Creating an environment for peace

I was surprised when my daughter, Al-Jazeera’s Veronica Pedrosa, came home on quick notice. She said she would arrive and depart almost immediately. It sounded ominous but then I have become used to her comings and goings from Mindanao — it was always about the war. I presumed it would be for the same reasons — more killings, more fighting and more efforts at peace agreements that inevitably fail.

 She had come for peace, no not for attempts at peace through agreements, but to create an environment that would bring an environment in which peace would flourish.

She had come to cover the launch for the EU Peace Journalism Awards It was described by Ambassador Guy Ledoux as “most likely the first of its kind spearheaded by the EU in the world.”

The EU Ambassador to the Philippines said building peace is in the EU’s “DNA,” having come from “centuries of bloody conflicts.”

With its history of conflict, the EU is qualified to embark on its mission to bring peace in Mindanao. Europe brought about the tragic World War II where about 20 million died in war and conflict. This history is the driving motivation behind the peace awards.”

To date the EU has been the largest donor for the Mindanao Trust Fund for community-based development projects. The EU contributed P454 million to rebuild and strengthen livelihoods.

In the launch, the EU presented a fishing project in Kabacan, North Cotabato, with both members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Moro National Liberation Front working together.

But how many would be aware that it is possible to organize Bangsa Moro groups in common projects? That will be the role of journalists to report and create an atmosphere for peace.

“The challenge and maybe one reason why we organized this competition is that journalism today is also a business ... They believe that bad news sells well — pictures of fighting, people dying,” the ambassador said.

“It is more challenging to find [positive] stories that will hit the front page of the newspaper. I think if you dig well enough ... if it’s well-written you can also attract the attention of the public,” he added. This is true of reporting of the war in Mindanao as it is of wars in other places — journalists fuel war by their reports because war makes news.

The Journalism Awards are open to all Philippine journalists as well as campus journalists based in the country under the following categories: written text in print media, online and broadcast media, photojournalism, campus journalism and government advocacy peace projects.

This is all very well but what is the relevance of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro to the rest of Filipinos, to the public at large? Former President Fidel V. Ramos, who would more than any other president wanted peace, throws a spanner.

“It lacks time. Just because expert panels from Malaysia and the Philippines put it together does not mean that everybody will accept it automatically within the time frame established by the government,” Ramos told reporters at the Islam and Democracy Forum held recently at the University of the Philippines.

“I don’t fully agree with what’s there (draft Bangsamoro Basic Law) at this time but it doesn’t mean that I do not approve. There just hasn’t been enough public discussions on salient points,” Ramos said.

He was especially critical about the all-out war policy of “President No. 13” referring to former President Joseph Estrada.

After signing the peace agreement with the MNLF, Ramos negotiated with the MILF and concluded a ceasefire that lasted until the next administration.

“When the ceasefire was broken because of a new government policy of all-out war in Mindanao, I was personally heartbroken … because we have put in many important projects in Camp Abubakar,” Ramos said.

“In Mindanao, we have no easy choices. Because war is not an option and neither is a peace agreement that does violence to the Constitution,” Ramos said.

“I hope that there will still be confidence-building measures, especially of the people-to-people kind, it is much more important than any infrastructure undertaking,” he said.

“We know that this framework agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF last October may be the last chance for all of us, whether we are Muslims, Christians … because we are all Filipinos, we are all stakeholders,” Ramos said.

What is the constitutional issue at stake in this new agreement forged by President Aquino? With the Bangsamoro adopting a parliamentary system it would mean two systems of government in the Philippines. That is unconstitutional. It could easily separate itself from the rest of the country.  The task of our leaders is how to give the political autonomy it needs while remaining a part of the Republic of the Philippines. To me, that is federalism and that will need constitutional reform.

This is where Bayanko’s crowdsourcing can help. As an internet community for reform we can get wide-ranging proposals on how the constitutional issue behind the peace agreement can be resolved.

From Jose Alejandrino: “I agree any transition government to run the country pending the drafting of a new Constitution and its submission to the people for ratification in a nationwide referendum must include experienced people who know how to run a government. That is why in my list of recommandees I included the names of people like Raffy Alunan and Gibo Teodoro.

That is the program of Bayanko. But it must also include new faces. The most important criteria are honesty and integrity. This for me is the top requirement when selecting people in the government. Why? Simply because of the need for moral ascendancy. No government can function without it.

I am a member of Bayanko. I am not a member of the NTC whose members I understand will be revealed to the public in due course. I also understand the NTC will be composed of a layer of spiritual leaders from different denominations and a layer of experienced technocrats from previous administrations.

Bayanko is not a political movement in the sense of a political party but a movement for reform. NTC is a transitional body to run the country. Not being a political movement, Bayanko is above politics. It will support anyone who is genuinely in favor of political reform, regardless of political party. It stands for the national interest. The NTC being an implementing body will not be able to avoid politics. One can only hope politics will not guide its agenda but the national interest. So long as both bodies bear this in mind, they will be a strong force for change.”

In addition to Mr. Alejandrino’s explanation of Bayanko, I would add that we have to keep constantly in mind there is a distinction between the two. One is the cause and the other is the implementing body of the cause. The cause will persist even how difficult it may be to implement.

Another Bayanko member, Antonio Javier Belzunce “We as members of Bayanko have our responsibilities in uniting to establish a true movement and functional reform group. I think since it has started we have shown in Bayanko our transparency and our members have expressed their support with their passionate involvement in discussions and debates.

It generates credible reform ideas that are necessary to stable government.  “

A crowdsourced resolution of the Bangsa Moro Agreement could be one of them.