Category: bangsamoro

make peace, not war

in trying to grasp what’s been happening in zamboanga since monday, most overwhelming is the sense that we’re not getting enough information, we ‘re not getting hard facts, about this war raging anew between the AFP and the MNLF, and we are expected to simply trust that the president knows what he’s doing, and that what he’s doing will redound to the good of nation.

but how can war be good?  how can killings be good?  how can the suffering, the terror, of civilians caught in the crossfire, the evacuations, the burning of their homes, be good?  surely there were, are, ways of resolving the conflict other than by bloodshed.

the MNLF says it was government forces that fired the first shot.  if true, then what defense secretary gazmin means when he says that the MNLF started it must be in terms of the MNLF forces being armed, and suspected of sinister motives connected with leader nur misuari’s august declaration of bangsamoro independence, when they started gathering in those seaside barangays for a protest march the next day monday.

understandably, it must all have been perceived as an imminent MNLF attempt to take over those areas, which would establish it as still a force to be reckoned with, no matter how small, rather than as a spent force.  something that the aquino admin couldn’t allow, it is said, as it would be disruptive of the said-to-be nearly-concluded bangsamoro deal with the larger MILF.

and so it would seem that because the rebels were armed, government was justified in engaging them in a firefight, never mind that they were embedded among unarmed civilians, maybe some of them old friends and neighbors back in the old days in sulu, unfortunately all perceived as unwilling hostages by government?

i wonder how it started.  was there an attempt at communications first?  like, maybe, what’s this all about, let’s talk, walang armas armas,  but the rebels refused to talk or lay down their arms?  or did the AFP just start shooting because that was the order from on high?

five days later when the president flew to zamboanga himself, i thought we’d finally see a ceasefire.  alas, tila lalong nagkabanatan.  this, the day after benhur luy testified in the senate, made it easier to believe speculation that the zamboanga war was meant to distract from the pork barrel scam rocking imperial manila.  but another 3 days later, it seemed like the reverse was true: that the cases filed vs enrile revilla estrada et al in manila were meant to distract from the zamboanga war na naglevel-up na, air strikes na, grabe.

puwede namang nagkataon lang ang pagkakasabaysabay.  synchronicity.  meaning, magkasimbigat ang muslim mindanao problem at ang pork barrel problem.  the roots of the mindanao problem are poverty-related, the fruits of the pork barrel problem are poverty-related.  ang lahat ay kabitkabit.  as i’ve said in a previous blog:

the bangsamoro people deserve autonomy, but only as much autonomy as every other local government unit deserves and isn’t getting either in luzon, the visayas, and other parts of mindanao. poverty, along with landlessness and joblessness, is a nationwide affliction, and it is the fault not of the moros and other rural and urban poor who make up, what, maybe 70 %, maybe 80? of the population, rather it is the fault of imperial manila, of a central government that is loathe to share its considerable powers and resources with local governments, despite theLocal Government Code of 1991 that mandates decentralization, devolution, and autonomy, complete with implementing rules and regulations. 

re the current military operation vs the MNLF, this from tony la vina makes a lot of sense.

I was always uncomfortable with the dichotomy between the peace processes we have pursued in Mindanao. I have come to the conclusion that the bilateral approach to negotiations must be replaced by a quad or quintet approach so that everyone is brought to the same table, including the MNLF and other groups with legitimate interests (Lumads or indigenous peoples of Mindanao for example as well as local governments of affected areas).

for now, we beg that a ceasefire be declared and implemented, now na. please, mr. president, make peace, not war.

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p.s. to those in social media who are so quick to condemn nur misuari and the MNLF without any sense of the history of the bangsamoro struggle and government response over the decades, i beg you, magbasa muna, find the time, please, or forever keep your silence.

p.p.s. to nur misuari.  time to write a no-holds-barred memoir, but nothing hagiographic please.

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the sultan’s timing

on facebook boo chanco posted a portion of former senator rene saguisag’s email on the sabah issue that starts thus:

I have yet to read an account on Sabahans pining for our export-quality type of governance, after 20 years of Marcos-Imelda and ten of GMA-Mike.

Many columnists have again found something they don’t understand and proceed to explain it, validating once again that media is the plural of mediocre…

and ends with:

The instant experts of three or four weeks may soon realize that only the tip of the tip of the iceberg they may have seen and should not be so forward with their explanations, suggestions and brickbats. Mike, of UP and Cornell, Nina, of UP, and Letty, of Wellesley and Sorbonne, were serious Senators. We should also engage Muslims Amina, of UP, and Adel, of Harvard, for their inputs.

We in our bivouacs may not irresponsibly continue blasting the Prez in his commanding heights, who may see more and farther. We should not casually provoke war and reprisals

so i’m not going there, except to say that i hope the former senator would be less cryptic and speak more plainly about what it is we don’t know about the sabah claim so that maybe we can begin to appreciate how the president has handled/is handling the crisis, including the “hopeless cause” part of it.

meanwhile, i’ve been waiting for media to ask the sultan or the princess about the timing of the sabah incursion.  why now, why not last year, why not later this year.  clearly it catches the president at a very bad time when, on the one hand, he’s campaigning for a 12-0 win of his senatorial slate come may, and on the other, things were looking up for the malaysia-brokered bangsamoro deal with the MILF, or so we were being told.  the stakes are so high, it would seem that the prez has reason to cry conspiracy.

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The Sulu Sultanate Quarrel and Wider Implications 
GRAFFITI REVIEW: THOUGHTS OF EMPIRE 
Salonga explains Sabah claim 

bangsamoro con chacha

it does seem like the anticipated bangsamoro deal with the MILF would have the same problematic provisions as the arroyo admin’s MOA-AD that was struck down by the supreme court back in 2008.

the only significant difference is that the mo-ad was presented as a finished product — requiring only a constitutional amendment to allow a kind of federalist substate and then congress saying yes to the whole deal — samantalang this bangsamoro framework is presented as a work in progress — nothing’s final, but here are the points that the government panel and the MILF panel have come to agree on — and from now on govt is engaging the public, esp the concerned mindanaoans, in a process of transition toward the desired bangsamoro substate-sort-of, how nice.  except that, apart for some tweaking here and there, the roadmap is clearly headed in the same direction as the failed moa-ad.

senator miriam has warned us, it would take two constitutional amendments to legalize the abolition of ARMM and the founding of bangsamoro, and i believe her more than i believe dean leonen who is saying that it would not need charter change, but who himself, In one of the early presscons, brought up the possibility of “people’s initiative” (RA 6735) as a way of amending the charter.  surely he knows that the people’s initiative, enshrined in the 1987 constitution, still lacks implementing rules and regulations.  but who knows, they might be sneaking that in right now while they distract us with cyberlibel atbp.?

there is no doubt that the charter change dance is in progress.  last tuesday, just two days after president aquino’s sunday announcement of a peace accord achieved, malou tiquia attended an afternoon forum on federalism in the house of representatives and tweeted about it.  i jumped in upon the mention of pimentel and abueva,  both ardent federalists.

Malou Tiquia ‏@maltiq
On deck at HOR is Forum on Citizen’s Participation on Consti Reform. forum covers federalism. M one of reactors. #Federalism

Malou Tiquia ‏@maltiq
Bangsamoro, Bangsabicol, Bangsavisaya, BangsaIlocos…n the forum starts on federalism…

Malou Tiquia ‏@maltiq
Nene Pimentel presented a complete n very comprehensive plan on federalism. Pepe Abueva on deck.

Malou Tiquia ‏@maltiq
“What is good for Moro ppl is good for all ppl”- Dr. Jose Abueva

angela ‏@stuartsantiago
@maltiq parang we’ve heard that all before. sana someone presents too the negative side.

Malou Tiquia ‏@maltiq
@stuartsantiago which is?

angela‏@stuartsantiago
@maltiq ay, mahabang usapin, let me find links from last time’s debates

Malou Tiquia ‏@maltiq
@stuartsantiago ur own views? What do u fear frm federalism

angela ‏@stuartsantiago
@maltiq not going to change status quo. the powerful ones now will still be the powerful ones in a federal system.

angela ‏@stuartsantiago
@maltiq and the costs of setting up federal govt for every region will be huge. and okay for rich regions with money. what abt poor regions

Malou Tiquia ‏@maltiq
@stuartsantiago that can be dealt with by revising present regional set up where rich n poor can form one fed state

angela ‏@stuartsantiago
@maltiq sounds good on paper, but when did rich ever really share equitably with poor

Malou Tiquia ‏@maltiq
@stuartsantiago valid point!

angela ‏@stuartsantiago
@maltiq Federalism: Issues, Risks and Disadvantages

Malou Tiquia ‏@maltiq
@stuartsantiago thanks! Will raise agam agam

if that’s happening in the house of reps, can the senate be far behind?  what was that wednesday dinner hosted by the president and attended by all but 3 senators really all about kaya.  so it wasn’t about an enrile ouster, obviously, or he wouldn’t have been invited, too.  still it’s hard to believe senator drilon when he says it was just a thank you dinner for their votes to oust corona all of 4 months ago.  we weren’t born yesterday.

senator enrile of course is already a part of the dance, stepping up to contradict senator miriam (who else would dare?) re constitutional amendments.  charter change won’t be needed, he says, while evincing great interest in this experiment in parliamentary govt.

this should remind us that not too long ago, post-corona, pre-brady, pre-memoir, when he was smelling so good and wise, enrile and speaker belmonte joined forces and tried to convince the president about amending the constitution and making national defense a higher priority than education and — the ruling elite’s holy grail – setting the economy free from protectionist provisions.

it’s too bad that the bangsamoro dream keeps getting hijacked to serve the chacha dream of the powers-that-be.  the bangsamoro people deserve autonomy, but only as much autonomy as every other local government unit deserves and isn’t getting either in luzon, the visayas, and other parts of mindanao.  poverty, along with landlessness and joblessness,  is a nationwide affliction, and it is the fault not of the moros and other rural and urban poor who make up, what, maybe 70 %, maybe 80? of the population, rather it is the fault of imperial manila, of a central government that is loathe to share its considerable powers and resources with local governments, despite the Local Government Code of 1991 that mandates decentralization, devolution, and autonomy, complete with implementing rules and regulations.

ARMM is a failure not simply because muslim leaders are corrupt and crooked (hindi lang naman sila), but because aside from “having negligible powers, it was also hostage to the power-brokers in Malacanang.”

Since it was created, the ARMM has been led by local politicians who had been “anointed” by whoever sits in the presidential palace. The first regional governor was the local stalwart of Pres. Aquino’s Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP). The second one was a Maranaw protégé of Pres. Fidel V. Ramos. During the third ARMM elections, the FPA with the MNLF has just been signed. MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari was persuaded by Pres. Ramos to run for ARMM governor. Misuari ran virtually unopposed in the 1998 ARMM elections. By that time, a new president had replaced Ramos – Joseph Estrada. Estrada’s term was cut short by another “People Power” mass action at EDSA in 2001 because of a popular perception of his alleged plunder and other crimes against the Filipino nation. The Vice President then, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took oath as the new president. Like her predecessors, Arroyo lost no time in directing who will become the new ARMM governor. Along with her power-brokers, she made possible the (in)famous break-up of the MNLF Central Committee, easing out Misuari as its chairman. A so-called “Council of 15” was organized, with Dr. Parouk Hussin as its leader. Eventually, Malacanang also anointed Hussin to be the new ARMM governor. In last year’s elections, a new face in regional politics surfaced as the winner in the contest for the ARMM governor’s post – Gov. Datu Zaldy “Puti” Ampatuan. Despite the declaration of the ARMM as a “free zone” in terms of the most likely to be elected regional governor, there are persistent views that the new ARMM governor is also Malacanang’s bet – he is the son of Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan, widely known as Pres. GMA’s favorite local political ally. http://iag.org.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43&Itemid=44

would it be any different for a bangsamoro substate-sort-of?  there is no reason to believe so.  nothing has changed.  let us see this bangsamoro framework for what it is: just another attempt to justify, make it all right for congress to shift to constituent-assembly mode for the sake of the muslims kuno, and while they’re at it, have a go at the economic provisions, and who knows what else.

after what we’ve learned from the cybercime case about how laws are made, how objectionable amendments can be sneaked in, and how some, if not most, senators and reps can themselves be clueless as to what’s really going on, and after how we’ve seen them sit on, literally, the RH and FOI bills, never mind the interests of the majority, t’s obvious that it would be a big mistake to go on trusting our lawmakers to look out for our interests.  what they look out for, administration after administration, congress after congress, are the interests of the few, the ruling elite, of which they are a fundamental part.

NO to chacha.   call me paranoid.