Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Davao (Agenzia Fides) – The peace process in South Philippines – after efforts fell through in August 2008 and the violence increased between government troops and the Islamic guerrilla movement – will have to start “from the ground up,” with efforts from civil society, religious communities, and the local community. This is the main idea in the relaunching of the peace process being carried out by the Bishops-Ulama Conference (BUC), in efforts to make a contribution towards reopening talks. The Conference, which joins Catholic Bishops and Muslim leaders, has responded to an invitation made by the Philippine government, asking that a peaceful solution be found in resolving the Mindanao conflict.
The new plan calls for ample consultation and a large representation from among Mindanao locals, who will be most effected by an eventual agreement between the Muslim separatists and the government, especially regarding the inclusion of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. According to Archbishop Fernando Capalla of Davao City, one of the three presidents of BUC, the plan “calls for ample consultation to encourage dialogue among the various components of the region.”
The project, drafted by 18 professors of Mindanao (Christians and Muslims) hopes to give the Memorandum of Agreement between the government and the rebels a more democratic character.
The previous accord, in fact, did not meet public approval. The delegations of the MILF and the government had reached an accord that was to be signed by the two parties on August 5, 2008 in Kuala Lumpur. The accord called for the concession of major powers in the areas of economics, taxes, and administration to the Muslim Region. Furthermore, the Region would have been more extensive (following a popular referendum), encompassing over 700 cities of the provinces of Sultan Kundarat, North Lanao, North Cotabato, Palawan, and several towns in the area of the cities of Iligan and Zamboanga.
In Mindanao, the province at the heart of the talks, many segments of the non-Muslim population, especially Christians and indigenous groups (the lumads) would be forced to live under a clearly Islamic rule. Many people and social groups of the provinces affected – especially Filipinos who have immigrated in the past to Mindanao – have begun protesting in masses, rejecting the agreement and complaining of the fact that the government did not consult them in the decision.
The issue was sent to the Supreme Court in the Philippines which, the day before the signing, ordered that it be halted. The final verdict was given in October 2008, when the Court declared the draft of the accord to be “unconstitutional,” thus closing the question. The accord, therefore, was never reached and violence once again broke out. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 27/1/2009)
