By Manny Piñol
Presidential frontrunner Rody Duterte, who has vowed to bring an end to the internal conflicts stunting the growth of the country, visits the camp of the Moro islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao today to explore ways of ending the 40-year war in Mindanao which has claimed the lives of thousands and displaced tens of thousands of families.
Duterte, a lawyer who has pointed out that the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) which is pending in the Philippine Congress has Constitutional infirmities, is expected to discuss with top leaders of the MILF led by its chairman, Murad Ebrahim, Al Haj, the Federalism option which the Davao City Mayor said is the more acceptable option.
His visit to the rebel camp today makes Duterte the first Presidential candidate to explore options for peace in the country even as he vowed that he would put an end to the bloody Moro rebellion and the Communist insurgency if he wins the Presidency.
Duterte will bring along with him his vice presidential running mate, Alan Peter Cayetano, an object of hate among supporters of the BBL for his role in bamboozling the draft law which would have created an almost independent sub-state for the Muslim tribes in the Southern Philippines.
In his sorties all over the country even before he declared his presidential run, Duterte has advocated a shift from the Unitary Presidential system of government which centralizes power in Metro Manila, to a Federal Parliamentary form of government which would create highly autonomous regional governments all over the country.
He said this will provide an acceptable solution to the Bangsamoro struggle for self-governance and also address the concerns of neglected regions like the Cordilleras.
In his Federalism advocacy, Duterte proposes two Federal States for the Muslims of Mindanao, one Federal State for the tribes in the Central Mindanao area namely Maguindanaos, Maranaos, Iranuns and the Kagans, and another Federal State for the people of Sulu, Tawi-tawi and Basilan.
Duterte said the Federal State proposal could prove to be the best option to the beleaguered BBL whose passage in Congress was met by stiff opposition following the Mamasapano Tragedy where 44 members of the Special Action Force unit of the Philippine National Police and at least 18 members of the MILF and several civilians were killed in an operation to kill Malaysian terrorist Ibn Zulkifli, alias Marwan.
A press statement issued by Duterte spokesman Peter Tiu Laviña said that in Danao City in Cebu on Thursday, Duterte criticized the Aquino administration’s failure to come up with a meaningful and long-lasting solution to the Mindanao problem.
“They dribbled BBL,” he said before thousands of residents of Danao, the hometown of his parents. “Nothing happened under the administration.”
He warned that the Mindanao conflict will continue if the government will not be able to “correct the historical wrong committed against the Moro people.”
“If this will explode we can only expect for the worst,” he said. “But we cannot allow war. It will only fracture the nation.”
He said he has been asking our Moro people to be patient.
“I have been asking out brothers and sisters to wait for a while, to wait for the right time. I promised them that we will come up with something that will solve their problems,” he said.
People in Mindanao cannot continue killing each other, he said.
“Ano ang gagawin natin? Magpatayan tayo? And at the end of the day magbilang tayo ng mga patay — ilan ang Muslim, ilan ang kristiyano, ilan ang sundalo?” he said.
Duterte has been offering federalism as an alternative to BBL. Federalism, he said, will not only make the aspirations of the Moro possible, but also of the entire Mindanao, including the indigenous peoples.
He blames the troubles of Mindanao to the current set up of the government where power is concentrated in Manila, at the disposal of those who are in power.
Duterte’s push for federalism is aimed at resulting in “power-sharing, resources-sharing, respect-for-all and development-for-all.”
From the MILF camp, the Duterte entourage will proceed to Cotabato City and fly back to Davao City.
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