Advocates to Marcos: Peace is solid foundation for development

Peace advocates expressed dismay over President Marcos’s silence on the fate of political negotiations between the government and communist rebels during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) in Congress last Monday. (PRESIDENT BONGBONG MARCOS’ SONA composite image from INQUIRER file)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—-Peace advocates expressed dismay over President Marcos’s silence on the fate of political negotiations between the government and communist rebels during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) in Congress last Monday.

Bishop Felixberto Calang of Iglesia Filipina Independiente, convenor of Sowing Seeds of Peace in Mindanao, stated that the President had skipped a very important pillar of sustainable development: peace and social healing.

“For societies that underwent a long period of social and political animosity such as ours, coming to terms and moving forward in peace is a significant cornerstone of development,” explained Calang.

Calang pointed out that the negotiations are an opportunity to put an end to over five decades of rebellion that had its roots in the social and economic inequities in the country.

“I was hoping to hear a definitive statement from the President about the talks, but there was none,” Calang said.

READ: In fourth Sona, Marcos touts gains but issues warnings

The President’s failure to mention the peace process with communist rebels represented by the National Democratic Front (NDF) means that this is not a priority in the next three years of his administration, he lamented.

Calang particularly cited the President’s claim that there are no more rebels in the country. “I don’t know what nation he (Marcos) is reporting on,” he said.

During his Sona on Monday, Mr. Marcos said: “At long last, there are no more guerrilla groups in the country. Government will ensure that none will be organized again.”

The President’s pronouncement echoed earlier declarations by the Armed Forces of the Philippines that it had already dismantled all guerrilla fronts of the communist New People’s Army across the country.

In his Sona, President Marcos noted that the government’s security forces are working with former rebels to maintain peace in the Bangsamoro region; hence, the country has become a “more peaceful society and respectful of human rights.”

READ: Marcos tackles sovereignty, defense, peace in Sona 2025

Alongside peace negotiations with communist rebels, Calang cited the need to address socioeconomic issues that fuel the insurgency, such as distributing land for landless farmers.

He also called attention to the need to overhaul the political system, which he said is already dominated by political dynasties, making it less responsive to the concerns of ordinary people.

This can start, he said, with reforming the partylist system “to ensure that legitimate (marginalized) sectors are well represented.”

“The recent midterm elections marginalized pro-people politics. Politics is only for the moneyed,” Calang observed.

Calang graded the President’s performance as “subpar at 49 percent” due to unmet promises on the economy, “especially the stagnating salaries and wages amid soaring costs, which encourage workers to seek employment abroad.

“On peace and security, the message fell short. We were hoping for a clearer roadmap, particularly on the remaining commitments under the Bangsamoro peace agreement. This includes the complex process of decommissioning. Also missing is the historic first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections,” said Karlos Manlupig, executive director of Balay Mindanaw, a major peacebuilding organization in the region.

Manlupig characterized as “underwhelming and in fact dismissive” the portion of the speech alluding to the communist rebels.

In South Upi, Maguindanao del Sur, Timuay Labi Leticio Datuwata, supreme chieftain of the Timuay Justice and Governance (TJG), the indigenous political system of the Teduray Lambangian tribe in the Bangsamoro, expressed his disappointment with the President’s Sona, which only briefly mentioned the Bangsamoro but did not mention any program for the non-Moro IPs, especially on their protection.

“It’s very clear that there’s no program for the IPs, especially on their protection,” said Datuwata, who had lobbied for increased protection for IP leaders in the communities following the unabated killings of their leaders defending their ancestral domain claim.

“There was no specific program intended for IPs as a whole in the country, how much more for the non-Moro IPs in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM),” Datuwata added.

“His focus is more on business and investment, which will place the ancestral domain of the IPs in a much more difficult situation,” Datuwata lamented.  With a report from Germelina Lacorte, Ryan D. Rosauro/coa