This peace and prayer rally was organized by the Basilan Regional Committee of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS-BRMC) led by its Regional Chairperson Nathan Insung, the Executive Director of the Yakan Integrated Resources Development Foundation, Inc., in partnership with the Bantey Basilan Civilian Local Peacekeeping Force and the Inter-CSO Care for Basilan Task Force.

Hon. Al Rashid Sakkalahul, Vice Governor of Basilan, Hon. Tahira Ismael, Mayor of the Municipality of Lantawan and concurrent President of the League of Municipal Mayors of Basilan, Mr. John Ausal, MILF Basilan Spokesperson, Cmdr. Hamid Salahuddin, MNLF Basilan Chairperson, Rev. Maximo Antonio, CAMACOP Minister, Hon. Jubaira Said, Lamitan City Councilor and CBCS Regional  Vice Chairperson, Annabelle Lasal, Tipo-Tipo DepEd District Supervisor and IDP leader, and Sammy Maulana, Secretary-General of CBCS, were present in this event.

Rev. Antonio in his opening statement said that “We are all brothers and sisters in the eyes of God. We all come from one creator. But he admonished the people by saying that, “We should follow the law and the government because the voice of the government can be considered as the voice of God.”

For his part, CBCS Secretary-General Sammy Maulana made a counter statement saying that, “While the voice of the government may be considered as the voice of God, it can only hold true if that government is pro-people. However, from the way it is treating the Bangsamoro people in all these years, this government is anti-people. Therefore, the Bangsamoro people should let their voices be heard and listened to because it is more true that the voice of the people is the voice of God.”

“If the peace talks will be broken, and the negotiations will stop, I am 99.9% sure that war will start again,” stated John Ausal of the MILF. “The Bangsamoro is (merely) asserting its rights because of the injustice (it has experienced)”, he added.

Emphasizing that the peace problem in Mindanao does not only affect the people of Mindanao but the entire Philippines, Cmdr. Hamid Salahuddin of the MNLF said that, “If there is no peace in Mindanao, then there will be no peace also in Visayas and Luzon.”

Though both the MNLF and the MILF are committed to their respective peace processes with the government, Salahuddin, however, put little stock on their progress, saying in the vernacular that, “I doubt if the government is sincere in negotiating on ancestral domain. Even during our time (MNLF), we were just fooled by the GRP.”

For his part, Vice Governor Sakkalahul said that, “The people of Basilan want peace and they are united enough to attain this peace. But it can only be attained if no politics is mixed into the effort.”

Mayor Ismael shared in her message that, “It is high time that the greater majority of the general public should be aware of the two peace processes because, whether they like it or not, they are affected by it and they will eventually be the end beneficiaries.”

The Basilan prayer and peace rally is the second to the last leg of the series of massive peace rallies and public gatherings initiated by the CBCS and its partner Moro CSOs to educate the general public on the progress of the peace process and its relevance to Philippine society, to generate public support, and to build the critical mass to pressure the government to be sincere in its separate peace talks with the MNLF and MILF. The final leg of this two month long initiative will be held at Sulu on February 9, 2008.

Last update : 03-03-2008 12:04

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