OSLO—A team of Filipino lawmakers arrived here to observe the peace talks at its early stages, hoping to guide the process to avoid the fate of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which failed to get the support of Congress during the past administration.
Six lawmakers from the House peace and reconciliation committee joined the government delegation to provide their inputs and expertise during the negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
Led by Tawi-Tawi Rep. Ruby Sahali, the committee chair, the team is composed of Representatives Bai Sandra Sema (Maguindanao), Nancy Catamco (North Cotabato), Carlos Zarate (Bayan Muna), Jesus Sacdalan (North Cotabato) and Leopoldo Bataoil (Pangasinan).
Clueless
Sema said they wanted to be part of the process in the initial stage of the talks so they would not end up clueless when they craft legislation to support the agreements forged during the talks.
“We asked OPAPP (Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process) to brief us so that if there are concerns, we can resolve it at an early stage. We are also here so that we can provide [help] if there are needs [relating to] policies,” Sema said.
Sahali promised that the committee would be “hands on” in the peace process, saying it had learned from experience from the failed BBL.
“We were never invited during the crafting of the BBL. What we got was the completed draft,” Sahali said.
She said it was unfortunate that the BBL never got enough support for it to be legislated.
Congress’ support
The previous Congress failed to pass the BBL, the law that would have implemented the final peace deal that the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III signed with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Ensuring the support of Congress and the people for the peace deal with communist rebels is important, Sahali said.
“We have the constituency. It is us who should go back and inform the people,” she said.
Chief government negotiator Jesus Dureza described the presence of representatives of Congress as a significant step to avoid the fate of the failed BBL.
“They will be with us from the beginning to end,” Dureza said.
Government peace panel vice chair Hernani Braganza said the presence of lawmakers would help move the talks.
“It might require their approval. It also gives us the advantage of having a government, in general, that knows what is happening,” Braganza said.
Optimism
Government peace panel chair Silvestre Bello III voiced the same level of optimism on the outcome of the talks, saying the second round would produce a mutually agreed ceasefire.
“The signing by the panels of the joint ceasefire this month, as we also envisioned during the first round of talks (in August), is being awaited by our public, especially by those communities that continue to be prejudiced by the armed conflict,” Bello said.
Bello appealed to all the participants to recognize the need to complete the negotiations within a year.
“This will provide ample time for the Duterte administration to efficiently implement the agreements we reached, ” he added.
Jose Maria Sison, founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines, also expressed optimism that both parties would be able to find a win-win solution to solve the conflict through a nonadversarial approach.
The negotiations, Sison said, can be completed in one to two years because of the determination of both parties to achieve a successful conclusion.