement.” (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)

Peace group dismayed by assigning civilian protection to IMT

MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/28 October) – A peace advocacy group in Mindanao has expressed dismay over the decision assigning the implementation of the Agreement on the Protection of Civilian Component to the International Monitoring Team, the body overseeing the ceasefire agreement between the military and Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The Mindanao People’s Caucus said delegating the task to the IMT “tends to create the false impression that it is simply an afterthought – an adjunct to the ceasefire monitoring mandate of the IMT which at this point in time it has not even fulfilled for a reason which is not of its own fault.”

MPC said the task of protecting civilians deserves “appropriate, effective, vigilant and influential mechanism that can break the impunity of human rights violations and war crimes committed in the context of the armed conflict.”

It noted that there have been serious and grave attacks and abuses committed against civilian communities.

The group, however, clarified that it supports and recognizes the importance of the IMT but that it would be too much to impose upon it the task of protecting the civilians.

“If the IMT and the peace panels could not even manage at this point to declare a ceasefire and bring the IMT back to Mindanao, how much more if we add this new mandate of civilian protection to the IMT? If it is already difficult to fulfill its mandate to implement the ceasefire agreement, how can we expect it to deliver yet another gargantuan mission of protecting the civilians?” MPC said.

The group said it would be better to allow the IMT to fulfill its primary mandate of helping the peace process in Mindanao.

It also noted that the agreement is silent on the role and participation of women despite the fact that women leaders have already submitted to the peace panels their proposed women’s framework on civilian protection. (MindaNews)

GRP, MILF sign agreement to protect civilians

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/27 October) – The government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed Tuesday afternoon an agreement to expand the mandate of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) to include civilian protection.

The agreement was signed at around 5:10 p.m. October 27 in Kuala Lumpur by government peace panel chair Rafael Seguis and MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal, in the presence of Malaysian facilitator Datuk Othman bin Abdul Razak.

Under the agreement, the IMT shall also “monitor, verify and report non-compliance by the Parties to their basic undertaking to protect civilian communities.”

The Agreement specifies that the Philippine government and the MILF “shall designate humanitarian organizations and non-governmental organizations, both international and national, with proven track record for impartiality, neutrality and independence, to carry out the civilian protection function.”

The two parties “reconfirm their obligations under humanitarian law and human rights law to take constant care to protect the civilian population and civilian properties against the dangers arising in armed conflict situations.”

The parties made a five-point commitment to:

1. refrain from intentionally targeting or attacking non-combatants, prevent suffering of the civilian population and avoid acts that would cause collateral damage to civilians;

2. refrain from targeting or intentionally attacking civilian properties or facilities such as schools, hospitals, religious premises, health and food distribution centers, or relief operations, or objects or facilities indispensable to the survival of the civilian population and of a civilian nature;

3. take all necessary actions to facilitate the provision of relief supplies to affected communities;

4. take all precautions feasible to avoid incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, and danger to civilian objects; and

5. ensure that all protective and relief actions shall be undertaken in a purely non-discriminatory basis covering all affected communities.”

“To effect the above objectives, the Parties shall issue or re-issue orders to their respective military units or security forces (including paramilitaries, associated militias, and police units) to conduct their operations consistent with their obligations and commitments described herein,” the Agreement said.

The parties also agreed that should the IMT cease to operate, “the civilian protection component shall remain in place and continue to perform such function,” the agreement said.

The IMT, led by Malaysia, started operations in 2004, with a mandate renewed annually upon request of both parties.
The IMT’s mandate ended November 30 last year.

The agreement on civilian protection component “shall form part of the Terms of Reference of the IMT to be deliberated and agreed by the Parties upon the formal resumption of the GRP-MILF Peace Talks.”

The signing of the agreement came about six weeks since the September 15 agreement on the formation of the International Contact Group (ICG) for the GRP-MILF Peace Process .

The ICG “will consist of interested countries accompanying the peace process preferably drawn from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the European Union (EU) as well as accredited INGO to be invited by the Parties in consultation with the Third Party Facilitator.”

The Agreement on Civilian Component was immediately welcomed by representatives of civil society.
Amina Rasul, convenor of the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy (PCID), sent this message in reaction to the news: “that’s excellent news! And now comes the tough part: how to implement this when previous agreements are violated.”

“Good,” said Guiamel Alim, executive director of the Kadtuntaya Foundation, Inc. and a member of the Council of Elders of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society.
Father Eduardo Vasquez, parish priest of predominantly Muslim Datu Piang in Maguindanao, told MindaNews, “that’s good to hear. I just hope both parties will respect and follow the agreement.”

“Finally,” said lawyer Zen Malang of the Bangsamoro Center for Law and Policy. “It’s a much awaited initiative from the two sides. Civilians in the conflict-affected areas will potentially reap the benefits from this agreement. But, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. Its effectiveness will depend on the institutions and people who will run it and how much support and respect is given to it by the GRP and MILF and the other institutions in the peace process.” (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)

Moro groups launch Human Rights Center in Cotabato on Saturday

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/26 October) – Bangsamoro organizations are launching this weekend the Mindanao Human Rights Action Center (MinHRAC), which will tackle human rights protection and violation in Southwestern Mindanao.

MinHRAC will be launched at the Pacific Heigths and the Marqueza in Cotabato City on Saturday, October 31.

The Center’s primary objectives are “to foster respect for human rights, constitutional rights, and promote the rule of law in Mindanao as well as other parts in the Philippines; to monitor, expose and oppose human rights violations; to promote critical human rights awareness among the people through education, training, information, research and documentations; to promote cooperation and solidarity among regional, national, and international organizations active in the field of human rights.”

“The ravages of the past and present armed hostilities in Mindanao continue to haunt peoples in the island particularly in conflict affected areas. Economic survival and human rights protection are main problems confronting these communities. Women, youth, and children mostly suffered from human rights violations during these very difficult circumstances. The aftermath of war and conflict, as well as the realities of poverty make them more vulnerable to depression, deprivation, marginalization, and exploitation,” the MinHRAC’s press statement says.

MinHRAC is a collaborative effort of Bangsamoro organizations such as the Bangsamoro Lawyers’ Network, Institute of Bangsamoro Studies, Bangsamoro Women Solidarity Forum, Inc., Kadtuntaya Foundation Inc., Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society, United Youth for Peace and Development, United Youth of the Philippines, Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace, Kangudan Development Center Inc., IPRC, Bangsamoro Center for Law and Policy and Al Ihsan Foundation.

Commiassion on Human Rights chair Leila de Lima will discuss the theme “Human Rights for All” during the launch.

CHR has no regional office in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. ARMM comprises the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-tawi and Lanao del Sur and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan.

The CHR and MinHRAC will sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) during the launch. The press statement, however, did not say what the MOA is for.

MinHRAC’s executive director, Paisal S. Abdul, will give the welcome remarks and presentation of delegates during the launch while lawyer Anwar Malang, MinHRAC chair, will give an overview of the Center.

Among those asked to deliver solidarity messages are Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panel cahir Mohagher Iqbal, Kadtuntaya Foundation chair Guiamel Alim, Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cotabato chapter president Sukarno Abas and Col. Ernesto Aradanas, chief of the Army’s 603rd Infantry Brigade.

Lawyer Christina Haw Tai-Jover of the CHR in Cotabato City will discuss human rights situation in the region while Sammy Maulana, secretary-general of the Consortium on Bangsamoro Civil Society, will discuss the realities of human rights violations in Mindanao.

Abdulbasit Benito, Executive Director of the Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace, will deliver the closing remarks. (MIndaNews)

Abaya is new Peace Adviser

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/23 October) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has named Annabelle Abaya as Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, vice former police chief Avelino Razon who resigned last week to run for mayor of Manila in May 2010.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde announced the appointment in his regular Friday press briefing this afternoon, the Office of the Press Secretary reported.

“In her brief remarks, Abaya said her priority as head of the Office of the President-Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OP-OPPAPP) is to initiate the resumption of peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),” the OPS reported.

The talks with the MILF had resumed since both parties issued a suspension of military operations on July 23 this year.

The OPS quoted Abaya as saying she is “honored for the opportunity to explore opportunities for a lasting peace in Mindanao during the President’s remaining eight months in office.”

“We still need to do some work. There are still two very big peace talks that need to happen and these are with the MILF and with the NDF,” Abaya said.

“On her plan to boost the morale of both peace panels, Abaya said she will review the peace settlement of 1987 with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and “look at recommendations for what have been learned, motivate that we need to change, and the need for it to strengthen,” the OPS reported.

The peace agreement with the MNLF was signed on September 2, 1996. This is the agreement whose implementation is currently under review.

According to the OPS, Abaya is “a former Palace spokesperson (who) holds a graduate degree in public administration from Harvard University, another graduate degree in discreet resolution from the University of Massachusetts in Boston, and a doctorate in conflict resolution from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in the United States.”

Abaya is also the president and founder of Conflict Resolution Group Foundation Inc., an active member of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines peace panel with the NDF and concurrent conflict resolution consultant of the World Bank the Asian Development Bank, and The Asia Foundation. (MindaNews)