CONFRONTING THE FEARS ON THE BANGSAMORO AGREEMENT 

Yesterday, at the Ateneo de Davao University, I joined hundreds of stakeholders and students to attend a Peace Forum which discussed the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement. 

With representatives from both the Philippine Government and the MILF taking turns to answer questions from the participants, the forum confronted so many questions about the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement. 

I came late, no thanks to the confusion on the schedule. But somehow, the organizers felt the need to listen to a person who was consistently labeled as a “peace spoiler” and ranked No. 1 in the Most Hated list of the MILF/ 

I was not able to submit a prepared presentation but somehow the few minutes given me were enough to expound issues that must be confronted. 

Here is the presentation that was supposed to have been submitted yesterday. 

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THE SEARCH FOR PEACE IS UNIVERSAL 

Anybody who believes that the desire to have peace is the monopoly of one cause-oriented group or one sector of society is detached from the reality that more than anybody else, the victims of violence who cannot sleep soundly at night, who have lost loved ones, whose houses were burned and whose lives were ravaged by the conflict are the ones intensely dreaming of peace. 

But peace must not only mean satisfying a discontented group’s demands or wishes. 

It also means protecting the interests and well-being of other sectors who will be affected by the arrangement for the cessation of hostilities. 

LOOKING BACK AT THE FAILED MOA-AD 

Opponents of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain have been unilaterally labeled as anti-peace. 

A closer scrutiny of the MOA-AD, however, will give us a very clear idea that it would have brought about chaos, anarchy and endless violence instead of peace. 

Here are the fatal flaws of the MOA-AD: 

1. It was a document that was drafted and crafted in utmost secrecy depriving the stakeholders whose lives will be affected of their Constitutional right to information. 
2. It was a document that made commitments which entailed amendments to the Constitution. These commitments were made by an agency under the Executive Department, which is a clear violation of the Constitution. At best, it was a Pie in the Sky for the Bangsamoro People. 

What were the real intentions of the MOA-AD? 

Up until today, I am still deeply convinced that the MOA-AD was a ruse to provide a cover for a sinister agenda. 

Here is my analysis. 

1. Since there was no sufficient information given out about the MOA-AD, it was expected to trigger the outbreak of violence. I believe it was designed to suffer that fate. Long before I discovered the MOA AD, the forces of Umbra Kato were already positioned in the boundaries of the towns of Aleosan and Pikit in North Cotabato. This was late May to early June of 2008. I remember this vividly because I was in the US for the Manny Pacquiao-David Diaz fight when people from North Cotabato informed me of the atrocities committed by Umbra Kato. Please take note, I discovered the MOA AD document second week of July 2008 long before Kato and his group started their depredations into North Cotabato. 
2. Had I not filed a petition before the Supreme Court to question the MOA AD, the outbreak of violence could have been used as a convenient excuse to urgently adopt the MOA-AD and since its implementation necessitated the amendment of the Constitution, a process to amend it would have been started. 
3. With the opening of the Constitution for amendments to accommodate the MOA-AD, other provisions could have also been subjected to modifications, like the extension of the term of the sitting President at that time, using the noble excuse that she needed to oversee the smooth implementation of the Peace Agreement. 

To support these theories, I offer two proofs, one factual, the other analytical. 

1. Factual – A retired general, who was in active service in 2008, personally heard President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo direct then Presidential Peace Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. to “fastbreak it,” meaning the MOA-AD. Why would you fastbreak a very important document, ignoring the consultative processes? 
2. Analytical – PGMA’S decision to run for Congress after her term as President ended is a clear proof that she wanted to hang on to power. With the thrashing of the MOA-AD, however, her only remaining shield was a Congressional position. She, however, underestimated the determination of President Noynoy Aquino to make her face up to her infractions in office. 

THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON THE BANGSAMORO 

The Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro differs 100% from the MOA-AD because of two basic facts: 

1. The FAB was initiated by a President who has obviously no vested interest other than setting things right and achieving peace during his watch. 
2. There was a genuine effort on the part of the negotiating panel of the Philippine Government under former UP Law Dean, now Supreme Court Justice Marvic Leonen, to consult with the stakeholders, including “notorious peace spoilers” such as I. 

Our faith in President Aquino prompted us to make sacrifices as well. 

Personally, I wanted to join his administration after the one year ban on losing political candidates expired. But when I realized that he was in the thick of the negotiations with the MILF, I sent him a text message telling him that I would rather stay outside his administration because taking me in could send a wrong signal to the MILF which has long considered me as its Number 1 Enemy. 

ISSUES OF CONCERN ON THE FAB 

While we welcome the new promise of peace in the area, we still have concerns over some issues with the FAB: 

1. The people of North Cotabato are concerned over the arbitrary inclusion of 39 barangays of the province to the Bangsamoro as indicated in the signed FAB. While I believe that any Bangsamoro community in North Cotabato should be allowed to join the new territory if that is where they believe their dreams would be realized, the practicality of governing should be taken into consideration. 
2. The people of North Cotabato have expressed apprehension over the Art. 3 Sec. V (Territory) of the FAB where a local government unit may opt at anytime to petition for its inclusion in the Bangsamoro with just 10% of the residents signing the petition. This brings us back to the disliked provision of the MOA-AD of endless expansion of territory. The general sentiment in North Cotabato now is that, while nobody will stop Bangsamoro communities from joining the new territory, the boundaries must be clearly defined after the 2015 plebiscite and ratification of the Bangsamoro Basic Law to bring about stability in the province. 
3. There is also a concern over how land conflicts, especially those between Christian settlers and the Bangsamoro, would be settled within the new territory. Which body will handle the resolution of the conflict? The fear among Christian settlers living within the Bangsamoro territory is that the resolution, if handled by Bangsamoro authorities, will be biased in favor of the Bangsamoro claimant. While it is admitted that indeed both Bangsamoro and Christian settlers have been deprived of their land because of the conflict of the 1970s, an independent body like the proposed “Mindanao Land Conflict Settlement Commission” be established and all land conflicts be settled prior to the ratification of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. 
4. There is also a concern over the expanded coverage of the Shariah Court and how disputes between Bangsamoro and Christian litigants be handled. Along with these are minor concerns over the exercise of powers of the Bangsamoro police and how will they handle cases of a Bangsamoro who commits a crime neighboring areas and who seeks refuge within the new territory. This concern is being expressed because of the proposal that the Bangsamoro police be considered distinct and independent from the Philippine National Police. If that is the case, who will be they accountable to if they do not serve warrants of arrests involving Bangsamoros who are wanted for crimes in outside territories. 

While these concerns bother people of the surrounding areas, especially North Cotabato, it will be noticed that these have not been raised publicly or in the media and no uproar has been created thus far. 

This is simply because we, I personally, believe that these issues are properly raised and discussed in the soon to be created Transitory Commission. Notably, this is a body that was never thought of in the failed MOA-AD. 

People still have apprehensions, even fears, over what the new experiment on peace building will bring about. 

These fears and apprehensions must be addressed to bring about a state of harmony and achieve true and lasting peace.

Source: Manny Piñol