MLQ3’s recent post “Berserkers and a breather” in Inquirer.net’s “CURRENT” is an enlightening article. Unlike most widely-read posts spawned by bloggers mainly from Manila and other parts of Luzon — which tend to rely heavily on news reports — therefore, unintentionally appearing or turning-out one-sided and half-baked, this one gives us a more comprehensive coverage — a bird’s eye view of the recent events in Mindanao — coming from the people who experience the news first-hand. The research and insight that come with articles of this sort is a compelling read, and I consider myself privileged to have read this.

As Real As It Gets

Stories blogged from Iligan and other parts of Mindanao are as real as can be. Sentiments expressed from all those blogs paint a picture so vivid that anyone who reads it can hardly ignore. In essence, it tells us how devastatingly and horrifyingly real this war is — which, many of us who blog from a distance can only sympathize with but never actually “feel”. Collectively, everyone wants this war to end so they can go on with their lives — plain and simple. They approach the issue from different perspectives but eventually arrive at the same sentiment and wish — if you may, which is peace.

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Two blogs quoted in the above article struck me: 

Significant Thoughts Worth Pondering On

Ibrahim Canana in his article “Reality Check” published at the MILF Central Committee on Information Official Website — luwaran.com (also quoted by MLQ3 in above-mentioned article) is a must-read for EVERY Filipino — be they Muslims, Christians or Lumads. No other article from that website has made its point as clear and precise as this one. Anyone who has trouble understanding what this Bangsamoro Juridical Entity Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain  (BJE MOA on AD) is all about and why we are at war then and now, will find this article sufficient in answering all your burning questions. Presented in a manner that is to-the-point and crystal clear, we see a side of the MILF that is unknown to the common Filipino and possibly to the government as well. Barely halfway through the entry, you are taken to a seemingly graphic narrative of the sentiments and sense of idealism of the Moros which is absent in many of us tolerant, colonized Filipinos. To recognize this is to recognize the legitimacy of their claim on ancestral domain, being the “first nation” and their pursuit for self-determination. I wonder why articles from this site are sparingly quoted by the media when in fact there are very important points being raised here that are either as legitimate or even more legitimate than the ramblings we read and hear from self-serving politicians of this land who are just riding on this issue on account of their ulterior motives.

On the question of the BJE MOA’s constitutionality, Ibrahim Canana says,

“The Mindanao Problem predates all of the Philippine constitutions – from the 1935 constitution to the 1987. It even predates the establishment of the Philippine Republic in 1946. In other words, the solution to the conflict in Mindanao can never be solved by and within the Philippine constitution. Any Filipino bright boy who says so is deceiving himself and the Filipino public.”

“This armed resistance is what the negotiation between the MILF and the GRP is trying to address and resolve peacefully “out of the box”, meaning outside the constrictive parameters of the Philippine constitution.”

“What the Filipino politicians – and the Filipino public for that matter –  failed to comprehend is that the MILF is not bound to a constitution that it does not recognize. The MILF is a revolutionary organization, not a political party that operates within the ambit of the constitution. Furthermore, the MILF is not the MNLF, which ultimately recognized and accepted the supremacy of the Philippine constitution over the agreements it forged with the GRP.”

This statement reinforces Bong Montesa’s stand that “peace talks will always be unconstitutional — extra-constitutional even“. I have nothing to add here since the statement speaks for itself.

On the ambiguity of terms used on the MOA and the absence of the terms “Philippine Constitution“ and “independence“ highly-debated upon by “political analysts” and constitution experts,

“Cognizant of this fact, at the beginning of their negotiations in 1997 and again in 2001, the MILF and the GRP came into a compromise: the issue of independence will not be raised by the MILF and the GRP will not invoke the Philippine constitution as framework for formulating the negotiated political settlement of the conflict. With this mutual understanding, the parties proceeded with the incremental peace negotiation that took almost 11 years to reach the present stage that it is in now.”

It is therefore a compromise made by both parties. This is something they have agreed upon in aid of the peace talks.

Lastly, on some people’s speculation that Umbra Kato and Commander Bravo’s actions are due to the fact that they are against the MILF’s move to engage in peace talks with the government in the first place, this statement seems to allude to that:

“Having been forced to cancel the act of affixing its signature on a document that it had already initialed earlier, the GRP is cast in a situation whereby its capability to conclude peace agreements with the MILF, not to mention the MNLF and the National Democratic Front (NDF),  is now open to doubt. And this does not augur well for the peace process in Mindanao because elements within the Moro liberation movement who oppose negotiations with the GRP seem to have been proven right.”

This only means that although there are factions within MILF, they, like us (the GRP) are trying their best to make a pact to finally end the conflict. Sadly, though, that because the GRP dropped the ball by way of the SC’s TRO, our sincerity to make peace is now in question and the GRP loses face and MILF’s trust as well — which brings me to assume either of this two:

1. The GRP, in an attempt to accelerate the peace process, has overlooked possible hurdles and hurriedly said “yes” without thinking; or,

2. The GRP was never sincere with the BJE MOA / peace process to begin with, but was cooking something else entirely.

Either way, we have witnessed the consequence of such actions. And now, the dead are piling up.

A Conspiracy Theory?

Tongue In, Anew in his article “It’s a Moro-Moro, you Morons!” had this to say:

“No, Gloria didn’t plan to dismember the country via the MOA-AD, she knows it’s unconstitutional, luckily, the legit opposition saw through her, she even had to use her allies to petition for a TRO which her SC appointees readily obliged to. She was expecting widespread retaliation but the MILF hierarchy surprisingly held back, her emergency rule cannot be imposed! No martial law, no chacha either. Doom! The Ass’ loyal generals immediately had to scramble for the “Lost Commanders” Kato and Bravo who have been burning villages left and right in the past yet no sincere effort to bring them to justice was ever taken (You now have an idea why Kabalu insists these commanders were not ordered by MILF to do so). They needed them to jump start this stage of the war to put Plan B into action. Funny but Eid Kabalu hasn’t announced an all-out offensive yet. Nor has Puno and Teodoro. Who wants to really finish the war after all? Even Misuari’s MNLF are now wearing their old uniforms to defend their own territory. Against whom? The gov’t? MILF? Or the Lost Command?”

This is an interesting story. Only that, to me this is no more than a story. Unless of course this is proven and confirmed as “factual” by way of solid data/evidence. But then again, I am assuming that this is pure “opinion” and we are all entitled to our own opinions. With that in consideration, I respect Tongue In, Anew’s opinion. Don’t get me wrong here. I am neither pro nor anti-PGMA, I take sides based on the merits of the issue (at least the way my seemingly-naive mind interprets it) and not so much on the person involved in it. That said, I don’t take anything and everything PGMA-related as rubbish from the get-go, nor do I consider it gospel truth as well. If this was true, then PGMA must shift careers and try scriptwriting for a change because this is one mind-bending script, I must say. Even Hollywood will prize such a wicked twist. If this is not true, however, maybe it’s better that we concentrate on the real issue and not waste our time in conspiracy theories of sorts. Just a suggestion. By the way, the blog’s title in itself is amazingly ingenious. :)

Back To Basics

MLQ3’s final analysis and thoughts are clear, crisp and straight to the point.

 At the heart of these efforts are three simple ideas:

 1. That if one side will insist that it is negotiating sincerely for peace, there must be a corresponding assumption the other side is also negotiating sincerely. That furthermore, national interests aside, it is in the regional interest of foreign countries to help foster peace in Mindanao

 2. That all lose when fighting resumes and all sides gain so long as discussions are ongoing, which provides a venue for differences to be threshed out, compromises arrived at, and a consensus reached.

3. That both sides have extremists who not only do not represent the majority view, but who have also figured out how their constituencies can be agitated by withholding information and an overall lack of confidence in the authorities.

Of the three, I think the last one is the most insightful and thought-provoking. The way the situation is unfolding, only the third idea answers it most appropriately. We see how this game is now being played by “extremists” from both sides of the peace talks — each having his own motive for doing so. And these “extremists” are not to be taken lightly, because as evident in the recent events, they seem to be toying with peace and controlling the situation according to their whim.

The most devastating effect of all these, as I see it, is one or both party’s eventual disinterest in talking peace. I pray that it does not happen. This is a process that has been in the works for a long time and we can’t just let it crumble. For if it does, we forfeit any possibility of a true and lasting peace in Mindanao. And if there is no peace, what else is there but war.