MANILA, Philippines—Amid the controversy over the proposed Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), two Catholic prelates in Mindanao have described the document as a positive step for peace in the troubled region.

Archbishops Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato City and Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro City yesterday expressed support for the document that proposes the expansion of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as a Bangsamoro homeland with broad economic and political powers.

Even an Islamic scholar in the Bishops-Ulama Conference, Alim Elias, said Christians and Muslims had nothing to fear in the MOA-AD.

Elias said the document merely made “Muslims a part of the republic. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Quevedo, a former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said some Christians might find the MOA-AD “unpatriotic” and some Muslims might deem it half-baked and disappointing.

But over all, it is “a remarkable document” and “a very serious attempt to balance national sovereignty and Bangsamoro aspirations for self-determination and freedom,” Quevedo said in a statement.

“For this reason, I believe that the MOA-AD can bring lasting peace,” he said.

Ledesma, who chairs the CBCP’s Commission on Interreligious Dialogue, said the document was “a step forward.”

He also defended Hermogenes Esperon, a former Armed Forces chief of staff and now President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s adviser on the peace process, who critics say had not held consultations on the matter.

“The consultations have been taking place for years, even before General Esperon. I don’t think we should be looking at him,” Ledesma told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Bangsamoro history

Quevedo said the MOA-AD should be read in the context of the Bangsamoro people’s history of self-determination.

“But it is from the largely unfamiliar side of Philippine history that is also true and indisputable that the concepts of ancestral domain and a Bangsamoro homeland should be understood. The ... document returns to that concept as a basis for lasting peace,” he said.

He said the document also recognized the present realities of Mindanao—a region that is also home to a large number of Christians who outnumber Muslims in some places.

“In less than 50 years beginning with the 1930s, Christians now outnumber Muslims in the land once under the sway and influence of Muslim sultans,” the archbishop said.

“The document recognizes this fact,” he said, adding that it was to the MILF’s credit that its vision reflected that of its late chairman, Hashim Salamat.

The archbishop noted that “[Salamat’s] vision for the Bangsamoro people is framed in consideration of present realities.”

Not the end of talks

Both Ledesma and Quevedo said the MOA-AD was not the end of the peace talks and discussions on the proposed Bangsamoro homeland. Both of them said the government and the MILF still had to discuss and explain the contents of the document to the public.

“But the MOA-AD need not be the document that should contain all the details that would resolve all questions and doubts,” Quevedo said. “The peace process will continue even after it is signed. With good will, patience and wisdom—and consultation—such further steps will surely resolve substantive questions.”

Ledesma said, “I think it’s a step-by-step process. There’s still a plebiscite and a consultation.

“The basic principle of the plebiscite is to make sure that the inhabitants are of one mind.”

Alim Elias told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the MOA-AD was not against the 1987 Constitution and would not cause new conflict in Mindanao.

Elias, a former member of the government-MILF panel on the cessation of hostilities, said the proposed Bangsamoro homeland would “make the Moro people feel a part of the republic.”

He said the “references” of the document were “the Constitution, the Sept. 2, 1996, agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front, and other laws already established and accepted by the government.”

“We are really happy that the government and the MILF are approaching the end of peace talks,” Elias said.

The Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC), which is composed of Islamic, Protestant and Catholic leaders, met in General Santos City on Aug. 6 to discuss the MOA-AD and its implications on the people of Mindanao.

The BUC did not issue a statement on the matter, but agreed to meet with members of the government peace panel next week.

According to a BUC statement, a by-invitation, “high-level” briefing will be held on Aug. 13 in Davao City “to address the public need for accurate information regarding the [MOA-AD].”

It said Esperon and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales would meet with the religious leaders.

Why not Cordillera too?

But a warning note was sounded by Bert Lumauig, a former assemblyman and longtime governor and congressman of the northern province of Ifugao in the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR).

In an interview, Lumauig warned the Arroyo administration against ceding land to the secessionist MILF, saying the move might embolden people in CAR to pursue a similar path.

“If the government can cede a portion of Mindanao to the MILF, what will stop the Cordillera people from demanding their own state later on?” said Lumauig, 75.

“The government is setting a precedent here,” he said.

Lumauig said CAR stakeholders could also insist on greater independence given the vast resources in their region.

He cited as example the hydroelectric power generated by the Ambuklao and Binga dams in Benguet province.

Six provinces make up the CAR: Benguet, Abra, Apayao, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province.)

Lumauig was among the lawmakers who pushed for the designation of the Cordillera as an autonomous region through the Organic Act. A parallel move by Mindanao lawmakers paved the way for creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

‘Real aborigines’

In Lumauig’s reckoning, the CAR people have a better claim over an independent state for being “authentic indigenous people” in the Philippines.

“We were the real aborigines of this country,” he said. “The Muslims were just seafarers who landed on the shores of Mindanao. The original settlers there were the ‘lumad’ [indigenous peoples].”

Lumauig, however, stressed that he was not encouraging the CAR folk to follow the MILF route.

“I’m just thinking out loud so the idea can be part of an intelligent national conversation,” he said.

Lumauig said that during the deliberations on the Organic Act, lawmakers were guided by the clear idea that any autonomous region should not be allowed to put up a separate military force.

“The law is clear—we have only one Armed Forces for the Philippines,” he said, adding that he was alarmed to learn that the MOA-AD includes a provision allowing the proposed Bangsamoro homeland its own “internal security force.” With a report from Christian V. Esguerra; with editing by INQUIRER.net