‘Forge peace today or count body bags later’

MANILA, Philippines - On the first anniversary of the peace deal under his watch, President Aquino renewed his call yesterday for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), warning that failure to forge peace would mean counting “body bags.”

Malacañang is organizing a “peace summit” to improve the BBL, with “citizen leaders” like Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and tycoon Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala being eyed as “independent convenors.”

In a speech at Malacañang, Aquino said he has invited peace advocates who would help him persuade Filipinos that peace is the only way to go.

“This is the crossroads we face: we take pains to forge peace today, or we count body bags tomorrow,” Aquino said. “To those who have called for all-out war as the solution, do you think we’ll be able to talk peace after the shooting has started, when the wounds, and the failure of the talks, would be raw?”

He denied that he merely wanted to be able to tout the BBL as his legacy at the end of his term.

Yesterday was the first anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

Also being eyed as independent convenors aside from Tagle and Zobel were former chief justice Hilario Davide Jr., Howard Dee and Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman.

Aquino said the five were known for their “wisdom and integrity” in their own fields. Tagle confirmed receiving an invitation to serve as independent convenor.

Summit participants would dissect the proposed law “in a calm and reasonable manner that will not incite anger and hopelessness,” he said.

“This way, the BBL can be improved. They will write a report that will be made public, so that everyone may be informed, and so that more of our countrymen may understand the matter. In this manner, we will be able to advance a reasonable decision as regards BBL,” he said.

Aquino wants the BBL passed before June or a month before he delivers his sixth and last State of the Nation Address on July 27.

Contrary to perception, Aquino said he is “fully aware” that the Jan. 25 Mamasapano incident had adversely affected the chances of BBL getting passed by Congress.

“It saddens me to see that, after only one year, we have seemingly forgotten the hope that we felt back then. Instead, we have replaced it with distrust, unwarranted suspicion and anger,” he lamented.

“The BBL is one of the most important proposed bills of our administration. It answers the two most pressing problems of our countrymen: poverty and violence. This bill is the product of 17 years of extensive study and negotiations,” Aquino reiterated.

He also blamed the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos for the birth of the secessionist movement in Mindanao.

“Let us remember: The conflict in Mindanao began during the dictatorship because of land-grabbing. The law was used to exploit the uneducated, and deny them of their land,” he said.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the only son of the late dictator, is opposed to the current version of the BBL.

Aquino said he would not be coerced into resorting to all-out war just to please some sectors.

“Is it not clear that their approach was wrong? What were the results? Did the conflict end? Didn’t such an approach lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Filipinos?”

Aquino said the violence has wasted two generations and that he would not allow the succeeding generation to suffer the same fate.

Good for BBL

At the House of Representatives, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said President Aquino’s latest pitch for the BBL would boost the measure’s chances in Congress.

While admitting that the Mamasapano incident has greatly diminished support for the BBL in the chamber, Belmonte said lawmakers were beginning to realize that the issues should be treated differently.

He agreed with Aquino’s assertion that the peace process must succeed before radical elements in the MILF become frustrated and return to arms.

Belmonte also said the creation of a private body composed of eminent personalities to fine-tune the BBL would greatly help drum up support for the measure.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the ad hoc committee deliberating on the BBL, said the citizens’ commission should work swiftly so it could submit its recommendations to the panel before it votes on the BBL in May.

“We’re a bit pressed for time, so we wish that they could submit their recommendations soon so we can get their fresh inputs for the BBL, which based on the surveys, is very unpopular,” Rodriguez told The STAR.

“We really need more citizen participation in tackling the BBL, particularly in the light of the recent survey showing 44 percent of respondents are against the proposed law,” he said.

“They could help make the proposed law constitutional. We hope they would give us their inputs before we resume our work on the draft BBL on April 30,” he added.

Rodriguez said he agreed with Aquino that internal strife has to stop in Mindanao and that “there is really no substitute for peace.”

The proposed law that would create a new autonomous Bangsamoro region is the product of peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles said members of the council of citizen leaders could attend the sessions of the ad hoc committee on the BBL from April 20 to 30.

“We would like to listen to them, compare their thoughts with the many and numerous position papers and testimonies we have gathered in the many, many hours we spent in our public hearings and nationwide consultations,” he said.

“They can also attend the hearings on the Senate on April 13, because ultimately, it will be Congress that will decide the fate of the BBL,” he said.  

But Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said as long as Aquino refuses to accept accountability in the Mamasapano debacle, the outcome of the BBL would be dim.

“The delay or early passage of the BBL unfortunately hinges on the resolution of this incident,” he said. 

Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza lashed out at Aquino for labeling critics of the BBL as ones seeking an all-out war in Mindanao.

He said it was Aquino who was warmongering and pitting Filipinos against one another when he called critics or those opposing the BBL as war freaks.

“Everyone wants a just, equitable and constitutional peace, not peace at all costs, as he wants it,” Atienza said.

He said Aquino should realize that those living outside the proposed autonomous areas in Mindanao are also Filipinos, who should also be listened to.

Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat said he supports the President’s latest initiative but said this should have been done earlier or before the signing of CAB.

“Is this now an admission that there was no genuine and proper consultation done by OPAPP (Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process) and GPH panel?” Lobregat said.

“We need a BBL that is just, fair, acceptable, feasible and consistent with the Constitution and existing laws,” he said.

Sen. Grace Poe said she agrees that the public should be enlightened on the provisions and goals of the BBL and that there is no doubt about the integrity of Tagle and the others.

“However, before these eminent individuals would be given the chance to help in objectively communicating to all Filipinos the goals and the practical necessity of a political settlement towards peace and development in Muslim Mindanao, Congress must be given the opportunity first to come up with a constitutional version of the BBL,” Poe added.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III  maintained that the sacrifice of the 44 SAF men should be enough for the government to rethink its position on the passage of the BBL.

Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito also thinks that the President should first listen to the sentiments of the people on the BBL.

“But isn’t it the job of the Senate and the House of Representatives to review the BBL?” Ejercito asked.  “You cannot fault those who want an all-war against MILF, because they’ve had enough, they do not trust the MILF anymore. I do not understand why this administration is more concerned with the MILF than what the people want and feel,” Ejercito added.

Sen. Francis Escudero was also optimistic about the President’s move, saying everybody’s help and contribution is “to allow everyone to foster and increase understanding (not necessarily agreement) on the matter.”

“I don’t think Congress should be afraid of it. In fact, Congress should welcome it as it will help in the national debate on the BBL,” Escudero said.

‘Unshakeable resolve’

For OPAPP’s Teresita Deles, President Aquino has shown “unshakeable resolve” to end the decades-long conflict in Mindanao with his new declaration against all-out war.

“The President’s speech shows his unshakeable resolve to end the decades of armed conflict that has brought ruin to so many lives and communities in Mindanao,” she said. 

“A year ago, our people joyously welcomed the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, putting their stake that, in the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity, they will finally be released from the shackles of strife and poverty and peace and prosperity will finally dawn,” Deles said.

She urged the people and the lawmakers not to throw away the efforts of the government and the MILF peace panels to reach a final chapter in the conflict in Mindanao.

“The President sticks to his principles to continue the Bangsamoro Basic Law which he said is the most important law of his administration,” Deles said.

Chief peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said that by tapping eminent personalities like Tagle, Zobel, Davide, Dee and Usman for the peace summit, the administration has shown its “wide interest and desire to bring to life what we signed last year.” 

In Davao City, the MILF lauded the President’s latest effort to drum up support for the BBL.

“It is true. There is no other solution to the Bangsamoro problem except peace. If the solution is going to war, then the problem would become bigger,” MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghazali Jafaar told The STAR.

Jaafar said that points the President presented in his televised message yesterday were actually the same ones being advocated by the MILF.

“Experience showed how the MILF has grown in strength because of what Estrada did to Camp Abubakar then. The more you attack our people, the more they would fight back. That is why we had more members joining us after Estrada launched the all-out war,” Jafaar added.

Businessmen’s appeal

The Makati Business Club (MBC), for its part, is urging Congress to resume discussions on the BBL.

“To enhance the prospects for peace in Mindanao, we urge Congress to resume discussions on the BBL at the earliest time,” the MBC said in a statement yesterday.

Consistent with the position released by 14 framers of the Constitution last Jan. 9, the MBC said it shares the view that constitutional principles of genuine human development, social justice and lasting peace should underlie the CAB and, ultimately, the proposed BBL.

The 14 surviving framers of the Constitution – Felicitas Aquino-Arroyo, Adolfo Azcuna, Teodoro Bacani, Joaquin Bernas, Florangel Rosario Braid, Hilario Davide Jr. , Edmundo Garcia, Jose Luis Martin Gascon, Christian Monsod, Ricardo Romulo, Rene Sarmiento, Jaime Tadeo, Wilfrido Villacorta and Bernardo Villegas – said they support the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

The former members of the Constitutional Commission issued the statement after holding a formal meeting to forge a consensus on the Bangsamoro issue.

“In this context, we respectfully urge Congress to not allow revisions that would contravene these values nor run against the aspirations of the Filipino people to attain a just, harmonious and progressive Philippines,” the MBC said.

The business group also said the government should not abandon the peace process at all cost.

“As the nation commemorates the first anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB), the MBC reaffirms its continuing and unwavering support for the Mindanao peace process, and we renew our call to the government to put the peace process back on track at the soonest possible opportunity,” it said.

The group also said the country must not let political manipulation take over the public’s consciousness, especially amid the outrage sparked by the Mamasapano incident.– Paolo Romero, Jose Rodel Clapano, Christina Mendez, Marvin Sy, Non Alquitran, Roel Pareño, Jess Diaz, Evelyn Macairan, Edith Regalado, Louella Desiderio, Pia Lee-Brago