Securing peace in Mindanao

Will lasting peace finally become a reality in Mindanao? The historic meeting between President Benigno Aquino III and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chair Al Haj Murad has brought hopes that the Mindanao peace negotiations can progress faster, and that a satisfactory peace settlement will be achieved sooner than earlier expected. The biggest achievement of this controversial meeting appears to be the way it has broken the barrier of distrust that had hampered meaningful progress in the peace process under the past two administrations. The statements coming out of the MILF leadership in the aftermath of the meeting as quoted in the major dailies in recent days are encouraging in this regard.

But as former Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza cautioned, the road to peace will not be easy, as there are still many facets that must be attended to and resolved. Even with the top-level meeting, difficult and complex negotiations must still ensue between the respective panels of both sides. The people of Mindanao have made their sentiments known on the matter of pursuing the road to peace in their lands and waters, as articulated in Mindanao 2020, the new 20-year blueprint for Mindanao peace and development. The following are among their indicated imperatives in this quest for lasting Mindanao peace:

First, make peace a government-wide concern. This means that securing a lasting peace in Mindanao should be a concerted effort of all government entities at all levels. This cannot just be the work of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and a few other relevant agencies by themselves. Every government entity has something to contribute to the overall peace effort, and OPAPP, as coordinator for peace, must determine how they could and should contribute to securing peace in Mindanao. All policy and institutional impediments to sustained peace, development and human security in Mindanao must also be addressed. Both wittingly and unwittingly, numerous policies, rules, mechanisms and personalities in government have actually posed hurdles to peace. In the past, lack of sincerity and political will was a major obstacle. There were wide perceptions that certain political personalities, including the top leadership, actually had a vested interest in prolonging conflict and war, either for the sake of perpetuating power or monetary gain. But under a new national leadership that is perceived to be truly sincere in securing lasting peace in Mindanao, a major obstacle to peace has been overcome.

Second, pursue a unifying peace in Mindanao. While a definitive agreement with the MILF is the current goal, the government must ultimately seek to achieve a consolidated peace settlement with both the MILF and the MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front), with whom an as-yet incompletely implemented “Final Peace Agreement” had been signed in 1996. Pursuing two separate agreements in approaching the Muslim insurgency in Mindanao—i.e., one for the MNLF and another for the MILF—is to pursue the contradiction of a segmented or divided peace, risking the prospect that no peace will ultimately be achieved. Separate agreements with each group, especially if involving territorial concessions, will inevitably invite jealousy and continuing discord, not to mention likely ill feelings and possible antagonistic responses from affected Christian and Lumad populations. While the split between the MNLF and the MILF is an internal affair of the Bangsamoro, it is impossible, even with utmost goodwill, to reach satisfactory closure through separate government negotiations with both, involving the same territory, same peoples and same transitional governance mechanism. It would help if the Organization of the Islamic Conference could play a pivotal role in shaping a common platform for both the MNLF and MILF to reach a consolidated agreement with the government.

Third, nurture and firmly entrench a culture of peace among all Mindanaoans. Over the long term, there is need to reverse and transform the negative culture of separation, discrimination and exclusion fomented by years of war and conflict, into a positive culture of peace. Discrimination and prejudice must be deliberately addressed through the educational system. Peace education needs to be integrated in the official curricula at all levels, while ensuring cultural sensitivity of textbooks, teaching methods, school calendars, and even physical landscapes. Platforms for cultural and religious dialogues and exchanges (both inter-faith and intra-faith) need to be established at all levels to promote wider understanding within and across religions of the historical roots of the Mindanao conflict, as a tool to overcome it.

Finally, there is need to forestall potential new threats to peace and security in Mindanao in the medium to long term. In particular, conflicts arising from environment and natural resources mismanagement need to be proactively avoided. This means safeguarding environmental security through sound environmental management policies, forward-looking climate change adaptation planning and disaster preparedness and management planning. Mindanao’s future development cannot be pursued at the expense of environmental integrity and judicious natural resource management, for without these, new conflicts over resources are likely to arise, and threats from environmental disasters are likely to worsen. It is thus critical that Mindanao’s future development be pursued with environmental integrity as a central concern. Otherwise, any development achieved will be under threat of a renewed breakdown in peace and security.

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