Time to release Nur Misuari

The big news from Mindanao is that the Commission on Elections has proclaimed the winners in the recently-concluded elections in the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao. Mr. Zaldy Puti Uy Ampatuan of the famous Muslim family was proclaimed as the new governor of the region.

As is usual in Mindanao where democracy has not taken roots, Ampatuan won by a wide margin. This is not surprising since Ampatuan was the candidate of the ruling party, which meant that he got all the support from the Manila government. The Liberal Party and other smaller parties who fielded candidates were beaten.

Despite charges of cheating, the elections should be lauded because of its impact on the peace and order situation in the region. In a community where elections are not taken seriously, the successful conduct of the elections is necessary to convince the Muslim world that the peace process is in place in the region.

As one Filipino diplomat said, the government reports annually to the OIC on the conduct of the peace process in Mindanao, particularly in the ARMM. And the peace process includes elections of officials in the ARMM. In short, the elections in Mindanao is also part of our foreign policy initiatives.

The question that comes to mind after the elections is: What will now be the fate of Mr. Nur Misuari, a signatory to the 1996 peace agreement between the MNLF and the government? Since the peace and order situation in the region has changed for the better, isn't it time to release the former governor of the ARMM?

The facts are now emerging from the so-called incident that led to the incarceration of Misuari. That he was not really directly responsible for agitating the people who mounted a mini-rebellion in Zamboanga City. What seems clear is that his fall from grace and eventual incarceration was caused by the conspiracy among all factions in Mindanao and with some foreign powers.

I was told that President GMA does not hold a grudge against Misuari who she considers a figure in Philippine history (she said that in so many words some years ago). But she is waiting for recommendations from the civilian and military officials on the impact of his release on the peace process.

We suggest that the first order of business of the new ARMM should be an assessment of the situation. Hopefully, that assessment could lead to the release of Nur Misuari, one of the pillars of the peace process.

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Noli not bothered by impeachment

The man who is most relaxed these days seems to be Vice President Noli de Castro. An aide told me that although he keeps in touch with the impeachment trial in the House, he relishes in doing his state functions as Vice President.

For instance, he just came from Saudi Arabia where he attended the funeral rites for King Fahd who died a few weeks ago. The VP knows that he has to do this because of the presence of many Filipinos in the Kingdom.

The VP is not trying hard to replace the president. He behaves properly. If he were ambitious, he could have broken away from the president on the Critical Friday when ten cabinet members resigned. But instead of holding a press conference to announce his resignation, as some people speculated he would do, he reported to the president for work.

The VP knows that time is on his side. Right now, there are many scenarios, but he sticks to the truism that he is the constitutional successor. That fact won't change unless there is a coup.