MANILA, Philippines-—There can be miracles.
Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said in a media forum Wednesday that she persistently believes there are miracles waiting to happen on the peace table.
“Despite present challenges, let me still say that the prospect for peace is better than it has been in a very long time,” She said in her speech citing the present administration’s commitment to the “Daang Matuwid,” (Straight Path), transparency and just and lasting peace.
She added that all sides involved in the peace process are personally motivated to achieve a legacy of peace. “Many of those that have been involved in the processes have not so many years left to accomplish what [needs] to be accomplished, to bring a closure to the issues that had been tossed on the wayside all these years.”
The OPAPP said that the Philippines has two of the longest running insurgencies in the world, the communist rebellion and the Moro Rebellion, both of which began in the late 1960’s.
Secretary Deles reiterated the present administration’s stand to pursue the peace talks with the insurgents. “The PDP (Philippine Development Plan) states that the peace process shall be the centerpiece—not a by-the-way, not a sideline or side effect, but the centerpiece—of the internal security program” she said.
“This administration has emphasized the importance to win the peace, with the goal for the medium term to bring all armed conflicts to a permanent and peaceful closure. There are no sinister schemes, no plans hatched in darkness,” she said.
“We intend for the peace process to flourish under broad daylight, with all stakeholders present and very much engaged as advocates for peace and progress,” she said.
Deles shared the status of peace talks with various armed groups in the country.
“The peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are on track,” She said.
The proposal of the MILF, which was called the “Revised Comprehensive Compact,” submitted to the government’s peace negotiating panel does not contain any “demand for independence nor secession from the Republic of the Philippines. Rather, it proposes the cognition of a Bangsamoro identity while maintaining Filipino citizenship,” Deles said.
The government has also submitted its proposal, labeled as the “Three for One Formula”, to the MILF panel during the August 22 peace talks held in Malaysia.
The proposal has three key points: the first is economic development and socio-economic reconstruction in order to improve human development. The region has the highest school dropout rate and the lowest longevity rate.
The second is a peace accord to achieve a solution to the long-standing conflict including the creation of a Bangsamoro Commission composed of one-third government, one-third MILF and one-third involved stakeholders to supervise the implementation of the peace pact.
Third is the Acknowledgement of Historical Causes of Conflict and Initiatives Towards Reconciliation, which aims to “recognize their legitimate grievances and provides appropriate forms of reconciliation and restorative justice,” Deles said.
The government’s proposal has not been rejected by the MILF panel and both sides have met last November 4 in an informal executive meeting in Malaysia to determine ways to move forward with the peace negotiations.
Regarding the recent incidents of violence, Deles said that both parties have agreed to conduct investigations through the ceasefire mechanisms. Deles added that the MILF intends to “cooperate with the government” in getting the kidnap-for-ransom groups, criminal syndicates and “lost commands”, which the government has previously labeled as “lawless elements.”
The OPAPP was also reiterating their call to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) / New People’s Army (NPA) / National Democratic Front (NDF) to “seriously talk peace with government- and wage peace on the ground.”
The NPA recently attacked three mines in Claver, Surigao del Norte while there were peace negotiations with the government. They have also attacked remote police outposts, committed abductions, used landmines and extorted revolutionary taxes.
Present talks with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) were only about completing the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA).
Both sides and other concerned stakeholders are looking at the possibility of reforming the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) “to capacitate the ARMM as a complementary mechanism for the full implementation of the 1996 FPA,” Deles said.
Deles maintained that she believed peace could be achieved. “I see it as an opportunity that people are aware how we are left behind in our region of the world, not because we do not have talented people, not because we do not have natural resources for development, but because we have been … difficult and untrusting of each other,” Deles said.