ON THE COMING GRP-MILF PEACE TALK

“If Leonen (Marvic, head of the GRP Peace Panel vis-à-vis MILF Peace Talk) was trying to promote confidence building by saying to (the government panel was open to considering alterations in the Constitution in order to attain peace with the MILF in Mindanao), then he can be considered naïve. His pronouncement can be compared to a poker player showing his cards to his opponents before they start betting. His qualification to negotiate the peace with the MILF comes under serious question.” (William M. Esposo, “As I Wreck This Chair,” The Philippine STAR, September 12, 2010)

-oOo-

Esposo further commented: “Does Leonen understand his mission and objective? He is terribly wrong if he thinks that PEACE AT ALL COSTS is his objective. A ‘peace at all costs’ attitude will render Leonen no different from British Prime Minister Alfred Neville Chamberlain (Prime Minister from May 28, 1937 to May 10, 1940) who was blamed for not having stopped Adolf Hitler in 1938 by signing the 1938 Munich Agreement which historians considered led to World War II.”

What Esposo is saying is that “Peace at all costs’ with the MILF could mean a greater RP war.” This war could perhaps be the involvement of our country in a possible violent conflict between the US and China or perhaps a civil war in the Philippines.

Is Esposo being an alarmist or is he a well-informed and sharp analyst not only of the Mindanao sensitive situation but also of the challenging Asian and global events? What do you think?

Well, if you ask me, I consider Esposo as one of our most current analytic opinion-writer in the country. Most of the time I agree with his thinking although at times I don’t – On this particular Mindanao issue, I’m inclined to agree with his opinion that Leonen and his negotiator team should be extra careful that in seeking peace, a more deadly war will result in the end.

Allow me to reiterate below my previous proposals on this matter which I presented in my former article entitled “In Search for Peace” published in many of our local newspapers:

One of the most welcome news recently about our search for peace in Mindanao was the signing of a Unity accord between the MNLF and MILF brokered by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)” geared toward achieving the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people for genuine self-governance.” According to Philippine Daily INQUIRER, May 25, 2010, “top leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MILF) have agreed to unite efforts to advance the longing of Bangsamoro communities in Mindanao.” Per info, a coordinating committee “to consolidate their activities” will soon be formed. The MNLF and MILF, per report, “recognize that unity is indispensable to the success of the Bangsamoro struggle.” How true?

When we talk of Muslim Mindanao, we mean the ARMM area. And when we talk of Bangsamoro people, we are generally referring to Muslim Filipinos particularly those in ARMM. It is very obvious then that we are talking here of one area and one group of people. Thus, to avoid confusion to say the least, it follows that there must only be one Peace Agreement between GRP and Bangsamoro. “Di ba?”

Furthermore, we learned, both the MNLF and MILF, per info, recognize that there are “no basic difference between their two fronts as both are seeking to achieve peace, justice and a fair solution to the problems of the Bangsamoro people” and that both “are now in the right direction.” Very good we would say.

Since there is already a Final Peace Agreement (FPA) signed by the GRP and MNLF in 1996, the future logical move is merely to revisit the FPA and incorporate other needed provisions therein that can be legislated and fully implement the FPA. Other necessary measures that will require Constitutional amendment/revision can be done later for GRP and MILF to hasten the resolution of the Mindanao conflict. Continuous disorder in Mindanao will be at the expense of all Mindanawons.

When this conflict is settled, a Mini-Marshal Plan with OIC’s assistance for the rehabilitation and development of ARMM must be put in place. And those who will implement the Plan must be properly trained, transparent and made accountable.

Lastly, our history likewise must be rewritten and one ray must be added to our Philippine flag in recognition of our Muslim and Lumad Filipinos’ valuable contribution in our fight for freedom.

by Chito R. Gavino III, Lihok Pideral Mindanaw

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TRANSFORMING PHILIPPINE SOCIETY

“(We are) calling for a cultural revolution. We are calling for a change not in the personalities who govern the paradigms that run our lives (with the latter being most important)”. (Jim Paredes, “HUMMING IN MY UNIVERSE”, The Philippine STAR, September 12, 2010)

-oOo-

More from Paredes regarding his concept of a cultural revolution:

“Changes in our society have come way too slowly and in increments. It’s time to speed things up. Many are still hopeful that P-Noy’s ascendancy will change things. At least, we are assured that he is personally not corrupt. But that alone will not change a lot of things. A whole lot more needs to be done, quickly and decisively, if we are to see drastic changes in our country within our lifetime.”

In other words, in P-Noy’s first three years in Malacañang, his agenda is to clean up the messy messy situation that former President GMA created. But P-Noy’s second and last three years, he should try to introduce long-range changes and institutionalize all these reforms. Will P-Noy do it? That remains to be seen.

Paredes continued:

“A cultural revolution will require a radical change of values and mindset that will result in a realignment of priorities at all levels of society, in government and in the way we live our lives.

“We need to take many big steps to become a fully modern state. To continue with the present inept and inefficient ways of governance is unsustainable. The system is clearly breaking at the seams. Our people need to be served efficiently.”

We fully agree with Paredes on this. The question is “How exactly can we do all these changes?” We will discuss our own idea on this issue at the last portion of this article.

Chairman Mao Tse Tung of China decades ago launched a Chinese version of cultural revolution using their young people then. That costs hundreds of Chinese lives. Whether said revolution contributed or not to the present awesome progress of China, frankly I don’t know.

Former President Ferdinand E. Marcos also launched his own “Revolution from the Center” to establish a “New Society” in our country when he declared Martial Law in the early seventies. His main target was the dismantling of the oligarchy in the Philippines. President Marcos was doing fine in the first two years of the Martial Law era until he got sick. The rest is history.

Our Catholic Church during its 1991 Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP-II) likewise called its Laity (lay people of the Church) to change our society. The term our Church used was Social Transformation instead of Cultural Revolution. PCP-II then clarified:

“A fifth aspect of Church life that explains the life and role of the Laity, especially in today’s situation, is the liberalization and redemptive thrust. Whether rich or poor, whether employed or unemployed, professional or non-professional, whatever their social rank, al the lay faithful are called to heal and transform society, to prepare the temporal order for the final establishment of the Kingdom of God. They have to depend on one another. They must carry one another’s burden.”

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz in his book “Call of the Laity” (2005) explains this liberational and redemptive thrust:

“To set free and let go of people chained by oppression and poverty, to empower and launch them to find and assume their rightful place in society – this is the meaning and context of the work of liberation and redemption PCP-II calls the Laity in the country to undertake and accomplish. A tall order though it may be, it is rightly addressed. Who else can and may do this with the needed corporate strength and the imperative originating from a common Christian faith? What is wrong in secular society cannot but be the immediate and proper concern of the Laity with their secular status and competence.”

The Citizen’s Movement for a Federal Philippines is another nationwide group pushing for the adoption of a Federal System of Government throughout the country. This is directed to structural reform in our governance which is a component of a truly Social Transformation. The Principles of Subsidiarity and Unity in Diversity while protecting our national sovereignty are two of the guiding principles that govern the movement.

Now here is our opinion on this nagging issue transforming our society. We have expressed in many fora and wrote a number of times in publications our point of view of Genuine Social Transformation (GST). Yes, we prefer to use this term over any other terms denoting long-term and comprehensive reform of our sick society.

The GST we have in mind consists of two major major Reforms namely: 1) Reform in the Filipino people particularly in the way they feel, think and act; and 2) Structural / System Reform starting with a Constitutional Reform through Constitutional Convention (Con-Con). We suggest that PNoy launch the former Reform as early as possible perhaps designating former Chief Justice Renato Puno as the Point Man. The latter Reform could be done by Congress with the urging of PNoy say in the last quarter of 2013.

GST, we think, should be PNoy’s main legacy to the Filipino people. If this happens, PNoy will be known in history as own Real Transformational President. How about it Sir?

by Chito R. Gavino III, Lihok Pideral Mindanaw

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Terrorism: A Semantic of Real?

by Adrian Tamayo

The origin of International Terrorism
Terrorism is as old as history. It was used in order to justify the aim of a political and economic ends. It implements the most horrendous acts in the minimal number and resonating it in the mind and psychology of the people, making them not safe in their homes – thus terror. The presence can be traced into the long order of historical remnants. Associated with terrorism are the assassins who are feared individuals who carry death orders for a payment. However, the origin of the word is highly associated with a Muslim sect during the 8th to 14th who were feared because of their fierce killing using a dagger which carnage carried even during the day. The members were noticeably chewing hashish that’s why they are called as hashashin .
Another term that is closely related with the terrorism is zealot which is a Jewish sect in the first century which group was opposed to Roman Empire’s presence in Israel.
The most popular in the annals of recorded history is the “Reign of Terror” of the French Revolution where killing was rampant and were carried against the opposition to newly established setup of French democracy. Huntington (1993) described the period as war of people which established the State-led conflict where people participated in the war not due for a king’s or princes’ whims but on the general perception, belief, rights and honor of the people. (Read More...)

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