President Marcos asks soldiers in South to become peacemakers

MANILA, Philippines — As the Philippines approaches the tail end of the peace process, soldiers are now tasked to shift from being war fighters to peacemakers, President Marcos said.

Speaking to members of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division in Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, Marcos said the government wants to see Filipinos united despite differences in their beliefs.

“That is our goal for our countrymen, Christians or Muslims, regardless of where they originated, all of them should be united. They should not fight with each other. There should be no conflict,” he added.

According to a Palace statement, Marcos told the troops that they are now “tasked to transform themselves from war fighters to peacemakers as the country pursues the peace process.”

“We are approaching the tail end of the peace process and that’s why we are very optimistic about all of the development and the progress that we will be seeing in the area,” Marcos said.

In 2014 under former president Benigno Aquino III, the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed a comprehensive peace agreement, ending 17 years of talks between the government and the rebel group.

Four years later, then president Rodrigo Duterte signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which established a new Bangsamoro region with enhanced autonomy.

The transition period of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was supposed to last for three years from 2019 while the election of its new officials was scheduled on May 9, 2022.

In 2021, Duterte signed a law prolonging the transition period to 2025 and postponing BARMM’s first regional parliamentary polls.

The Bagsamoro Transition Authority serves as the region’s interim government.

Marcos also lauded the Army’s 1st Infantry Division and the Joint Task Force Zamboanga Peninsula and Lanao, which combats terrorist groups in the south.

“You have never failed the country... You have never failed to answer the call of duty with honor, with pride and with the passion and the love for the Republic of the Philippines,” Marcos said.

Joint Task Force Zamboanga Peninsula and Lanao is composed of the 1st Infantry Division, Naval Task Group-ZamPeLan and Tactical Operations Group 9.