YEARENDER: No significant gains in peace efforts in 2009

MANILA, Philippines - The peace being sought by the government with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) remained elusive in 2009.

There have been no significant gains in peace efforts as the government initiative kept changing pace.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), the lead agency tasked to monitor the peace initiatives with Muslim and communist rebels, changed its leadership thrice in 2009.

Former national police chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. was appointed head of the OPAPP on Jan. 28 but was later replaced by former police chief Avelino Razon Jr.

It was during the term of Esperon that the government (GRP) almost secured a peace deal with the MILF.

The GRP was about to sign a Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) with the MILF that would allow the Muslim rebel group to exercise autonomy over an expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

But local officials and residents questioned the deal before the Supreme Court (SC) that later declared the MOA-AD unconstitutional.

The SC decision sparked a frenzy of retaliatory attacks from hardline MILF rebels in Central Mindanao that displaced thousands of people.

Esperon was replaced by Razon who eventually resigned to concentrate on his mayoralty bid in Manila in the 2010 elections.

Razon was in turn replaced by former Labor secretary Annabelle Abaya as OPAPP chief.

Despite the setbacks in the peace initiatives, Abaya remained optimistic that a peace deal with the MILF would be made before the end of 2009.

The GRP and the MILF resumed peace talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia early last month in an effort to finally secure a peace deal that would end the four-decade old secessionist problem in the country.

Both panels worked hard to revive the peace negotiations in the face of difficulties, particularly in the aftermath of the bloody rampage of MILF forces in Central Mindanao following the SC ruling against the MOA-AD.

“This development is a cause for jubilation because it comes in the midst of current challenges especially in Maguindanao... the collaborative linkages and open communications between the GRP and MILF panels have made possible the understanding of the situation and a meaningful response to mutual concerns,” Abaya said.

While admitting that the peace process still has a long way to go, Abaya said with the support of the people a final peace agreement may be reached.

The long-running Mindanao conflict has killed over 150,000 people, wounded and displaced tens of thousands others, mostly civilians, in the troubled southern region for the past four decades.

“I look forward to a process where people’s hopes and aspirations for peace and consequently a better future might finally come to pass,” Abaya said.

During talks last Dec. 8-9, 2009, the GRP and MILF peace panels agreed to revive the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) to continue efforts in coordinating “interdiction and isolation of criminal and lawless elements.”

Ambassador Rafael Seguis, the GRP chairman, and counterpart Mohagher Iqbal of the MILF, with Malaysian government facilitator Datuk Othman Bin Abdul Razak, signed a joint statement reaffirming the two panels’ shared commitment to building a just, enduring and comprehensive peace in Mindanao.

“With the formal resumption of the talks the parties agreed to begin in earnest the negotiations on a comprehensive compact,” the joint statement of the GRP and MILF read.

The GRP and MILF also agreed to renew the Terms of Reference for the International Monitoring Team (IMT) to continue creating and enabling a secure environment for the negotiations.

The IMT is tasked to monitor ceasefire, humanitarian, rehabilitation, development and civilian protection agreements.

The GRP and MILF also vowed to invite Malaysia, Japan, Brunei and Japan and non-government organizations (NGOs) such as the International Committee on the Red Cross (ICRC), the Mindanao People’s Caucus (MPC) and the Non-Violent Peace Force (NVPF) to be members of the IMT.

The GRP also took serious note of MILF concerns of continued arrests of its members by authorities.

The MILF also sought clarification on the implication of the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao, but the GRP stated it would not affect the peace process.

In a show of support for the peace process, the members of the newly constituted International Contact Group (ICG) attended and addressed the opening and closing sessions of the two-day formal resumption of the talks in Kuala Lumpur.

The ICG was represented by Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Masahiko Horie, British High Commissioner to Malaysia Boyd McCleary, Turkish Chargé d’Affaires Yasin Temizkan, Steven Rood and Herizal Hazri of the Asia Foundation, Cynthia Petrigh and Kristian Herbolzheimer of Conciliation Resources, David Gorman of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and Prof. Dr. Din Syamsuddin and Dr. Sudibyo Markus of Mahammadiyah.

Abaya said the remaining six months of the Arroyo administration would be too short to realize the signing of a final peace agreement with the MILF,

but the new president would inherit well-started peace negotiations with the Muslim rebel group.

She said the efforts of putting peace talks back on track could be a legacy that President Arroyo would leave to the next president.

Show good faith

Abaya also vowed to work hard for the revival of the stalled peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF.

The CPP-NPA has been waging a protracted Maoist insurgency for nearly 40 years, one of the longest in Asia that has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people despite several attempts at peace negotiations.

The rebels, through the NDF, walked out of peace talks after accusing the Philippine government of including the CPP and the NPA in the US and European lists of foreign terrorist organizations.

“One must bear in mind that peace is a process that needs patience even if fighting breaks out in the midst of negotiations to prevent the total collapse of the talks,” Abaya said.

“Talking with a sincere heart and a strong sense of respect for each other restores confidence and trust when things get nasty. The dividends of peace benefit all. Hence, peace is everybody’s business.”

Abaya said all sides must put into action good faith to dispel any mistrust.

“Dialogue will resolve thorny issues. A lasting peace needs a comprehensive engagement and genuine reconciliation between parties involved in an armed conflict,” she said.

Abaya said the government should exert more efforts to educate people at the grassroots level on vital issues of securing peace and its importance to national security.

“The government has always taken the initiative to start a dialogue when fighting breaks out because negotiation will bring out new and bright ideas for a lasting peace,” she said.

Abaya said that 2,506 former NPAs received a total of P65.62 million in financial assistance from the government through the Social Integration Program (SIP).

Abaya said the livelihood program will be intensified in 2010 to complement President Arroyo’s “Beat-the-Odds” program of terminating the twin insurgencies waged by the NPA and the MILF before she steps down from office on June 30, 2010.