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MANILA (SDN) — Successful peace negotiations, in order to not waste the money, time, and energy spent, should be followed by faithful and determined and committed implementation of and compliance with agreements.
In the case of the decades-old accords resulting from the Mindanao peace process between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) the GPH now under President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. holds the key to the agreements’ implementation.
It’s actually the peace process has come full circle, started by President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. in 1976 with the historic Tripoli Agreement under the auspices of then Libyan Revolutionary Leader Col. Moammar Gaddafi. Today, the accords’ implementation falls on the hands of incumbent President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
On the part of the MILF and the MNLF, as per the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA), the two former separatist organizations are duty-bound to abide by the landmark peace documents they signed.
And that they will hold on their part of the bargain, rein in their members and supporters to maintain and preserve and enhance the prevailing generally peaceful atmosphere in Southern Philippines achieved through the blood of both rebels and soldiers and civilians.
The nearly 50 years peace process with the Moro Fronts went under the administrations of Marcos, Sr., Corazon C. Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Benigno S. Aquino III, Rodrigo R. Duterte and, now, Marcos, Jr.
That’s 48 long years of finding solution for what had been dubbed the “Moro Problem”, which MILF Chief Negotiator Mohagher M. Iqbal described the term as “a distorted appreciation of history.”
Be that as it may, he said the GPH-MILF negotiations’ sole agenda was finding solution to the Moro Problem which, in other words, is the struggle for the right of self-determination, for equality, peace, and justice.
Here’s the Opening Statement in full of Iqbal at the 35th GPH-MILF Peace Implementing Panels Meeting on December 12, 2024, at a hotel in Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Metro Manila. (EDD K. USMAN)
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“Today is another milestone in our continuing journey towards implementing the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), an agreement signed by the government of the Philippines and the MILF over a span of 17 long years of protracted, hard, and harsh negotiations. It was only through the tenacity, commitment, and the political will of the parties to proceed, as well as the support of the people and the international friends of the peace process that we were able to sign this historic agreement, the effects of which is what we are now reaping, namely, the very much improved peace and order situation in Mindanao and the fast economic recovery in the region.
“Contrary to what some people might think, implementing an agreement is not really like travelling a paved road or going into picnic. It requires consistency as well as creativity and flexibility.
“Why is there a need for consistency? The answer is very simple: a sheep that strays from the flock will be lost. Described it in another way: Look at a tree. No matter how big a tree, the branches are always attached to the trunk or indirectly to the branch that is also attached to the trunk.
“And likewise, why is there a need for flexibility? We know that the shortest way or distance between two points is a straight line. Translated into realities on the ground, if one wants to travel traversing a forest and one pursues a straight line, the more he or she cannot reach his destination, because he or she will bump a tree or fall into a ravine.
“Many described me as a hardliner. No, I am not. I am a negotiator and while I do not presume to be an expert on this field, but I have been chairing the MILF peace panel since 2003, something like 21 years already. Thus, from that long involvement, I learned or knew a little or something about negotiation: It is simply a “give and take” or “take and give” exercise; it is a two-way process. Of course, one, not even a negotiator, can negotiate or compromise a principle. Principles will never ever be the subject of negotiation. But we can negotiate the ways and means or approaches to achieve the desired end.
“About the middle of this year, I tendered my resignation as chair of the MILF peace panel for two reasons: first, I have been in this assignment for too long and therefore I should be replaced already, and second, maybe what the MILF peace panel espouses during this stage of the peace process, as some quarters think, is not the position of our principal. Almost instantly, my resignation was turned down or disapproved by our principal — something that perhaps can be interpreted that the trust and confidence in me as chair of the panel is firmly intact.
“More importantly, we are solving a problem, the so-called Moro Problem, which is a distorted appreciation of history.
“Solving this problem was the only agenda of the GPH-MILF peace negotiation starting in 1997. After more than a decade, we finally found the key to solving this problem: the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
“Therefore, the faithful implementation of this agreement will solve this problem; and vice versa, a disjointed implementation will only create confusions, mistrust, and conflicts.
“With your indulgence, let me be very candid and straight forward. I hope I am correct. As far as I know, whatever the MILF peace panel proposes or even objects to is within the bound of the CAB. Surely, we can cite relevant aspects or provisions of the CAB to back us up. And whether we agree or not, sooner or later, we remain steadfast partners in pursuit of peace and justice in Mindanao, because the only option before us is to pursue a peaceful solution to the whole mess in Mindanao.
“Finally, I wish to convey my gratitude to the Honorable Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr. for his unwavering dedication to the way of peace in resolving the conflict in the region; and more importantly, to His Excellency President Bongbong Marcos for his commitment to implement all agreements with the MILF (and MNLF) in many national and global gatherings.
“Thank you and good morning to all!”