The meeting was sponsored by the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS) in partnership with the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies (IBS) and Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) to update Mindanao NGOs on the current status of the GRP-MILF Peace Talks from the viewpoint of the MILF. Atty. Mary Ann Arnado of the MPC facilitated the event. She was assisted by Sammy Maulana, who represented CBCS in the forum, and Rahib Kudto, National President of the United Youth of the Philippines for Peace and Development (UNYPAD) in his concurrent capacities as CBCS Kutawato Region Chairperson and MPC Deputy Secretary General.

“Now is the right time to hear the updates of the negotiations from the peace panel itself to verify misconceptions and strengthen collaborations with other members of the CSO, especially the non-Moro” said Mr. Guiamel Alim, Chairperson of the CBCS, in a separate interview.

“The Bangsamoro is not turning its back against the government, they just want to regain their homeland and restore their inalienable right to self determination, both as people and nation!” Maulana said with conviction during his welcome message.

“It’s not what we can get from the Government, but how much they can give back what was taken away from us after the centuries old struggle by the Bangsamoro” Maulana added.

“In the course of the MILF and GRP negotiations, only minor points were discussed, the ‘meat’ has yet to be unraveled” a statement of disclosure of Mohagher Iqbal. “In essence, the problem is political in character that requires a political solution”, he added, referring to it as the ‘meat’ of the negotiations.

He cited the single point agenda of “How to solve the Bangsamoro Problem”, posed by the MILF in 1997 following their non-conformity to the signing of the GOP-MNLF Final Peace Accord.

The real Bangsamoro Problem as viewed by the MILF is the “Illegal and immoral annexation of Mindanao and Sulu into the national territory of the Philippines in the grant of independence in 1946”.

“The taking away of the sovereignty of the Bangsamoro People is the problem and the restoration of this right in the form of state or sub-state depending on the outcome of the talks”.

The impasse of the peace talks started on September 6-7, 2006 during the 13th exploratory talks over the issue of territory when the GRP is offering the 613 Muslim-dominated Barangays and wants it done through constitutional process.

“The MILF wants a contiguous area, not a ‘leopard skin’ processed outside the legal process of the government”, described Iqbal.

The draft presented by the GRP a night before December 14 did not contain much of the consensus points earlier agreed by the two parties”.

Furthermore, “the government negotiating panel inserted a provision which states that the implementation of the agreement will have to follow constitutional process”.

What is worse is “the content of the 8-paged draft marked with asterisk is not yet clear to the president and her cabinet and is still subject to changes”, Iqbal added.

“If the MILF draft is bad, then the GRP’s is worse! We are not children, the problem lies not on the draft but more so with the decision-makers”.

“Consolidation of the consensus points and other agreements on the ancestral domain into a MOA and a negotiated political settlement of the Bangsamoro through a comprehensive compact signed by parties remain to be a substantive agenda of the talks”, Iqbal concluded.

“Reconciliation is impossible unless there is a negotiated peaceful settlement,” said Atty. Michael Mastura, MILF Peace Panel member.

Mastura refers to the speech delivered by Presidential Adviser on Foreign Affairs Roberto Romulo during a forum in Madrid, Spain that was published in the Manila Times on January 25. According to Sec. Romulo, “The rebel groups together with the GRP have been fostering a culture of peace and go forward the road to reconciliation”

“Let us finish the four strands of the ancestral domain and then we can start the road to reconciliation from there… There cannot be amendments to the consensus points since it was already agreed upon.  What the parties can do is to consolidate the consensus points into a MOA to be signed by both parties,” Mastura said.

“If the MILF is threatened, then the GRP should be threatened more. We need a third party as facilitator in negotiation. The element of violation is worked by the IMT, as a result of the CCCH (Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities). We have to push them to the truth… MILF is rebel; the pull out of IMT should threaten the GRP more,” Mastura responded when asked by a participant about what possible effects may happen to the MILF in case the International Monitoring Team (IMT) will pull out.

In his closing statement, CBCS Kutawato Regional Chairman Rahib Kudto said, “This is a birthing of a new reality, it is explicit to everybody that the Mindanao problem is not a concern of the Bangsamoro solely, everybody must have to do something to the Mindanao crisis”.

The various CSOs representatives present will hold another forum on how to collectively carry out their individual advocacies to create a direct impact on the peace process. Updates on the peace process on the viewpoint of the GRP were identified as the “next steps” to be organized by this alliance of CSOs.

Hannan M. Masdoc
Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society

Last update : 30-01-2008 11:47

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