President Rodrigo Duterte’s success in forging a Peace Agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is considered by the people of Mindanao as his greatest legacy and lasting gift.
The Peace Pact led to the crafting of the Bangsamoro Organic Law and the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
While the BOL’s significance in the development of Mindanao was not fully stressed during the last State of the Nation Address by the President yesterday, it is the singular critical factor which could steer the course for the troubled region to a peaceful future.
President Duterte personally handled the negotiations with the MILF’s top leader, Ahod Ebrahim Al Haj, aka Kagui Murad, departing from the officious and expensive peace talks undertaken by previous leaderships which brought the peace panels of both sides to foreign lands to resolve a problem in Mindanao.
I personally witnessed how President Duterte personally engaged Kagui Murad in one-on-one talks and laid down what could and could not be given by government to the rebel group’s demands.
The result of this personalized peace settlement engagement is a quiet Mindanao which allows agencies like the Mindanao Development Authority and personalities like me, considered for long as Enemy No. 1 of the MILF, to free move around and work to implement projects to improve the lives of the people in the region, especially in the Bangsamoro Area.
Personally, I felt the change.
While my movements before were often guarded and restricted to safe areas, I could now freely travel at night even in areas previously considered as critical to dangerous.
Indeed, there are dreams unrealized for Mindanao like a Federal Philippines which could have empowered the regions and ushered in a more equitable growth but which was shot down by the Economic Managers.
Or the implementation of flagship projects like the Mindanao Railway System which could facilitate travel and the transport of goods and other major infrastructure projects delayed by the restrictions caused by COVID 19.
Or frustrations over the small share of Mindanao in the allocation of the country’s national budget which went down from 16% to only 12% in 2021 which legislators from the region failed to address.
Or the disappointment over the concentration of major Build, Build, Build Projects in Luzon and very little for the region which produces 46% of the country’s food.
There is no perfect government, after all.
The people of Mindanao are happy enough that at long last, just like Hidelyn Diaz’s Olympic feat, we have won our Gold Medal courtesy of the former mayor of Davao City – Peace in Mindanao.
MinDA has in fact identified sustaining the Gains of Peace by President Duterte as one of the most important areas of focus along with Addressing Poverty, Increasing Produtivity and Boosting Economic Recovery.
With Peace, building a more progressive Mindanao in the coming years through an internally driven economic growth based on the region’s potentials in agriculture, fisheries, industrial forestry, power generation and well-managed use of natural resources has now become a reality.
From the people of Mindanao, Thank You Mr. President.
#WeCountOurBlessings!
#HappyWithWhatWeHave!
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