MILF, RP sign new agreements, but peace deal is unlikely

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao / April 22, 2010) – Philippine peace negotiators and Muslim rebels signed several agreements ahead of national elections, but a major accord that would end decades of secessionist war in the restive southern region of Mindanao is still uncertain.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-determination, said it signed the agreement in Kuala Lumpur after two days of tough negotiations.

Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF’s chief peace negotiator, said the agreements will provide administrative support to the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute, the cease-fire committees; the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group and a mechanism to return the internally displaced persons.

Peace negotiators also agreed on the civilian protection component of the International Monitoring Team and the Philippines campaign to ban landmines.

The MILF, however, said the fate of the interim agreement is still not settled, even if the peace panels agreed on some common areas which are yet to be discussed in their next meeting early next month.

It said peace negotiators met in the Malaysian capital to try to resolve differences in their drafts on the proposed interim agreement on transitional mechanism on governance, which will bridge the present and the incoming administration in the Philippines.

Malaysia is currently facilitating the peace talks which President Gloria Arroyo opened in 2001 in an effort to end bloody fighting in Mindanao.

But Ghazali Jaafar, the MILF’s deputy for political affairs, said a peace deal with Arroyo, who is to step down next month when her term ends, is unlikely.

He said there is not enough time to continue the peace talks, but Jaafar expressed optimism the next president will honor all agreements signed under Arroyo’s rule.

“We have no more time to continue the peace talks and the peace negotiators are trying to reach an interim agreement so we may preserve the gains of the talks. We just hope the next president will continue the peace process. We are for peace,” Jaafar said.

Many of the MILF fighters said they are supporting the peace process and also hope that the next administration would honor all agreements signed since 2001 by the two sides.

The MILF peace panel is headed by Mohagher Iqbal and his government counterpart Rafael Seguis. (Mindanao Examiner)

Importance of Dialogue Mindanao stressed; consultations continue in Butuan City

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines - “Peace is too precious to be left alone in the hands of fighting forces,” so said “Dialogue Mindanaw” consultant Fr Albert Alejo in Iligan City on Tuesday even as he underscored the importance of the Reflective Dialogue through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process headed by Secretary Anabelle Abaya that puts the public at the forefront and gives them a chance to help pave the way for lasting harmony in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, “Dialogue Mindanaw” continues its Mindanao sojourn on Thursday in Butuan City.

“Nag-aaway ang dalawang puwersa para sa tao pero hindi naman nakokonsulta ang mga tao,” said Fr. Alejo during the consultations held Tuesday (March 9) at the Elena Tower Inn here, referring to government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that have been waging a bloody war for decades.

Alejo emphasized the two sides fight with different missions in mind, unaware of the fact that thousands, if not millions, of people are being affected by their armed conflict in the region.

“Sa kanila nang lahat pero ang mga tao ang naaapektuhan sa kanilang ginagawa,” Alejo added.

According to Abaya, the Iligan leg attracted 287 participants, including representatives from internally displaced people, local government units, military, lumads, women, police, civil society, non-government organizations, business, academe, Maranaw, traditional leaders and international groups.

Abaya said participants came as far as Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Marawi City , showing how eager they were to give their piece on the matter.

"This is what we came here (Iligan) for, their opinions, views and suggestions that would help the two sides achieve what Mindanaoans are longing for,” Abaya said.

Aside from Abaya, also participating in the event were Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz and Rev. Fr. Regino R. Quijano of PAKIGDAIT Inc., OPAPP’s local partner for the event.

Dr Guimba Poingan laid down the MILF’s position in the peace process while Dr Ronald Adamat enlightened the participants about the government’s stance on the matter.

During the consultations, participants appreciated and expressed positive acceptance for “Dialogue Mindanaw” and majority of them asked OPAPP to undertake more dialogues like this.

Other sectors claimed that for the peace talks to succeed, both the government and the MILF should show transparency in their negotiations.

Abaya assured all participants that opinions and proposals gathered during Reflective Dialogues would be taken up in the resumption of negotiations between government and MILF.

“Views, opinions and reactions from the public will come into play when the peace talks resume next month in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia ,” Abaya said.

OPAPP has put up an official website (http://www.mapayapangmindanao.info) for "Dialogue Mindanaw", aside from accounts in popular social networking sites such as Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/mapayapangmindanao) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/peacemindanao).

Also, comments on the Mindanao peace process can also be relayed through the following text lines: 0999-42-PEACE (73223) for Smart users and 0917-83-PEACE (73223) for Globe subscribers.

ARMM law may be amended to ensure success of peace talks, says House Speaker

MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Prospero Nograles said there could be a need to amend the existing Organic Act of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao or create an entirely new law on Muslim Mindanao to ensure the success of the ongoing peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Nograles said there could also be a need to sync the existing ARMM Organic Act with the conditions provided under an era of permanent peace between the government and the MILF.

“In view of the ongoing peace-talk between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and of the various proposals on Muslim Mindanao, such as the bill filed by Congressman Jaafar, I will get the House of Representatives to start working on a possible amendment of the Organic Act for Autonomous Muslim Mindanao or for the crafting of an entirely new law on Muslim Mindanao,” Nograles said.

“We might need to tune-up the existing ARMM Organic Act or craft a new law for Muslim Mindanao so that it can also deal with the distinct problems pertaining to the MILF. This enhanced or new law will take into consideration the framework and the eventual agreements of the ongoing peace-talk between the government and the MILF. It will also take as inputs the results of consultations on the matter that the House shall undertake,” he added.

At present, Nograles said there is a pending measure - House Bill 1769 - which seeks to amend the ARMM Organic Act and this can be expanded further to address all other concerns that may arise out of the peace talks.

House Bill 1769 which was authored by Tawi-tawi Representaive Nur Jaafar seeks to amend the ARMM Organic Act to decentralize the system of appointments for teachers and other officers and employees of the ARMM bureaucracy.

Jaafar said that the present system which solely delegates the appointing power to the ARMM Governor has been causing too much bottleneck in the issuance of appointments and delayed salaries for teachers and lower ranking officers and employees of the ARMM.

Under HB 1769, appointment of low-ranking officers shall be vested upon the heads of the departments, agencies and commissions or boards concerned. The appointments of teachers shall be delegate to their respective school division superintendents.

According to Nograles, the Jaafar's proposed amendment to the ARMM Organic Act can be expanded to accommodate reasonable terms that can be the result of the ongoing peace negotiations between the government and the MILF.(Gil Bugaoisan)

Philippines peace talks with MILF end with no new agreements

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 29, 2010) – The Philippines and Moro Islamic Liberation Front ended peace talks abruptly in Kuala Lumpur without new agreement that would put an end to decades of bloody fighting in the restive region of Mindanao.

Peace negotiators exchanged drafts on the comprehensive compact agreement on Wednesday, but the MILF said Manila had offer nothing new that would lead to a political settlement of the fighting in Mindanao.

The MILF peace panel headed by Mohagher Iqbal said Manila was offering the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao instead of what was previously agreed upon.
“The GRP draft essentially offers the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” Iqbal said, referring to the Philippine government.

The peace talks were supposed to end on Thursday, but the MILF peace panel backed out from the last day of the negotiations with Manila and instead met with Malaysian facilitator Datuk Othman bin Abd Razak and members of the International Contact Group to explain its position.

“The GRP draft is practically an enabling legislation piece,” MILF lawyer Michael Mastura said.

The MILF previously expressed concern that a peace agreement is possible before President Gloria Arroyo ends her term in June. But government peace negotiators said that a peace pact is still possible within the remaining term of office of Arroyo.

“We doubted this very much, simply because Arroyo then had been in office for almost eight years, and the comprehensive compact was never discussed. Even the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain was only initialed, but not signed, so how much more for a larger and more important document such as the comprehensive compact and Arroyo has barely five months remaining in office?”

“But we gave value to what my good counterpart (Rafael Seguis) had put forward, as coming no less from the President (Gloria Arroyo). We agreed to work together and willingly gave a serious try, Iqbal said before the start of the peace talks.

Peace talks was stalled in 2008 after both sides failed to sign any agreement on the most contentious issue — ancestral domain – which refers to the rebel demand for territory that will constitute a Muslim homeland.

The failed agreement triggered deadly rebel attacks in Mindanao after the Supreme Court stopped the formal signing of the peace accord. Politicians and lawmakers opposed to the ancestral domain deal filed their petitions to the High Court and asked Manila to make public the rest of the agreement.They claimed the accord was made without public consultations, an accusation strongly denied by government leaders.

The MILF said it will not renegotiate the ancestral domain agreement. "It is already a done deal; we have already initialed the memorandum of agreement on the ancestral domain. We will not revisit or renegotiate the agreement," Iqbal said in the past.

But despite the deal, there is still a need to amend the Constitution to allow plebiscite on areas under the ancestral domain that would make up the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity and give Muslims their own homeland.

Ancestral domain is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the rebel group can reach a political settlement with the Philippine government.

It covers the whole of the Muslim autonomous region – Sulu, Tawi-Tawi-, Basilan, Maguindanao and Lanao, including Marawi City. And some areas in Zamboanga Peninsula, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces in Mindanao where there are large communities of Muslims and indigenous tribes. And also Palawan Island, off Mindanao.

But Tawi-Tawi Representative Nur Jaafar has filed House Bill 4963 proposing to divide the Muslim autonomous region into two – the South Western Autonomous Region and the Central Mindanao Autonomous Region – and that a plebiscite will be held in every village in the provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and the cities of Isabela, Pagadian, Dipolog, Dapitan and Zamboanga.

And also in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani and the cities of Cotabato, Marawi, Iligan, Kidapawan, General Santos, Koronadal and Tacurong.

Despite the abrupt ending of the peace talks, Malaysia announced the deployment in Mindanao on February of a group of international cease-fire observers to monitor the implementation of the truce between the Philippines and the MILF.

Peace talks are expected to resume on February 18 and 19 in Malaysia which is brokering the talks. The talks are expected to discuss the draft agreement and identify the next steps for the purpose of achieving a comprehensive compact and a negotiated solution to the Muslim problems in Mindanao.

President Arroyo opened peace talks with the MILF in 2001 and vowed to forge a peace deal with the rebels before her term ends. (Mindanao Examiner)

Manila offers ARMM to MILF; direct talks cut short in KL

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 29, 2010) - Peace representatives of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines have conducted a brief negotiation Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur.

After exchanging drafts on the proposed Comprehensive Compact Agreement, they returned to their respective hotels to scrutinize each other’s proposal with the understanding to return the next day for consideration.

The MILF Peace Panel, finding that the GRP’s draft had nothing new to offer, decided not to meet its counterpart. Instead, the MILF peace panel requested for a special meeting with the Malaysian facilitator and members of the International Contact Group to explain the position they have taken.

“The GRP draft essentially offers the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” says Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of MILF negotiating panel, adding that “this offer was done in April of 2000 and repeated in February of 2003, just before the attack on the MILF Buliok complex in North Cotabato province.

The Seguis-led GRP negotiating panel submitted a 17-page document while the MILF’s was 37 pages.

Asked about his comment, MILF lawyer Michael Mastura commented off-hand that, “the GRP Draft is practically an enabling legislation piece.” It was learned from Iqbal later that this GRP approach deviated from what was agreed during the Agenda Setting Session in the previous GRP-MILF special meeting on December 8 and 9, 2009.

Among those commonly agreed items that the GRP lawyer Camilo Montesa summed up are: 1) Identity and citizenship, 2) Governance structure, 3) Security arrangements, 4) Wealth-sharing, natural resources and property rights, 5) Restorative justice and reconciliation, 6) Implementation arrangements, and 7) Independent Monitoring.

But Mastura also pointed out that, except for Item 5, the MILF agreed to prepare a Draft as outlined earlier. However, he clarified that “the MILF stresses Transitional justice and reconciliation rather than Restorative justice.”

The meeting opened with the statements from the Malaysian facilitator, Seguis, Iqbal, and some members of the ICG. After this, drafts were exchanged.

A chance interview with three other members of the MILF peace panel, Maulana Alonto, lawyer Abdul Dataya, and Antonio Kinoc, revealed that the MILF draft adhered to the general outline agreed during the Agenda Setting Session.

He said the two drafts have wide divergence that have no point of convergence, adding that the GRP draft’s derogation of prior agreements is not a positive response to sustain confidence building measures.

According to Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF Peace Panel Secretariat, “the meeting on Thursday) was supposed to be the deliberation session.” But in place of the normal “face-to-face deliberation” between the two panels, “proximate meetings” took place, thereby the Malaysian facilitator Datuk Othman bin Abd Razakand an ICG representative shuttled between the two sides.

Meanwhile, a more positive development is the announcement of the Malaysian facilitator that the deployment of the International Monitoring Team is under way before the end of February 2010.

The parties agreed to meet again on February 18 and 19 to discuss the draft texts and identify the next steps for the purpose of achieving a comprehensive compact and a negotiated solution.

According to Datuk Othman, the parties also agreed to preserve previous gains made in the peace process and to review each other draft with their respective principals and to consult concerned stakeholders on options of moving forward.

The GRP peace panel is composed of Seguis, Agrarian Secretary Nasser Pangandamen, Dr. Ronald Adamat, Atty. Tony Laviña, and Atty. Mariano Sarmiento. Director Ryan Mark Sullivan and Zoilo Velasco composed the GRP Peace Panel Secretariat.

The representatives of the ICG were Hitoshi Ozawa and Yoshihisa Ishikawa, Minister and First Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Manila respectively; Ambassador Boyd McCleary, British High Commissioner to Malaysia and Christopher Wright, Second Secretary, British Embassy in Manila; Yasin Temizkan, Chargé d’ Affaires, Embassy of Turkey in Kuala Lumpur.

The INGO members who attended were David Gorman, Mediation Adviser of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HDC); The Asia Foundation’s(TAF) Dr. Steven Rood, Country Representative for the Philippines; Herizal Hazri, Program Director in Malaysia, and Thomas Parks, Regional Director for Governance and Conflict based in Thailand; Cynthia Petrigh, Advisor on Peace Process, Conciliation Resources; and Dr. Din Syamsuddin, President of Muhammadiyah accompanied by an adviser, Surwandono. (Binhamen Madany)

For Moros, Dreams of Peace and Homeland Hanged in Balance in 2009

MANILA, Philippines — As the curtain was beginning to fall on 2009, the on-and-off peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) resumed in Kuala Lumpur, with both parties agreeing to begin talks on the drafting of a Comprehensive Peace Compact that would resolve the Moro question.

The year, however, drew to a close without any far-reaching movement in the GRP-MILF peace process.

After the disastrous halt to the 11-year-old peace negotiations in mid-2008, which resulted from the re-escalation of conflict provoked by the botched signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD) between the two parties, the entire peace process appeared to be in limbo, with practically no movement except steps toward the resumption of talks.

When the talks finally resumed in Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 8, 2009, the two parties agreed only to start negotiations on the drafting of a Comprehensive Peace Compact that would resolve the Moro question. The GRP and the MILF also committed to making the most of what may be achievable before President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo steps down in 2010.

With this, the Moro people’s dreams of peace in a homeland of their own continue to hang in the balance.

More than 10 years of on-and-off peace negotiations between the GRP and the MILF almost ended in a disaster when the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD) between the two parties was aborted on Aug. 4, 2008, following the Supreme Court’s issuance of a temporary restraining order based on a petition filed by North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piñol and Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat.

North Cotabato and Zamboanga City are both covered by the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), the autonomous area that the MILF wants to create, the scope of which would have been subjected to a plebiscite following the signing of the MoA-AD.

The non-signing of the MoA-AD gave rise to a re-escalation of armed confrontations between government troops and the MILF in Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato, and Maguindanao — provinces known to be strongholds of the MILF. Following the outbreak of renewed hostilities, the government ordered a manhunt for MILF commanders Abdurahman Macapaar a. k. a. Commander Bravo, Ameril Ombra Cato, and Alim Pangalian who have been dubbed as “rogue MILF commanders” and leaders of “lost commands.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ruling late in 2008 declaring the MoA-AD as unconstitutional sent the negotiations back to the drawing board.

The re-escalation of conflict led to the displacements of entire communities in Central Mindanao.

As of April 2009, based on a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, there are some 600,000 people who have been displaced in Central Mindanao since August 2008. This is higher than the numbers for Sudan (550,000), Kenya (500,000), Congo (over 400,000), Iraq (360,000), Pakistan (more than 310,000), Somalia (300,000), Colombia (270,000 as of June 2008), Sri Lanka (230,000), and India (220,000).

On July 29, 2009, chief negotiators Rafael Seguis of the GRP and Mohagher Iqbal of the MILF issued a joint statement in which they acknowledged the MoA-AD as “an unsigned and yet initialed document to reframe the consensus points with the end in view of moving towards the comprehensive compact to bring about a negotiated political settlement…” This was even as Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita had previously said that any agreement to be entered into by the two parties should be in accordance with the Constitution, and that the MILF’s demand for a BJE should pass through Congress as an “ordinary” piece of legislation.

On Sept. 15 last year, the GRP and MILF panels agreed on the formation of an International Contact Group (ICG) that will provide “critical support” to the peace negotiations in the wake of the escalating conflict.

About a month later, during her visit to the Philippines, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed her government’s wish that the GRP and the MILF be able to ink a peace pact before Arroyo finishes her term.

“This is a significant statement,” said MILF peace panel member Maulana Bobby Alonto in an interview. “It is an acknowledgement by the US government that the Bangsamoro question is a political problem which requires a political solution. The MILF is a non-state actor. The US is a state actor, and a superpower at that. So that is a significant statement coming from a statesman of the US. But let us see, because we cannot deny the fact that the US has strategic interests in this region.”

On Dec. 3, the two parties announced in a joint statement the establishment of the ICG, with its membership initially composed of Japan, the United Kingdom, and Turkey as member-countries and the Asia Foundation, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Conciliation Resources, and Muhammadiyah as international non-government organization (INGO) members.

When the peace negotiations resumed in Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 8, the GRP and the MILF agreed to start talks on drawing up a Comprehensive Peace Compact aiming to end the decades-old conflict in Mindanao. Both parties aimed for “maximum achievement” in the peace negotiations within the remainder of Arroyo’s term, which is expected to end on June 30 this year.

The GRP-MILF peace process has been going on and off for almost 11 years, and it no doubt still has a long way to go.

The issue of ancestral domain had early on emerged as the most contentious issue in the GRP-MILF peace negotiations, and for the MILF, the MoA-AD would have been a major accomplishment, or, as Iqbal described in a roundtable discussion with peace advocates in Quezon City, “evidence of accomplishment from more than 10 years of negotiations.”

At this point any real movement in the peace process would still have to proceed from a resolution of the ancestral domain question. How both parties can resolve an issue that has remained unresolved after more than a decade is a question that begs to be answered.

Will the formal resumption of their talks eventually bring a peace that is in accordance with the aspirations of the Moro people?

Alonto expressed hope that it will. “I cannot really say whether the peace talks will end up according to the expectations of our people, but we are hoping that we can achieve the aspirations that our people have,” he said. (Alexander Martin Remollino / Bulatlat.com)


Link:http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/01/11/for-moros-dreams-of-peace-and-homeland-hanged-in-balance-in-2009/

Philippines resumes peace talks with MILF rebels

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 8, 2009) – Philippine government peace negotiators on Tuesday resumed stalled talks with the country’s largest Muslim rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front in an effort to end decades of bloody clashes that had killed tens of thousands of people in Mindanao.

Peace negotiators met in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia which is facilitating the talks, but both sides are not expected to issue any statement until after the meeting ends on Wednesday.

“We expect a fruitful outcome of the peace talks and we hope both sides would be able to sign an agreement beneficial to all,” Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, told the independent newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

The resumption of the talks came after both the MILF and the government peace panels approved the establishment of the International Contact Group composed of the United Kingdom, Japan, and Turkey and The Asia Foundation, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the London-based Conciliation Resources and the Indonesian group Muhammadiyah as international nongovernmental organization members.

The formation of the ICG finally cleared the way for the formal resumption of the peace talks, the MILF’s chief peace negotiator, Mohagher Iqbal said last week.

Iqbal said the ICG serves as guarantee that both the government and MILF comply with all signed agreements. Iqbal was referring to the Muslim homeland deal initially signed by peace negotiators, but declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

The failed signing of the homeland deal sparked a series of rebel attacks that killed and wounded dozens of civilians in Mindanao.

In October, the MILF and government peace panels also signed an accord ensuring the protection of civilians in areas in Mindanao where there are fighting.

“The Framework Agreement on the formation of the International Contact Group and the Agreement on the Protection of Civilians are essential mechanisms to prevent the repeat of the debacle in Kuala Lumpur on August 5, 2008 when the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain was not signed by the government, as well resulting displacement of more than 600,000 people in Mindanao,” Iqbal said.

The agreement on civilian protection reaffirmed the commitment of the MILF and the Philippine government for the observance of the international humanitarian law and respect for the internationally recognized human rights instruments and the protection of the internally displaced persons.

President Gloria Arroyo opened up peace talks with the MILF in 2001 in an effort to end decades of bloody Muslim secessionist war in the restive, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao, south of the Philippines, where rebels are fighting for self-determination.

The agreement on civilian protection component will be incorporated into the Terms of Reference of the International Monitoring Team which would be discussed during the peace talks. The international cease-fire monitoring team was previously composed of Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Libya and Japan. (Mindanao Examiner)

MILF fighters train in the southern Philippines

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Liderato ng MILF, hati kay Manny Pacquiao!

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / August 18, 2009) – Hati ang opinyon ng liderato ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front sa proposal na gawin negosyador ang Pinoy boxing legend na si Manny Pacquiao.

Mismong si Senator Aquilino Pimentel ang nagpalutang ng proposal dahil umano sa katanyagan ni Pacquiao. Ngunit sa panig naman ni MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal ay dapat sapat umano ang kaalaman ni Pacquiao upang maintindihan ang problema ng mga Muslim sa Mindanao.

Pabor naman si Pacquiao na tumulong sa pamahalaan para sa kapakanan ng bansa at ng peace process.

Hindi naman mabatid kung makaka-apekto ba ang pagiging Army reservist ni Pacquiao sa kanyang role bilang negosyador kung sakaling patusin ng Malakanyang ang proposal ni Pimentel. Si Pacquiao ay isang sarhento sa reserve command ng Philippine Army.

Maaring manganib rin ang buhay ni Pacquiao dahil baka ito madukot habang nakikipagusap sa mga rebelde at ipatubos sa kanyang pamilya.

Sinabi naman sa Mindanao Examiner ni Eid Kabalu, isang senior MILF leader, na walang masama kung tumulong si Pacquiao sa peace talks.

“With all due respect, kahit saan galing ang good idea that will contribute to the resolution of the Bangsamoro problem is welcome. Kahit sino basta makakatulong sa kapayapaan ay welcome,” ani pa ni Kabalu.

Ngunti sinabi ni Kabalu na kung talagang sinsero ang Malakanyang na gamitin si Pacquiao bilang isa sa mga negosyador ay dapat itong pormal na ihain sa peace panel.

Idinagdag pa ni Kabalu na sa sobrang yaman ni Pacquiao ay pede itong makakatulong sa maraming mahihirap na Muslim sa Mindanao. “It’s good if he can spend some of his wealth for the improvement of the lives of our poor people in Mindanao,” wika ni Kabalu. (Mindanao Examiner)

North Cotabato opposes new homeland deal between Manila and MILF rebels

Government soldiers stop Muslim civilians at an army checkpoint in Maguindanao province in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 1, 2009) – An influential southern Philippine politician on Saturday vowed to oppose any deal between Manila and Muslim rebels that would dismember the province of North Cotabato.

North Cotabato deputy governor Emmanuel Pinol said the Supreme Court ruled that the consensus points reached by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain violated the Constitution.

“Did the government peace panel take notice of the fear, the rift, the division and the violence that the proposed memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain brought upon the people of the country, especially among us living in the Southern Philippines?, Pinol asked.

The peace talks between Manila and the MILF collapsed in August last year after the High Court’s decision. It also triggered deadly rebel attacks in the provinces of North Cotabato, Sarangani, Lanao and Maguindanao.

North Cotabato is one of several provinces which are included in the proposed expanded Muslim autonomous region that would also include some parts of Zamboanga Peninsula and Palawan.

President Gloria Arroyo halted all military offensives against the MILF to pave the way for the early revival of the stalled peace talks. The MILF also ordered its forces to stop attacks against government and military targets in the restive region.

Government peace negotiators and the MILF also agreed on Wednesday on four issues before the resumption of the talks. In a joint statement, government negotiators headed by Rafael Seguis and the MILF peace panel led by Mohagher Iqbal have agreed to sustain the cease-fire agreement.

The also acknowledged that the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain as unsigned and yet initialed document, and committed to reframe the consensus points with the end in view of moving towards the comprehensive compact to bring about a negotiated political settlement.

Both sides would also work for a framework agreement on the establishment of a mechanism on the protection of non-combatants in armed conflict and another framework agreement on the establishment of International Contact Group which would be composed of states and non-state organizations to accompany and mobilize international support for the peace process.

Pinol said the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain in its entirety is a document that virtually creates an “associative” government that is equivalent to a new State minus the word “sovereignty.”

He said the people of his province after a series of public consultations declared the following: “We desire for true and lasting peace, one that is a product of a consensus among all stakeholders in Mindanao – Muslims, Christians and the Tribes; one that addresses the roots of the problem – poverty, lack of education, deprivation, injustice and massive and unabated corruption in government; one that manifests and reflects the common desire of the people rather than a piece of paper called the “Peace Agreement.”

“We demand total disarmament and the enforcement of the law in dealing with armed groups; we oppose any expansion of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or its equivalent political instrumentality that would include our province; we oppose the idea of creating a virtual independent “associative” state.

Pinol said he has consulted with his legal experts and would ask the Supreme Court to cite the government peace panel in contempt for ignoring its decision declaring the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain unconstitutional.

The politician was one of those who questioned the legality of the ancestral homeland deal before the Supreme Court.

The MILF previously said it would only resume the peace talks if Arroyo honors the Muslim ancestral domain deal that negotiators initially signed in July last year in Kuala Lumpur. The accord would have granted some four million Muslims their own homeland in more than 700 villages across Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Army hunt vs. MILF rebels continue

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Philippines, MILF rebels back on negotiating table again

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Tigil-opensiba, ipinag-utos ng MILF; peace talks bubuhaying muli

MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / July 26, 2009) – Pormal ng nag-deklara ang Moro Islamic Liberation Front ng cease-fire laban sa militar at isinusulong na ng pamahalaang Arroyo ang peace talks upang matigil ang karahasan at kaguluhan sa Mindanao.

Ngunit ipinag-utos rin ng MILF sa mga rebelde na ipagtanggol ang kanilang sarili sa anumang hakbang na maaring ilunsad laban sa mga tumutugis na sundalo sa mga tinuguriang “rogue MILF” members.

Sa hanay ng mga rebelde ay wala umanong “rogue MILF,” bagamat iginigiit ng militar at pulisya na pinaghahanap nila sina Commander Ameril Kato, Abdurahman Macapaar at Sulayman Panglian at ang kanilang mga tauhan na itinuturing nasa likod ng madugong raid sa Lanao provinces, North Cotabato, Sarangani, Iligan at iba pang mga lugar sa Mindanao matapos na mabuwag ang peace talks.

Kahapon ay kinumpirma ni Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, na nilagdaan ni Murad Ebrahim, ang pinuno ng rebeldeng grupo, ang isang order na nagpapatigil sa lahat ng opensiba sa magulong rehiyon.

“We are reciprocating the government’s suspension of military operations against the MILF. With these declarations of cease-fire, we can now move on and talk about peace in Mindanao,” ani Iqbal sa pahayagang Mindanao Examiner.

Sinabi pa ni Iqbal na ang cease-fire ay mahalaga sa posibleng resumption ng peace talks na nabasura nuong nakaraang taon matapos na mabigo ang pamahalaan at MILF na malagdaan ang Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD).

Ang MOA-AD ay inisyal na nilagdaan ng mga peace negotiators nuong Hulyo ng nakaraang taon sa Malaysia, ngunit nabasura naman ito matapos na kuwestyunin ng Zamboanga, Iligan at North Cotabato sa Korte Suprema ang legalidad nito. Sinabi ng Korte Suprema na unconstitutional ang MOA-AD.

Idiniin ng MILF na hindi ito makikipag-usap sa pamahalaang Arroyo maliban kung ipatutupad nito ang MOA-AD. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Muslim rebels halt offensives in troubled South

Muslim villagers call for a halt in fighting in the southern Philippines while troops shell Moro rebels in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 25, 2009) – The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, has declared truce on Saturday, ending fierce fighting that killed more than 1,500 soldiers and rebels in the volatile region of Mindanao.

Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF peace negotiator, said Murad Ebrahim, the secluded leader of the MILF, has signed the suspension of all military actions against the government.

He said Ibrahim ordered rebel forces to strictly implement the truce.

“We are reciprocating the government’s suspension of military operations against the MILF. With these declarations of cease-fire, we can now move on and talk about peace in Mindanao,” Iqbal told the Mindanao Examiner.

Iqbal said the truce is important for the resumption of the peace talks. “This is confidence-building measure so the peace process can move on without any obstacles,” he said.

Filipino leader Gloria arroyo ordered a halt on all military offensives against the MILF in an effort to revive the stalled peace talks. Arroyo’s decision came after the military said its arsenal is being depleting by the fighting which began last year after the peace talks collapsed.

Security officials said more than a thousand rebels were killed in the fighting, but the MILF disputed the report and claimed that mujahideen forces had killed as many as 500 government soldiers.

More than half a million people were also displaced in the war and are currently in temporary refugee shelters in Maguindanao province.

The MILF previously said it would only resume the peace talks if Arroyo honors the Muslim ancestral domain deal that negotiators initially signed in July last year.

Arroyo scrapped the homeland deal after the Supreme Court stopped the formal signing of the accord that would have granted some four million Muslims their own homeland in more than 700 villages across Mindanao.

The MILF’s announcement of truce came after police announced the capture of an alleged MILF bomber, Salman Mohamad Ali, in the Maguindanao town of Shariff Aguak on Thursday.

Ali was tagged as behind the July 5 bombing outside a Catholic church in Cotabato City that killed 6 people and wounded over 50 others.

Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, said his group has nothing to do with the bombing. “The MILF has no involvement in the bombing,” he said.

The MILF is fighting the past three decades for self-determination. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippines, MILF peace negotiators meet in Malaysia; Arroyo halts offensive in Mindanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 23, 2009) – Filipino leader Gloria arroyo has ordered a suspension of military offensive against the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, as negotiations for the resumption of the collapsed peace talks continue in Malaysia.

Arroyo’s decision came after the military last week said its arsenal is depleting because of the offensives against rebel forces in Mindanao. But Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the halt in the government offensives will pave the way for the resumption of the stalled peace talks with the MILF.

The military launched the offensives last year after peace talks collapsed. Security officials said more than a thousand rebels were killed in the fighting, but the MILF disputed the report and claimed that mujahideen forces had killed as many as 500 government soldiers.

Manila said it would resume peace talks with the MILF in an effort to forge an agreement that would put an end to decades of bloody fighting in the volatile, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao.

The MILF previously said it would only resume the peace talks if Arroyo honors the Muslim ancestral domain deal that negotiators initially signed in July last year.

Arroyo scrapped the ancestral domain deal after the Supreme Court stopped the formal signing of the accord that would have granted Muslims their own homeland in more than 700 villages across Mindanao.

“The Arroyo government has realized that there is no better way to address the Muslim problem but through peaceful means and not with the barrel of the gun,” Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Kabalu said rebel and government peace negotiators led by Mohagher Iqbal and Rafael Seguis are in Malaysia and discussing the possible resumption of the collapsed talks. “The MILF is for peace as we always say. Peace negotiators are in Malaysia and discussing how to resume to the peace talks,” he said.

Kabalu said Malaysia, an influential member of the Organization of Islamic Conference, is helping in the peace process. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA rebels ambush troops in Mindanao

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 17, 2009) – The Philippine military on Friday said communist insurgents attacked an army patrol, killing a soldier and wounding six more in the restive southern region of Mindanao.

The military said the soldiers were ambushed on Thursday near the village of Fortuna village in Impasug-ong town. The attack occurred after Manila announced it was resuming stalled peace talks with the New People’s Army rebels next month.

The talks collapsed in 2004 after both sides failed to sign a peace deal that would end more than four decades of bloody fighting.

The military has repeatedly said it would crush communist insurgency before President Gloria Arroyo ends her term next year. But the NPA just laughed off the claims, saying rebel forces are winning the war in the countryside.

“The persistent prating of the Armed Forces of the Philippines that it can crush the NPA before Gloria Arroyo's term ends is nothing but mantra parroted by its lower commands to supposedly show to their master Gloria Arroyo their victories in the battlefields thereby obtaining the much sought promotions and the needed budget for more corruption.”

“The NPA has launched more or less one tactical offensive daily nationwide. Further adding up to its strength is the regime's elimination of distinction between the legal and progressive forces to that of the armed movement as all enemies of state goading the former to adapt a guerrilla-style of work to dodge the dreaded death squads of the fascist state,” the rebel group said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Commies now ready to talk peace with Manila

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 9, 2009) – Philippine communist rebels said they are resuming formal peace talks with Manila next month, five years after the negotiations collapsed.

Luis Jalandoni, head of the communist peace panel, said preparations are being made by both sides for the resumption of formal talks in Oslo, Norway next month.

“On behalf of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, I wish to announce that preparations are being made by the Negotiating Panels of the NDFP and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines for the resumption of formal talks in the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway sometime in August 2009.”

“The GRP and NDFP Negotiating Panels have agreed on the implementation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees for the purpose of enabling persons covered by JASIG to participate in the preparatory meeting and formal talks of the aforesaid parties in August. Legal teams of the two panels are currently working and cooperating to ensure the implementation of the JASIG,” Jalandoni said.

He said both the peace panels have also agreed to exchange within this month a joint statement containing the agenda and points of agreement in the formal talks.

Norway, which is brokering the peace talks, helped negotiators meet June 15 in The Hague to discuss the preparations for the resumption of formal talks, according to Jalandoni.

It was unknown if communist rebels would sign a case-fire agreement with the government or not.

The United States listed the Communist Party of the Philippines and its political arm, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and their armed wing, the New People’s Army as a foreign terrorist organization on Manila’s prodding after the peace talks collapsed. The European Union also blacklisted the three groups.

The NPA accused President Gloria Arroyo of reneging on an agreement that would free political prisoners and stop the killings of activists in the country, among others.

Secretary Avelino Razon, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, on Wednesday said the government is ready to resume formal talks with communist and Muslim rebels in an effort to end decades of bloody secessionist war in the country.

Razon’s call came Razon’s announcement came after a series of recent bombings blamed by the police and military to the MILF killed six people and wounded dozens more in the southern Philippines.

Government peace talks with the NPA collapsed in 2004 after both sides failed to sign an agreement that will put an end to four decades of bloody fighting in the country.

Peace talks also with the MILF also in August last year after the failed signing of the Muslim ancestral domain. The MILF said Arroyo reneged on a deal that would have granted to some four million Muslims their own homeland in Mindanao. But the Supreme Court said the agreement was unconstitutional.

“After 40 years of fighting, it’s time we give peace a chance,” Razon said. “The government sees a good prospect for the resumption of the talks in the immediate period given the commitment of both parties to work in addressing the issues that clog the negotiating table.”

Razon said the Arroyo government is determined to end the fighting not only in Mindanao, but all other conflict areas in the country. He said the government would like to see a conclusion of the peace process, particularly with the MILF and the NPA rebels by 2010 as envisioned by Arroyo.

Razon also said that the government has intensified its rehabilitation and development projects in Mindanao and other rebel-influenced areas. But rebels said continued government offensive resulted in a humanitarian crisis and unabated human rights violations against Muslims. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippines to resume peace talks with MILF, NPA rebels

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 8, 2009) – The Philippines on Wednesday said it is ready to revive the collapsed peace talks with Muslim and communist rebels following the spate of bombings and fighting in the troubled region of Mindanao.

Government peace talks with the New People’s Army collapsed in 2004 after both sides failed to sign an agreement that will put an end to four decades of bloody fighting in the country.

Peace talks also with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front broke down after the failed signing of the Muslim ancestral domain in August last year.

The NPA accused President Gloria Arroyo of reneging on an agreement that would free political prisoners and stop the killings of activists in the country, among others. While the MILF said Arroyo reneged on a deal that would have granted to some four million Muslims their own homeland in Mindanao.

“After 40 years of fighting, it’s time we give peace a chance,” said Secretary Avelino Razon, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

Razon’s call came after a series of recent bombings blamed by the police and military to the MILF killed six people and wounded dozens more in the southern Philippines.

“The government sees a good prospect for the resumption of the talks in the immediate period given the commitment of both parties to work in addressing the issues that clog the negotiating table,” Razon said.

Razon, a former Philippine police chief, said he is optimistic the stalled peace talks between the government and the MILF would resume despite the four bombing attacks that occurred in Mindanao since Sunday.

He urged the MILF to return to the peace negotiations to stop the fighting in Mindanao where security forces are battling rebels since the collapsed of the talks. The clashes displaced some half a million people in Mindanao.

Razon said the wave of bombings in Cotabato City, Iligan City, Sulu and Lanao del Norte province would not deter the government from pushing the peace process with the MILF.

Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, said rebel and government negotiators are currently holding unofficial talks in Malaysia for the resumption of the stalled peace talks.

“The MILF chief peace negotiator, Brother Mohagher Iqbal and the Philippine representative Rafael Seguis are now in Kuala Lumpur and they are discussing with the Malaysian government the possibility of resuming the stalled peace talks,” Kabalu said.

Malaysia, an influential member of the Organization of Islamic Conference, is helping in the peace process. “The ball is in the hands of the Philippine government. It is the Arroyo government which can resolve the Mindanao problem,” Kabalu said.

Razon said the Arroyo government is determined to end the fighting not only in Mindanao, but all other conflict areas in the country. He said the government would like to see a conclusion of the peace process, particularly with the MILF and the communist rebels by 2010 as envisioned by President Arroyo.

Razon also said that the government has intensified its rehabilitation and development projects in Mindanao and other rebel-influenced areas. But the MILF said continued government offensive against the rebels resulted in a humanitarian crisis and unabated human rights violations against Muslims.

Razon also announced that the government would lift suspension of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees with the NPA to allow the rebels to resume peace talks.

Communist leaders earlier called on the citizens “to employ to the fullest all forms of open protest and armed resistance against all of Gloria Arroyo's moves to perpetuate her reign through all means foul and brutal.”

Arroyo is to step down next year when her term ends, but her allies in Congress are campaigning to amend the Constitution and eventually change the presidential form of government to parliamentary.

Opposition politicians and civil groups opposed to Arroyo said amending the Constitution would eventually prolong her stay in power. Arroyo is said to be eyeing a congressional seat in her hometown in Pampanga province next year to evade possible law suits from corruption scandals that rocked her administration.

“Gloria Arroyo is increasingly becoming desperate with time running short and her schemes at reign perpetuation through 'legal' means exposed and opposed at every turn. More and more of Arroyo's dirty, out rightly illegal and fascist cards are now coming out of her sleeves, including the replication of Marcosian tactics to extend her reign of terror and corruption,” the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines said in a statement.

“There is really nothing new about these moves of naked power perpetuation. The bombing spree going on now is an exact replication of Marcos' bombings in many areas of Metro Manila in 1971 and the first eight months of 1972 that eventually led to the imposition of martial law," the CPP said, referring to Philippine dictator President Marcos.

The CPP said it directed the NPA rebels to intensify its offensives against the government. (Mindanao Examiner)

PADAYON, KALILINTAD!

A CALL FOR PEACE AND HUMANITARIAN PROTECTION.

The present conflict between the Government of the Republic of Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has displaced more than 700,000 innocent people who continue to suffer in misery, hunger and unsecured lives. The conflict has left millions of people in emotional distress and uncertainty, and has caused damage to properties, structure, investments and previous efforts of communities to rebuild a broken land.

It is a cycle of war and continuous armed conflict which threatens to rip apart our families and communities that we want to STOP NOW!

Hear the VOICES of our women and men, our TRIBE, our PEOPLE, our CHILDREN. RESUME PEACE TALKS AND PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS!

We are a community-based alliance of peace advocates represented by the Sindaw ko Kalilintad coming from different cultural identities and backgrounds in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat who yearn for PEACE in our lands;

We condemn the continuous violations of human rights experienced by our Muslim, Christian and Lumad brothers and sisters;

We condemn the massive displacement, innocent killing of people caught in the crossfire, burning of houses and the irreparable damage wrought upon victims who are crying for peace;

We are alarmed by the growing incidences of kidnapping and harassment of those who sacrifice their lives as they continue to work for humanitarian protection and we urge the authorities to immediately get to the root and act on this problem;

We do not want another “All-out-War” to happen! We seek to sustain the peaceful initiatives that we have collectively woven together!

We believe that a hundred times of peace talks are better than a day of battle. Together with other peace-loving individuals and groups, we therefore appeal for a resumption of the peace talks.

We call on the newly composed GRP-panel to build on the gains of the peace process and pursue in-depth analysis and study of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Ancestral Domain.

We also call on the MILF to be open to a more thorough and inclusive discourse on the issues surrounding the MOA-AD which should reflect the diverse voices of the many ethnic groups whose identities seek to be recognized in the continuing pursuit of self-determination.

THIS IS OUR CALL. CEASEFIRE, LISTEN AND NEGOTIATE. PEACE IS THE ONLY WAY.

New Government Peace Panel Members ‘Lack Supporters and Mandate’

Are prospects for the proposed new peace panel dead before it even begins? While the new government nominees have been called ‘good men,’ observers believe they do not reflect or speak for those groups and interests whose support will be crucial to ensure a just and sustainable peace.

One of the organizations leading the peace movement in Mindanao has called on the government to pick peace negotiators from the ranks of the Supreme Court, Congress and from Local Government Units if it is really serious about resolving the long-running crisis once and for all.

 

Reacting to the recent announcement of three government appointees to the peace panel which hopes to resume talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) is asking instead for the Supreme Court to appoint its best representatives to the negotiating team. It added the Senate and Congress should also choose their best legislators to join the panel to ensure all three branches of the government will be intricately bound up in negotiations from the start and so help avoid a repeat of last August when one branch of the government rejected the work of another.

 

Three weeks ago, the President named Foreign Affairs undersecretary Rafael Seguis as the chair of the new government panel, an appointee not known to peace advocates in Mindanao. He replaces retired Army Lieutenant General Rodolfo Garcia, whose panel was dissolved September 3.

 

The President later named Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, T'duray native Ronald Adamat, former South Cotabato Rep. Adelbert Antonino and lawyer-businessman Tomas Cabili as the new peace panel members.

 

According to Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon, Adamat would represent the Lumads in the panel, replacing Datu Al Saliling who was on the panel before it was dissolved in the wake of the collapse last year of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD).

 

But Mary Ann Arnado, secretary general of the MPC, said that while they had nothing against Adamat, she suggested the government should first consult the different indigenous peoples’ groups “before naming somebody to represent them”.

 

"Pangandaman will represent the Muslim community while Antonino will represent the Christian community in the talks," Esperon told reporters.

 

But Arnado suggested that Pangandaman should first resolve the "unpeaceful situation" his family was embroiled in- a not-so-veiled reference to a widely reported incident on the fairways of a gold club in Antipolo late last month.

 

The MILF has already flagged that it will only go back to the negotiating table if the government returns to the issue of the MOA-AD, something which is probably unlikely in its present state.

 

Ustadz Rahib Kudto, National President of the United Youth for Peace and Development (UNYPAD), said the defunct government panel had Muslim members in the persons of former Sultan Kudarat Governor Pax Mangundadatu and Datu Ali Sangki, but added it was “not enough that Muslims are on the panel."

 

Kudto argued it was more important to select negotiators with “genuine appreciation of the Mindanao conflict and recognition of the historical injustices done against the Bangsamoro People."

 

"Pangandaman cannot represent the Bangsamoro People because he was given no mandate. We do not recognize him as our representative,” he said.

 

Kudto added: "If the government doesn't change its framework which centers on disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, peace will be all the more become elusive."

 

Esperon has said Manila has yet to set the date of the resumption of peace talks with the MILF while announcing they were still conducting "consultations" on the peace process in provinces in Mindanao.

 

The government had been pushing on disarmament, demobilization and reintegration as a new framework for the talks in the event it goes back to the negotiating table with the MILF, a proposal that the Moro group has consistently opposed.

 

Bobby Benito, Executive Director of the Bangsamoro Council for Justice and Peace warned "even if the best people are named as government negotiators, talks will not prosper unless they start off where they stopped.”

 

He added that whoever the President appoints as negotiators for the government, it will “not make sense” unless they do not enjoy the full backing of all parts of the government.

 

He claimed the President sought only to try and keep international opinion on her side by suggesting the peace process was still ongoing, “but the truth is she does not have any intention of resolving the conflict."

 

Given the fact that the aborted MOA-AD was four years in the making, she may also be fast running out of time – a belief shared by Mindanao Attorney Zainudin Malang who says the new panel only has eighteen months to work on a final accord.

 

While calling the new members “good people as were their predecessors,” Malang also predicted that the new panel will be hampered because it does not appear to have clear support from the Christian community in northern Mindanao which was instrumental in working to have the previous initialled agreement nullified before it could be formally signed.

 

And while the row over the peace panel appointees and their mandate goes on, the number of displaced persons in evacuation centers continues to grow as does the number of fire-fights reported between government troops and the MILF.

 

More than 300 families were among new evacuees forced from their village of Dado in Alamada town in North Cotabato, in late December. More than 6,000 individuals are also said to have fled Kalamansig town in Sultan Kudarat.

 

The new wave of evacuations was triggered by an attack on Christmas Eve by MILF rebels. (Romy Elusfa / Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project. The author is a freelance journalist and volunteer of Bantay Ceasefire.)