Sunday, August 17, 2008

State Within A State in Mindanao? Are You Kidding?

Is a State possible within a State?  This question is reverberating all over the country especially in Mindanao as the stalled Ancestral Domain Agreement to establish a BangsaMoro Juridical Entity enters a weeklong debate.  And because the issue is super sensitive, its being unresolved sends goose bumps in the volatile peace situation in Mindanao particularly my former home province of North Cotabato.  I cannot just watch the events unfold without saying anything about the issue.

 The agreement would have been signed in Malaysia last week had the Supreme Court not timely issued a temporary restrainingorder (TRO) to prevent the agreement from being signed and taking effect.  The government panel negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are saying that the signing of the agreement does not perfect the agreement because it has first to pass scrutiny by Congress and the affected people through a referendum or plebiscite.

 That is precisely the objection of my Sanos in Cotabato.  The process of arriving at the agreement was not transparent.  There was no consultation with the constituents, even if only through their leaders, on the scope and content of the agreement.  Cotabatenosare wary of such moves.  They know how things could be rammed down their throats especially if this reaches the plebiscite stage without them first being consulted.

 The territory of Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao has been delineated a long time ago when the people where asked whether they would want to be part of the ARMM.  There is no need to expand this without first putting it through a process they all accept.  To deviate from that is to them a betrayal.

 There is no mistaking.  Cotabatenos are for peace but it should be one that they understand and accept which can only happen under transparent processes.  They will not agree to peace they do not understand.  They have fought fierce and bloody battles in the past.  Unless they know what is being agreed and how this is going to make up their future, Mindanaoans (not only Cotabatenos) will always express what they think is fair and just. And if they must fight for it, they will.  There is too much at stake now in Mindanao to just leave it to the MILF and the government negotiating panel to agree on what is best to attain peace.

 Is government becoming a party to a systematic dismemberment of the State's territory? The original goal of the Muslims when they staged their rebellion beginning late '60s was to secede and establish their own BangsaMoro Land.  They learned later that they could not do thatwithout giving away precious Moro lives.  And so they accepted piecemeal settlements offered by the Marcos administration for the Matalam- led Blackshirts.

 To show that they did not mind having a protracted battle to attain their goal,  the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) of Nur Missuari was born only to accept a new settlement to establish the ARMM from the Ramos Administration. Now here is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that has advanced the cause to a much higher settlement of a Bangsa Moro Juridical Entity (BJE).

 Who could the next group be that will work for BJE's independence to finally achieve the original goal of a separate Bangsa Moro State?  The Abu Sayyaf?  Can the Abu Sayyaf transform from its present state of organized terrorists to one that can rally the Filipino Muslims to a just cause?

 When that time comes, will secession be the last peaceful solution to the Mindanao problem that government can concede?  May be.  But when it is given it must be one that  has gone through the process that is transparent and coming from the collective will of those who will be affected, especially the Mindanaoans. - Romy Teruel, Sunday Post

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