EDITORIAL

The Long Road To Peace

Forging a peace agreement is good for a government. The tricky part is in the implementation. The last time a preliminary deal was agreed upon by the government with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain in 2008, there was such a loud outcry against certain provisions particularly on territory to be controlled by the group. The MOA ended up in the trash bin.

This time, the government has hammered out what President Aquino described as a framework agreement to create a new political entity called Bangsamoro. Details of the preliminary agreement still have to be clarified, but already, concerns have been raised by several local executives in Mindanao on the scope and nature of the new political entity. The MILF has always wanted a federal or ministerial form of government and rejects the political structure in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

What will happen to the ARMM is unclear. The region was created in line with the original peace agreement signed by the government under former President Fidel Ramos with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) led by Nur Misuari. That agreement has not been fully implemented, according to a protest still pending with the Organization of Islamic Conference. In plebiscites held in Mindanao, several provinces refused to join the autonomous Muslim region. Will these provinces be included in the Bangsamoro deal?

The implementation of certain provisions of the 2008 agreement on ancestral domain called for amending the Constitution. Will the new deal also call for Charter change? According to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, it does not need Charter Amendment. 

Another key concern is whether significant disarmament will be required. What good is a peace deal if the region continues to bristle with guns, in contravention of tough Philippine gun laws? Already, a violent faction in the MILF has broken away, threatening to disrupt any peace that may be achieved under a new agreement. Will the new political entity be above Philippine laws? These are some questions among others which require clarifications. 

A framework peace agreement is a welcome development in a region that has suffered from armed violence for several centuries. Making the agreement work will be a greater challenge.  (Philstar News Service) 

GMA Allies

At least 50 congressmen and provincial governors who used to be with the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had pledged allegiance to the Liberal Party (LP) of President Benigno S. Aquino III. 

They formed the National Unity Party (NUP) to join with the LP. They also made Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. their honorary chairman. Belmonte is the LP vice president.

Some 200 local officials from vice governor to the incumbent city and municipal vice mayors were present as the NUP formally installed Belmonte as NUP honorary chairman. It was reported almost 80 percent of the elective officials present used to belong to KAMPI, a political party Gloria Macapagal Arroyo formed. 

According to Belmonte, “the NUP has proven itself as a solid reliable ally of President Aquino, in the pursuit of the administration’s priority legislative initiatives in the House of Representatives”. 

With this rigodon of top public officials and the frequent switching of party affiliation, whom will be people thank for the improvements attained? Whom will they blame in case of failure? /MP