Ramon Tulfo hit the nail on the head when he stated in his July 17 column: “The President made a mistake in not appointing a Mindanaoan as chief government negotiator” in the peace process.
He also pointed out that the proposed “Bangsamoro Basic Law will be so mangled that the edited version will be different from the original text when it is passed by Congress.”
For many years, several peace talk initiatives have failed, mainly because not all indigenous peoples were seriously consulted and only one armed group or organization—pretending to represent the entire Mindanao—was given special attention by government.
Like other Filipinos who have spent part—if not most—of our lives in Mindanao and have closely interacted with various indigenous peoples, Muslims of many tribes as well as Christians of various denominations, I have often wondered about this unequal treatment ever since the peace talks started taking place.
If we want to achieve lasting peace in Mindanao, we should have the active participation of the dominant Christian population and indigenous peoples in the peace process through their designated representatives.
—MELCHOR AMADO JR.,
spinspecialist@gmail.com