[APWW-Meet] A leap backward: Peace Denied in Southern Philippines

[nina@isiswomen.org]

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A LEAP BACKWARD: PEACE DENIED IN SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES
(First of a Three-Part Series)

One month of fighting between the military and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) has made the Philippines a host to the largest
number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the region in recent
years. As of this writing, civilian deaths have risen to 69 while IDPs
are estimated at 512,000. Violence and fighting erupted as the
Philippine government abandoned the proposed memorandum of agreement
(MOA) for an expanded Bangsamoro homeland.

Last week the government dissolved the peace panel which drafted the
proposed MOA after five years of negotiations with the MILF on the
proposed MOA, despite the increasing human toll of the ongoing armed
conflict. The defense secretary even reasoned that the MILF has become
"irrelevant" with the latter's refusal to surrender the the leaders who
instigated the attacks against civilians.

Yet the series of events also smacks of betrayal on the part of the
government. On 4 August 2008 or a day before the signing of the proposed
MOA in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Supreme Court issued a temporary
restraining order. However, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration has
chosen to be silent rather than defend the proposed MOA throughout the
public discussions including the oral arguments at the Supreme Court
last month.

"The eventual abandonment of the MOA confirmed the suspicions of the
MILF on the government's insincerity. For how could you throw away
something that you worked for over the years?. We are not even back to
square one but negative 100 steps. All the interfaith dialogues went to
nothing. It is not only the document that was lost but the trust among
people as well. We are seeing a Mindanao of the 1960s," lamented Raissa
Jajurie of Saligan, a lawyer's collective that has presence in Mindanao
focusing on women, fishers, farmers, and local communities, among
others.

She also criticised the Supreme Court's handling of the petitions
against the proposed MOA, which failed to account for the historical
background of the document and merely yielded to an otherwise
misinformed public pressure. Jajurie begged to differ to the popular
perception that the proposed MOA was a prelude to the dismemberment of
the Philippine archipelago nor one that failed to undergo public
consultation.

The proposed MOA was a mere resolution that asks the government to table
the expansion the current Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
However, unlike the past and present resolutions asking for a discussion
on federalism in Congress or other topics which are otherwise uncovered
by the Philippine Constitution, the proposed MOA has generated too much
controversy and to a certain extent, has surfaced the biases of some
government officials, people and the media.

Saligan was among the civil society organisations which MILF approached
in order to subject the principles of the proposed MOA in public
consultations. Jajurie admitted though that some aspects of the peace
negotiations were too critical to be publicly divulged at certain times.
However, she belied the claims of some local government units that they
were not aware of the document. Some LGUs were among those who asked for
a TRO on the proposed MOA.

With the dissolution of the peace panel, it is not clear where and how a
new round of peace-building can begin. More alarmingly, it is not clear
how a ceasefire could be brokered at this point, making the possibility
of having an increased human toll immanent. Along with the peace panel,
its critical components such as the ceasefire committee and the
international monitoring team were dissolved.

Although Malaysia remains willing to facilitate the peace talks even as
the proposed MOA was junked, much would have to be initiated by the
Philippine government. As Jajurie asserted, "ARMM may not be a model of
good governance but the MILF has legitimate demands. It is incumbent
upon the government, Bangsamoro, and civil society to work it out."

By Isis International


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