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Fr. Angel Calvo, President of ZABIDA extends his
warmest greeting on the participants during his
opening message.
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With
the current political trend heating up towards elections and the peace process
snagged over the apparent delay in the passage of the BBL, some Local political
leaders, and heads of non-government sectors gathered to confront the real
issues behind the current peace and security situations in Zamboanga Peninsula
including those of the island provinces (Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi) in a
forum last December 9, 2015 in Zamboanga City.
Fr.
Angel Calvo, President of ZABIDA extends his warmest greeting on the
participants during his opening message.
More
than 60 participants to the Regional Forum on Peace and Security, with the
theme “Current Political Developments in the Region and Implications on the
Peace Process”, discussed and worked out schemes to manage and or resolve the
issues and problems informing the peace, security, and development concerns of
the provinces.
In his
welcome note, Fr. Angel Calvo, the President of Zamboanga-Basilan Integrated
Development Alliance, Inc. (ZABIDA), highlighted the overarching spirit of the
event to: “Confront our aspirations to reach the dream of living in harmony.
Conscious of our identity, celebrate our diversity. Conscious on (about) the
challenges and struggles of the historical conflicts that we suffer and that we
carry also in our journey.”
National
and local resource speakers expounded on a range of select topics comprising
The Peace Process Journey, Security Situation in the Region, Current MNLF-MILF
Unity Effort, Restorative Justice and Reconciliation, and The Indigenous
Peoples’ rights in the Context of the GPH-MILF Peace Process.
Tracing
the journey of the Peace Process, IAG Executive Director Atty. Benedicto
Bacani, accentuated the importance of having a clear framework, in
understanding the framework of the peace negotiations and the implementation of
the peace agreement. He pointed further: “Hindi ho ganun kadali ang kwento ng
peace process, hindi rin ho ganun kadali ang pagtatranslate ng peace agreement
into what we call public policies and implementation of public policies” (The
story of the peace process is not that easy, nor is it easy to translate peace
agreements into what we call public policies and implementation of public
policies).
Atty.
Bacani dated the discussions on the issue of autonomy back to the 1976 Tripoli
agreement, when the Philippine Government and the MNLF initially worked out an
autonomous regional package to resolve the root cause of the Moro political
question - emanating from the core principle of self-determination. He insisted
of maintaining the dynamism of the Peace Process through a forward-moving
trajectory. According to him, it is only by moving forward that the whole
process can allow autonomy to evolve, develop, and eventually influence and
reform the political system. Then, it will be able to address the root causes
of the conflict.
He
further asserted that, both the peace process and autonomy are evolving,
developing, incremental, and moving forward.
He instructed:, “We have to understand this process. That when you talk
of peace agreements which is the product of negotiations, peace agreements are
heavy on ideologies and aspirations and are roadmaps to achieving the
aspirations. But (these) are not self-executing. It is not automatic. You need
to go to the very hard process of policy legislation and implementation, which
is now the governance part”.
Peace
and Security Situation and the MNLF-MILF Unity Effort
The
Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) of the AFP presented the security
situation, focusing on the threat groups in the region. the report revealed
that, the Abu Sayaff Group (ASG), operating in semi-autonomous sub-groups
remains a big security threat in Sulu and Basilan, and to a lesser extent, in
Zamboanga City and Tawi-Tawi. In addition, other groups continue to conduct
terrorist activities and remain a potent threat to security. These include:,
the Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee of the CPP-NPA-NDF, and the
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
Meanwhile,
Atty. Randolph Parcasio, MNLF Chairperson of Bangsamoro Lawyers Network,
pointedly presented the status of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)-
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) - Government of the Philippines (GPH)
Tripartite Review of the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement
(FPA). Among others the review is
focused on determining the consistency or inconsistency of the existing
autonomy law (RA 9054) vis a vis the FPA. Reportedly, the Tripartite Review of
the Implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement which started in November
2007 remains incomplete. Accordingly, the March 11, 2009 agreement was not
implemented o: two (2) main reasons; There are remaining unresolved issues in
the Tripartite Review; and the MILF-GPH-MALAYSIA negotiation tract captures the
GPH priority, at the moment.
However,
in a meeting last September 8, 2015, the MNLF and GPH (with the participation
of the OIC) agreed to finalize and ratify the terms of reference for the
implementation of the proposed Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund (BDAF)
and the Tripartite Implementation Monitoring Committee.
Atty.
Parcasio also expounded the salient features of the consensus between the MNLF
and MILF in the Bangsamoro Coordinating Forum (BCF). Among others things, the
MNLF and MILF agreed on the following:
1. Recognition of the Bangsamoro people’s inherent and collective right
to self-determination and the commitment of the MNLF and MILF for its realization;
and 2. The MILF respects the MNLF right to pursue the full implementation of
the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and its implementing mechanism - the 1996 Final Peace Agreement.
Furthermore,
the MNLF-MILF agreement covers the medium and long term collaborative efforts
consisting of da’wah and education, shari’ah, economy, natural resources and
ecology, human rights, and peace and development.
Transitional
Justice and Reconciliation within the Bangsamoro Peace Process Framework.
.
Atty.
Mohammad Al-Amin Julkipli of the GPH peace panel legal team dealt deeper on the
comparison of the Transitional and Restorative Justice in his presentation. He
defined transitional justice as intrinsically linked to the whole idea of
“Dealing with the Past”. It proposes a holistic strategy for dealing with a
legacy of grievances and past abuses. On the other hand, restorative justice is
defined as an approach to criminal justice with focus on the needs of the
victims and the offenders - where victims take an active role in the process
and offenders are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, "to
repair the harm they've done—by apologizing, returning stolen money, or
performing community service".
The
Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) was created with the
mandate of undertaking a study, to make recommendations, propose appropriate
mechanisms, and recommend immediate interventions. In addition, TJRC promotes
healing and reconciliation, prevent/guarantee against recurrence of injustice,
and proposes certain mechanisms to address: historical injustices, legitimate
grievances of the Bangsamoro, human rights violations and marginalization
through land dispossession.
Indigenous
Peoples’ in the Peace Process
.
Some
concerns of the Sama Dilaut, the formal name of the Badjao, were also
highlighted in the forum. Atty. Lorenzo Reyes, Chancellor of MSU-Tawi-Tawi,
imparted to the participants the sad plight of the Badjaos. Emphasis was placed
on the dire need to call the attention and speedy actions of the national
government and international agencies towards correcting the centuries-old
neglect and historical injustice suffered by the Badjaos.
He
added, Badjao’s are bullied, abused and ostracized to the point that they do
not even receive the basic social services. Their political participation is
limited to being pushed around to vote for certain candidates during the
elections.
The
Sama Dilaut’s traditional seafaring lifeways make them crisscross borders, and
as such, like other cultural communities in Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam, do
not recognize borders, and are affected by border controls. They consider the
Sulu Seas as their ancestral domain, and yet, this cannot be found in the
ancestral domain being pushed by the BBL. It has only territorial waters for
the Bangsamoro. “How about ancestral waters for the Sama Dilaut?”, Atty Reyes
queried.
In a
bold appeal, Atty. Reyes expressed; “If the government is working for
equitable, participatory and inclusive growth and development, the plight of
the Sama Dilaut should be considered. They deserve nothing less”.
The
Regional Forum on Peace and Security was co-organized by the Pro PolitiCS for
Peace project of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance and spearheaded by
Zamboanga Basilan Integrated Development Alliance (ZABIDA). The Pro PolitiCS
for Peace project is implemented in partnership with the Philippine Center for
Islam and Democracy (PCID), the Local Government Development Foundation
(LOGODEF), and ZABIDA, through the support of the Australian Aid.
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