Govt execs mum on Moro substate in meeting with Mindanao officials Dimaporo

By TJ Burgonio Philippine Daily Inquirer 8:37 pm | Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 0 share 3 2

Lanao del Norte, 2nd District Representative Fatima Aliah Q. Dimaporo. Congress photo MANILA, Philippines The government panel has been so cautious about mentioning the Moro Islamic Liberation Fronts proposed substate that it seemed not ready to submit its counterproposal. Lanao del Norte Representative Fatima Aliah Dimaporo came out with these observations, on Wednesday, after the 40-member Mindanao bloc met with Peace Adviser Teresita Deles and the government panel Tuesday at the House of Representatives. The proposed substate, the upcoming August 22 resumption of peace talks, and the Tokyo meeting between President Benigno Aquino III and MILF chairman Ebrahim Murad topped the agenda of the meeting. Professor [Marvic] Leonen spoke much of the time, Dimaporo said of the government peace panel chairman. He did not say anything about the substate. He was very careful about saying or declaring or agreeing with the proposal of having a substate in public. She said she got the impression that the government panel was not ready to present its counterproposal to the substate when talks resume in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. I think that theyre still going through the process of research. Theyre still in the consultative process, she said, later adding: So lets wait and see. After the Aquino-Murad meeting, the MILF declared it had dropped its bid for a separate Islamic state, and would settle for a substate under the Philipppine Republic as a compromise. As a substate, it would exercise powers over its political and economic affairs, and enforce its internal security within the Bangsamoro territory, and would be headed by a chief minister, but it would remain part of the Republic of the Philippines. The MILF has asserted that a provision on the substate could be appended to the 1987 Constitution through legislation, without going through Charter change. Dimaporo said Deles spelled out six parameters for the forging of a final agreement with the MILF, stressing that the panel would carry this out within the Constitution and with public consultation, and with the lessons of the past in mind. My only comment is that yes, you do consult with the people. But if you go to the provinces, I wonder if the legislators were involved in the consultative meetings. They should be, she said. Lets try to work with each other, and see what proposals what we can come up with. Dimaporo admitted that the Mindanao legislators and local government officials have not formed a unified position on the substate.

Minority Leader Edcel Lagman said the government should brief the minority bloc on its counter-proposal before its presented in Malaysia next week. Most importantly, we wish to remind our people as we will, time and again that any proposal to create a susbtate within the Philippine Republic will alter the constitutional basis and guiding principles of the Republic, and consequently, the imperative of constitutional amendments pursuant to the requisite amendatory process and ratification in a national plebiscite, he said. Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines.

MILF-desired Moro sub-state and elusive peace in Mindanao

Published : Saturday, August 20, 2011 00:00 Article Views : 653

MANILA: On August 22, negotiators from the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would resume their exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur in a renewed bid to put an end to the four-decade armed conflict in the Southern Philippines. But even before the two sides could sit down, fierce fighting between MILF combatants and armed guerrillas of the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) led by renegade MILF commander Ameril Umbra Kato broke out in Maguindanao, killing scores of Muslim rebels and displacing thousands of families. Aside from the armed skirmishes, another type of war a word war also erupted between officials of the government of President Benigno S. Aquino III and the MILF. Instead of calming nerves, the secret meeting between Mr. Aquino and Al Haj Murad Ibrahim, MILF chairman, in Tokyo last August 4, had further intensified the rhetoric on the sub-state issue. The Tokyo meeting also emboldened the MILF to push for the sub-state proposal even threatening to revert to their original plan to secede from the Philippines and set up their own Bangsamoro Islamic Republic in Mindanao if their present demand is not met. Michael Mastura, a senior member of the MILF negotiating panel, even dared President Aquino to sacrifice his popularity for the sake of peace in Mindanao. Mastura was practically asking Mr. Aquino to choose between keeping his popularity among the Filipino people or working for peace by acceding to the sub-state proposal. In reacting to Masturas challenge, Dean Marvic Leonen of the College of Law of the University of the Philippines and head of the government panel, said that reducing the choices in the negotiations to simplistic dichotomies like popularity and peace is dangerous because it fixates on a debate that does not exist. Leonen said he was disappointed that a senior MILF official had gone down to that level. If you say its a choice between popularity and peace, its like saying neither popularity nor peace at the same time. But the problem in Mindanao is more complex than that, he said. In the resumption of the talks in Kuala Lumpur, Leonen would present the governments counter-proposal on the sub-state idea. The proposed Bangsamoro sub-state desired by the MILF would exercise all government functions, except those of national defense, foreign affairs, currency and postal services, which would remain in the hands of the national government. The scope of such a sub-state has yet to be defined but it could lead to the expansion of the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to include areas with predominant Muslim population in other provinces in Mindanao. [Times Editors note: These provinces had opted not to be made part of the ARMM in a referendum to determine citizens acceptance of the new arrangement.] Under the MILF proposal, the sub-state would be governed by a chief minister elected by an assembly. It will have asymmetrical relations with the national government, similar to Hong Kongs relations with China, according to the MILF.

Leonen and other government officials have admitted that to create a sub-state in Mindnao is still a long and tedious process. Harry Roque, a law professor at the University of the Philippines, and former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., a Christian Mindanao leader, have said that the creation of a sub-state would likely require an amendment to the Philippine Constitution. Former North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piol, [Editors note: A Manila Times columnist and political analyst, Piol petitioned the Supreme Court against the MILF-desired MOA-AD in 2008.], has said that he would ask the Supreme Court to determine if it is legal for the government to agree to discuss a peace agreement within the context and spirit of the MOA-AD (Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain), which the high court declared as unconstitutional in October 2008. Piol, former senator and now Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas 2nd, Sen. Franklin Drilon, Mayor Celso Lobregat of Zamboanga City and Rep. Isabelle Climaco of Zamboanga City were copetitioners against the 2008 MOA-AD. According to Piol, the proposed sub-state is no different from the juridical entity that the MILF wanted established under the MOA-AD that the High Court declared as contrary to law and the Constitution. (Neither) the President nor the MILF can demand revision of the Constitution prior to the signing of a peace agreement, Piol said. Piol also noted that while the MILF claimed that it was abandoning its previous demand to create a separate Islamic state in Mindanao, it now wants to have its own Supreme Court and its own Constitution based on the Islamic way of life. Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chairman Nur Misuari also said that the MILF and the government cannot sign another agreement because there is already an existing one signed with the MNLF in l996. In an interview with a major Manila daily [Editors note: The Manila Times], Misuari, a former ARMM governor, said that there could be no two agreements covering the same people and the same territory. [Editors note: The statements of Mr. Manny Piol quoted in this report, were first made in his exclusive analyses published in the Times.]

Mindanao Sub-state and Its Problems

The recent proposal raised up by an MILF negotiator that their group is now amenable to a substate within Mindanao rather than to their original demand of total separation from the Philippine republic brought a breath of fresh air to the people involve in the negotiations and major stakeholders specially the MILF itself, Muslim community, non-Muslims and the government including media people who may, perhaps, have gotten tired in seeing no inch of progress has been made so far. No person hoping the rebellion would end with finality could ignore that something novel out of nowhere could bring lasting peace to Mindanao after more than 4 decades of turmoil since the rise of MNLF to the break-away of MILF up to recent times. Negotiation deadlock has been the conclusive norms since day one when both factions agreed to sit on the table and discuss. Somewhere in between were skirmishes from minor confrontation to full-scale war similar to the one spearhead by Erap during his drunk of power believing to himself it was the only remaining solution left to the never ending deadlock of negotiations held overseas. It seemed Erap was more concerned of his warmongering pursuing a war without any slight indicator it would bring lasting peace with which seemed to many a total waste of time by people wanting immediate results. The failure of negotiations was punctuated by the futile initiative of GMA government allowing back door agreement with MILF to form Bangsamoro Judicial Entity that could cover large sections of jurisdiction to be under a new form of ruler-ship. That idea was met with stiff uphill battle in courting legal stamp and public acceptability chief of which is the decision of Supreme Court that the judicial council was unconstitutional. There were also a lot of opposing parties especially in the areas considered to be under the new council that these key leaders were never consulted in the first place. There seems to good news after all the travails experienced by both civilians and combatants who were in constant apprehension of a full-scale war that never showed any indication of gain from both sides. ARMM solution so far has appeased the former MNLFs rank and file but that was not enough to bring the larger MILF to the fold of law. So much blood already has littered the land and any fresh idea amenable to both sides without compromising so much the constitution is now in the offing. There were initiatives taken and it was clear that the first step would be to amend the constitution to allow a semi-federal state like the one in Florida or somewhere else in the globe. At least, the example brought forward is looking much feasible than the desire for complete selfdetermination. Supposing the idea of sub-state will smooth-sail among lawmakers desiring that a lasting solution is tenable within their terms and more possibly to allow charter amendment to put the idea into effect, there would still be another set of problems that the actual implementation would encounter. Area of Jurisdiction There wont be any problem at all if the areas to be covered are used to be under Muslim control for ages. Take for instance Lanao del Sur, Sulo, Basilan and Maguindanao, these areas are used to be under Muslim headships. However, mentioning other areas that never once had a Muslim leader or form of local governmance would be inviting strong opposition from constituents especially when a plebiscite is bypassed to gauge peoples acceptable of the new proposal.

This sort of problem was solved already by the ARMM formula allowing peoples vote. If the people in a province or region want to be members of this new sub-state carved out of predominantly Muslim areas and adjacent places claimed by Muslims as one of their ancestral domain, all they have to do is put a YES on their ballot. Form and style of rulership If the Muslim desire for self-determination goes along with their all-or-nothing goal of installing Sharia law in all its full form on their new substate, that would be courting a kiss of death to the proposal. Citing Florida should never be an example in this case as their state laws is not at all out of sync with the prevailing US laws. A watered down Shariah may be acceptable but then again that would mean another cycle of negotiations from both sides which provisions are acceptable or not. Sharia is culturally archaic in form and substance and will never become compatible with existing government laws. Can you imagine a sub-state with ala Taliban extreme Ministry of Virtues and Prevention of Vices. No, it could be farfetched but looking at some reports with how MILF executed people who crimes considered serious like stealing property and yet they faced grisly execution by firing squad. Superior Human The idea of ancestral domain is based on precedence and dominance. However, this idea does not sit well with pluralistic society desiring the contemporary success of multiculturalism precepts like identity, universality and common good. Philippines is densely multi-ethnic and no matter how politically bankrupt it has become, the multicultural integration has been so far decently achieved. The population of Mindanao since the arrival of Muslim missionaries was never once a homogeneous stock. There were non-Muslim natives sparsely distributed along areas where Muslims population were once or always are dominant in number. Thus the claim that Mindanao is belonging to the Muslim alone falls flat to this fact. How come they claim ownership when other tribes, which can also be called rightful owners by virtueof ancestry, when others were not consulted? There were many times the gains of natives were completely ransacked by so called Muslim freedom fighters in the name of ancestry. Taking in a clue about the UN leader, who was the central rescue figure during the dark ages of Rwandan Genocide in 1994, admonishing everyone today that there should be no human beings above others, the desire to pursue sub-state all in the name of Muslim self-determination and claim of ancestry is found too wanting. Adjacent settlers perspective and acceptance Hatred in Mindanao is two-fold and not just one way traffic. As mentioned above, there were ethnic people belonging to other tribes who had established property but ended-up completely ransacked or overrun by the Muslims. There were those who were threatened and leave. And those that remain continually feel the fangs of wrath from these people who believe theyre rightful owners of Mindanao. Death was paid in their resistance and justice to their land should have cried for retribution but lost in the sea of conflict. The fact remains that both sides have some form of hate. But only one group is aggressive on their demands. A significant number are victims. Only one group is fighting for a flawed claim of owning the whole island of Mindanao. If the other tribes were likewise influence by a violent

interpretation of their own belief, the chance there would be ethnic wars in Mindanao is not farfetched. Another form of perspective developed over the years among those non-Muslims is the concept of insatiable greed. They would day, If you give them your hand, they would take your elbows too. It means that in giving in sub-state the occupant would not asking for more and expand to the detriment of their neighbors. Those who owned piece of property adjacent to Muslim areas can vouch on this based on their experience. Guns and any form of harassment and terroristic activities were used just to take over the ownership of property. No wonder the desire of Muslims of self-determination and amenability to solutions at hand sounds never too good to other settlers who experienced first hand the atrocities and greed misrepresented as ancestral claim. No it would only appease a segment of those claimants but to assume it will serve a permanent solution is too naive based on the stakeholders of the whole Mindanao island.

MILF wants Bangsamoro 'sub-state' in Mindanao

abs-cbnNEWS.com Posted at 08/09/2011 4:10 PM | Updated as of 08/09/2011 4:10 PM MANILA, Philippines - The chief peace negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Tuesday bared more details of the MILF's proposal for a Bangsamoro sub-state in Mindanao. MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad explained to President Aquino their proposal for a sub-state still under the Philippine government. Basically, the sub-state is still under the Philippines and it has (four) layers of power and authority reserved for the central government which are foreign relations, national defense, currency and postal services and there is residual power for the sub-state. Also, there are joint jurisdiction of power, exercised jointly by the central government and the (sub) state government, he said. He said Aquino asked how the MILF came up with the proposal for a sub-state but made no further comments. "Hindi kasi hindi negotiation yun e. It's more on the discussion how would the two parties proceed with the negotiation," Iqbal said. Last Thursday, Aquino flew unannounced to Tokyo, Japan to meet MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in what Malacaang spokesmen described as an effort to "fast-track" peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the MILF. Sulu Congressman Tupay Loong said the MILF proposal would mean there would be "two systems of government in one sovereign country." "They want to improve the existing autonomy because, according to them, what they have is not the real autonomy. Tingin nila hindi meaningful. Maraming kulang," he said. He commended both the MILF and President Aquino for meeting in Tokyo. He said the meeting signifies the sincerity of both parties to end the conflict in Mindanao. "It gives hope to all of us Muslims in this country. This grand gesture manifests that the issue in Mindanao is something personal to the President. His personal touch on this issue showed his sincerity to attain lasting peace in Mindanao," he said. "We must erase all doubts on the intentions of the president. It will not help in nay way. It will bring divisiveness to our people," he added. Justice Committee Vice Chair and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Farinas, however, said the idea of a separate government is not permissible under the Constitution. "That is not provided by the Constitution. It will be challenged in the Supreme Court and the SC will just declare it unconstitutional," he said. He added: "Sa sinasabi nilang kulang ang autonomy sobra pa nga eh." He cited the recent developments in Maguindanao where a few families reign over the region. "They have been given a wrong sense of impunity. Dahan-dahan muna, autonomy muna. Nakakatakot din. Absolute power corrupts absolutely," he said. With a report from Ron Gagalac, ABS-CBN News

Nene thumbs down Muslim sub-state in Mindanao

By Ryan Chua, ABS-CBN News Posted at 08/18/2011 3:51 PM | Updated as of 08/18/2011 3:51 PM MANILA, Philippines - A federal system of government, not a Muslim sub-state, is the solution to the long-standing conflict in Mindanao. Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. made this assertion on Thursday, just 4 days before the government holds discussions in Malaysia with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which proposed the creation of a "Bangsamoro sub-state." "If we are using this concept of sub-state as the starting point of the negotiations, you will be creating more problems," Pimentel said in a news forum. "The starting point of these talks will only pour gasoline into the fire burning in the Autonomous Region." Pimentel, an advocate of federalism, explained that other groups in Mindanao may feel left out if a sub-state is created since not all of them agree with it. He added that sub-states are not recognized internationally. Pimentel said an "all-inclusive" solution would be to create a separate state for Muslims in Mindanao under a federal Philippines. "The recognized solution to secessionist movements in international law is the adoption of a federal system. That's far easier to understand and has a lot of historical moorings," he said. Pimentel's vision is for the Philippines to be a federal republic similar to the United States, with each state having its own government apart from the national government. "The local governments more or less will remain as they are unless changed by the federal states concerned," he said.

Substate, whats this beast?

By: Amando Doronila Philippine Daily Inquirer 8:19 pm | Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 12 share 94 73 THE MORO Islamic Liberation Front has been calling the shots in the renewed peace talks in Mindanao following the secret meeting between President Aquino and MILF chair Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo two weeks ago. In an attempt to throw the government off balance ahead of the resumed formal peace negotiations in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 22, MILF senior leaders have stepped up their demand for the government to agree to its proposal to establish a nebulous creature it calls a substate in Mindanao for a so-called Bangsamoro homeland. Shrouded with secrecy, President Aquino sneaked out to Tokyo on Aug. 4 to meet Murad to give the stalled talks a shot in the armin the effort to regain the diplomatic initiative and break four decades of stalemate. After the meeting, the results of which very little has been disclosed by either side, MILF senior officials appear to be using it to define the agenda and terms of the negotiations in Kuala Lumpur. The MILF subsequently defined the issues and the framework of the discussions according to its own termsnot those of the Republic from which the MILF has attempted to secede with the establishment of a separatist Bangsamoro homeland alternately through force of arms and duplicitous diplomacy. The government appears to have been unhinged by the new demands of the MILF and now seems to be playing to the tune of the secessionist movement, with very little original proposals to counter those of the MILF. Over the weekend, the MILF stepped up its propaganda campaign in an attempt to browbeat the government to accept its demands. Michael Mastura, a senior member of the MILF negotiating panel, tried to push the government into a corner when he challenged the President to decide whether to accept the MILF draft proposals or face losing his political capital in the event of resumed hostilities as a consequence of failed talks. Mastura tried to picture the Presidents Tokyo talks with Murad as a cheap publicity stunt to enhance his popularity. Is the President, Mastura said, willing to cast (aside) his political capital for this process? Paraphrased, this is the issue from the MILFs point of view: Is the President willing to compromise on the issue of substate in exchange for ending the fighting that has been going on for more than four decades. The issues are clear, Mastura said. If they will accede to using our draft as a working draft, that will fast track everything. Does the MILF mean by fast track the truncation of the Republic according to MILFs substate blueprint. The MILF has insisted that following the Tokyo meeting it has scaled down its original demand for secession and an independent state in exchange for the establishment of a substate, of which there are rare functioning models all over the world. According to the MILF draft, the Muslim substate would exercise all government functions, except those of national defense, foreign affairs, current and postal servicesthe conventional elements of a state. The draft raises the issue of what exactly is the shape of this mongrelized state. It is not clear how the national government and the substate would share powers in the exploitation and development of national economic resources. One of the most contentious issues over the scope of powers of the substate is its territorial definition. The recent statements of the MILF suggest expansion of the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao beyond its present boundaries. After the meeting with Murad, President Aquino understood that under the MILF scheme, Christians and Lumads would be affected by the proposal but that they would

be given a choice of whether they would want to be part of the substate. This is a highly contentious issue. According to Mastura, the proposed substate would be governed by a chief minister elected by an assembly as in Scotland and Northern Ireland. He does not tell us that Scotland and Northern Ireland are integral parts of United Kingdom, a unitary state, that does not call those segments substatewhich is entirely a reinvention of the concept of sovereign national states, springing from the imagination of the Islamic separatist movement in the Philippines. The MILF has described its invention as a special region that has asymetrical relations with the national governmentas Hong Kong is to Chinabut more than a regular local government unit. Whether or not this substate is a local government unit under the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior and Local Government needs clarification in the KL talks. What offends many Filipinos is not the ambiguity of the substate but the threat of the MILF that if its draft is not accepted, it would go back to armed rebellion. In a number of opinion polls over the past few years, Filipinos have shown that they emphatically reject proposals involving the dismemberment of the national territory or a part of it being carved out to give autonomy to an insurgent separatist movement. The MILF has recognized the substate proposal would have to hurdle constitutional issues. It has said that a provision on the substate could be appended to the 1987 Constitution through legislation. But a number of legal experts contend that such project required a constitutional amendment, a process that is considered an extremely difficult obstacle to hurdle. It can also be politically explosive in reigniting a fiercer Mindanao war. Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines.

Moros Substate Solution: Babelonic

August 10, 2011 tags: Infidels, ISLAM, MILF, military conflict, MINDANAO, moro substate formula, MUSLIMS, NOYNOY Aquino, philippine government, RELIGION, sharia law, VFA, war by froivinber I have one specific term to describe the unconstitutional, demagogic and religion-based proposal of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF):

The moros' sub-state solution is "babelonic" Babelonic. This term, the root word of which is babel, simply means political division owing to cultural and religious differences, which in the long run would only lead to social and military conflict and strife. The MILF has been at war with the national government for years to achieve its ultimate political and religious goal: the establishment of an Islamic state in which sharia or Islamic law is imposed. It is very clear that this group of Islamic rebels seek to establish their own state simply because of their religious beliefs. In its very recent statement, the MILF calls for the establishment of a substate for the Moros, saying Muslim Filipinos had the right to run their own government. Such a statement stresses three declarations: 1. They central, main motivation of their political goal is their religion of Islam; 2. They do not consider themselves as Filipinos simply because of their religion; 3. They only consider their religion of Islam as their national, religious and political identity. We dont need to be rocket scientists or experts of religion and politics in order to properly decipher what the Moros want. They want a two-state solution for them and for us Filipinos and infidels. They do not consider themselves Filipinos and they do not want to be part of our society simply because according to their holy book we are infidels or people of the book. Indeed, this is both a political and religious issue. Now I say that that Moro proposal is close to insanity and supremacist demagoguery for various reasons. Mindanao is already given an autonomous status under our New Constitution. Basically what the Moros want is a substate by virtue of their religion. The Moros are not victims of discrimination in this country. Is they who try to isolate themselves from us infidels.

If this current government acceded to their proposal, then we should be ready for the following: 1. The Moro substate would implement Sharia law that would alienate non-Muslims. Under a common sharia law, infidels or people of the book (translation: non-Muslims) are legally deemed as dhimma or dhimmis, which means that are second-class citizens. 2. War or possible military conflict between us and this Moro State. The proposal is unconstitutional. I stated in a previous post the following: The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has been receiving support from Islamic countries that favor Mindanaos secession from the Philippines. I strongly disagree with the idea that secession is justified if it is fueled by religious dogma or the concept of ethnicity. Theres only one justification for a belligerent or hostile territory to secede from its motherland and this is the concept of individual rights. The MILF wants to secede because its warlords seek to establish an Islamic regime in Mindanao. This proposition is not justifiable because they only seek the religious enslavement of people in that part of the country. Theres no doubt that this separatist group is getting military support from shadowy international networks that aim to establish a strategic military and radical religious base in the country. The result of their radical religious or theocratic dogma is what is happening now in Iran, where women have no individual rights and people have to follow under the pain of death the decree of their religious dictator. Also, in reply to a commenter who said that the MILF or the Muslims are entitled to secession I stated the following: The primary issue of Mindanao conflict is religion. A hostile or belligerent province or territory cannot claim secession from the main government on the ground of religion. There were mistakes of the Philippine government but we cannot correct a political wrong by embracing or adopting an evil idea. Those who deny or refuse to believe that the goal of the separatist group of MNLF is to create an independent Islamic state in Mindanao are simply detached from reality. The only valid justification for secession must be based on individual rights. A province cannot claim independence on the ground that it adopts a different religion, culture, or ethnic norms. The idea that Mindanao is a very complex matter is an attempt to evade reality, because the Moro people in Mindanao are not really fighting for their freedom, but for the enslavement of their own people. Secession would only lead to an endless dispute and even war between the Philippine government and the would-be Islamic regime of Mindanao. But even granting arguendo that religion is not the main issue of the armed conflict in the South, the Moro separatist people cannot justifiably claim secession on the very absurd ground that Mindanao is a very complex matter. I have no prejudice against religion, but I am opposed to the idea that religious dogmatism can justifiably be used to enslave a group of people or to exterminate those who are not in favor of a particular religion. Any kind of religious sect or denomination has the right to operate or flourish under our Republican system, but they have no right to claim political power in order to enforce their religious prejudices on other people who do not choose to adopt any religious dogma. The religious extremists who resort to suicide bombing, kidnapping and terrorist activities should not be given any space in a civilized society. The most dangerous brand of terrorism is the terrorism inspired by an extremist religion, because the people who act on blind faith can always claim that their immoral and ungodly advocacy is right and sanctioned by unknown, unknowable specter in a utopia they call heaven.

If the government consented to the political demand of the MILF, then it should provide the same opportunity to other religious and cultural groups that would raise the same proposal by virtue of their religion or indigenous culture. Below is the MILFs statement entitled Let Moros Run Their Own Affairs: The MILFs formula to solve the Moro Question in Mindanao is very simple; it is far from complex. Let the Moros run their affairs; let them decide their own destiny. Let them succeed or self-destruct. Gone were the days when the government in Manila designed everything for them. The most important element here is self-determination. Let them exercise this right to selfdetermination (RSD), which is enshrined and guaranteed by the Charter of the United Nations. This is a right that cannot be foreclosed by any agreement or the subject of negotiation. The MILFs formula calls for the creation of a substate for the Moros. This entity is not an independent state. The powers over national defense, foreign relations, coinage and currency, and postal services are still the sole jurisdiction of the central government. The substate has jurisdiction only over other matters, except those jointly exercised by the substate and the central government. There is nothing to fear in this proposal, because the substate, as the name connotes, is still part of the Philippines. It has no army, except police and internal security forces, tasked to do policing within the substate. For those who do not grasp the concept of substate, let their mind swing to those countries which have federal system of government. A federation is characterized by a union of partially selfgoverning states or regions united by a central (federal) government. In a federation, the selfgoverning status of the component states is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of the central government. A federal system of government is the opposite of another system, the unitary state, which the Philippines is a typical example. This is the reason why the MILF is not openly advocating for a federal system of government in this country, because all the other areas or administrative divisions here do not want a federal system of government. The MILF respects that desire, but it also wants them not to stand against the desire of the Moros to live and run their lives under the aegis of a substate. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is a far cry from what the MILF envisions as a substate. The ARMM, contrary to its name, is not autonomous. A province or city is more power powerful than the ARMM. The recent postponement of the ARMM elections speaks loudly why this entity is not autonomous; it is controlled, nay dictated, by Manila. For those who said the Moros cannot run themselves, including Senator Francis Chiz Escudero, we say to them: Let them show it by giving them what they want. If they go to hell by their own making, so be it. They deserve no sympathy. After all, they have always been described as a problem not only to the Americans during colonial days but all succeeding Filipino administrations. In an editorial posted on Tuesday on its website (www.luwaran.com), the MILF said it would take responsibility for the success or failure of the proposed substate. The MILFs formula to solve the Moro Question in Mindanao is very simple Let the Moros run their affairs. Let them decide their own destiny. Let them succeed or self-destruct. Gone [are] the days when the government in Manila designed everything for them, the rebel group said.

Teodoro L. Locsin Jr.: The long broken onesided peace

20-Aug-11, 5:31 PM | Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. Popularity or peace? MILF spokesperson Michael Mastura said President Aquino has only those two choices. He can do the unpopular thing, which is bow for the sake of peace to the creation of a sub-state, though not for all Muslims and only for Murads and Masturas grouping within the MILF. Not for other MILF groups and not for the MNLF, which fought pitched battles against the government forces over three decades and involving thousands of combatants, as opposed to MILF skirmishes and ambushes. And not for democratically elected Muslim politicians; some of them were MNLF commanders in the great Moro war of secession that bloodied martial law before being defeated. He can do the unpopular thing to achieve peace with Murad and Mastura whom President Aquino will catapult to absolute, unelected and therefore illegal political power in Muslim Mindanao. There is no mention that the sub-state will hold democratic elections, and if it did, the authority of the Comelec to supervise what may be rigged or terrorized elections is not among those the sub-state will accept. The MILF at least admits this way would be unpopular. It would also be impeachable. Or, Noynoy can do the right thing, which is to throw the issue to the people of the Philippines and in particular to the inhabitants of Muslim Mindanao - both Muslim and Christian - because it involves several constitutional issues that require Charter change (as the Supreme Court has already ruled), as well as some issues which even Charter change cannot put aside. There is the matter, for example, of assuring everyone of Bill of Rights guarantees, e.g., freedom of speech, association, religion, democratic elections and equal protection mandating comprehensive and complete political, economic and social equality of Muslim women and Muslim men, not to mention Christians and Muslims. Not even Charter change can take those guarantees away. The Supreme Courts ruling does not mean that GMAs impeachable MOA containing the same sub-state idea would be constitutional if it was Pnoy who adopted the same idea. There is no difference between him and his predecessor, even if he claims a unique sincerity. One can be sincerely wrong and unconstitutional. In short, at best, Noynoy might commit to pursuing a constitutional amendment to adopt federalism across the board for all ethnic groups, particularly Muslim Mindanao, and guarantee democratic elections and ensure constitutional guarantees in all these federal units, including Muslim Mindanao. The sub-state arrangement must be across the board or it will flout equal protection. Why should Murad and Mastura enjoy political rights and privileges that someone like Emmanuel Piol will not also have? It is not as stark and simple-minded a choice as popularity or peace. In fact, if Noynoy is not intelligently advised, it is a choice between, on the one hand, capitulation, constitutional violation and impeachment or a justified coup detat and, on the other, standing by the Constitution and constitutional processes as he swore to do at his inauguration. And even if we take Masturas alternatives at face value, it is not a choice between popularity and peace because the government has in fact been at peacenot only with the MNLF whose leaders now enjoy democratic legitimacy by virtue of repeated electionbut even with the far smaller, more fractious and violent MILF which no government since Marcos, except President Estradas, has taken offensive operations against.

The MILF has been unceasingly at war with successive governments that have been at peace with it. This is why government troops are regularly ambushed, killed in the encounter or tortured to death if they surrender because our governments have refused to put our soldiers on a war footing in Muslim Mindanao. Soldiers are there in a purely defensive and containment mode. Only with an exasperated commander in chief, President Joseph Estrada, did government suspend the one-sided peace with the MILF. So, in case nobody else knows it except our soldiers who have been sitting ducks or fish in a barrel in Muslim Mindanao, there has been no war in Muslim Mindanao so far as all Philippine governments except Erapsbut including Noyswere concerned. That is why scores of Marines were helplessly massacred again in just a year of Noys watch when national attention was riveted by the media on the silliest topic one can imagine involving a man who looks nothing like George Clooney: his romantic life. Only the romantic life of a Prince William lookalike is news fit to be printed or broadcast. If our governments had been at war, as they should have been, the armed forces would have been in constant pursuit of the MILF, shelling their camps, isolating communities, destroying villages to save them as they said of Vietnam. That did not happen after Marcoswho defeated the MNLFand after President Estrada who ordered the Armed Forces to pound its way to Camp Abubakar, obliterating every hamlet and encampment on the way, culminating in a lechon served in a shattered mosque with the commander-in-chief no less dipping his hand in the liver sauce under a bullet-riddled crescent moon of tin. No, the choice is not popularity or peace because the government has been at peace with the MILF even if the MILF has been at war with the government without cease. The real choice is between the current one-sided peace and finally an all-out war which, believe it or not, our Armed Forces, such as they are, can successfully wage all the way to the extinction of the MILF with minimal collateral damage. We dont have the air force to destroy the MILF from the safety of the skies but we have more than enough infantry to harry them, corner them and end the insurgencyif we had again the president who stood up to the Chinese even before the Americans stood behind him instead of popping up in Tokyo totally unprepared except to say hello and inadvertently dignify the MILF with combatant status. Give the AFP the chance or keep their hands tied as they have been since Marcos left office. Those are the real choices: the current one-sided peace or giving the MILF a taste of its own medicine. Because any military cure here can never be worse than the disease of national fragmentation. An American president was shot for preserving the Union; a Philippine president who destroyed his countrys union would deserve to be shot twice at least. If President Aquino chooses to elevate the current one-sided peace into a complete capitulation to the MILF, then he faces not just unpopularity but impeachment and possibly a coup detat. If he chooses all-out war, then we face not an endless conflict but quite possibly a short one, as President Estrada showed, without the slightest prospect of defeat though possibly a very bloody victory. Look at the Final Solution of the Tamil Tiger insurgency. Now Sri Lanka has peace and it is still in one piece. By the way, along the daang-matuwid of all-out war, the non-MILF communities of Mindanao Christian, MNLF, democratically elected even if feudally disposed political families and groupingsshould be allowed to arm themselves for self-defense, and to serve as auxiliary forces complementing the regular as client states light infantry and cavalry contingents complemented Roman legions.

Sure, that was the idea behind arming the Ampatuans who, when you think of it, killed many journalists but allowed the part of Mindanao under their sway to live in peace. This is the same kind of peace that the MILF will impose in its all but sovereign territorydenying itself only the right to issue its own postage stamps. The real issue should be deconstructed to its elements such as, can the military face off with the MILF alone or is a paramilitary component important.? If the latter, can the paramilitary be disciplined to avoid abuses or is there a level of acceptable abuse for the sake of national integrity? The US Supreme Court demurred to decide on a not dissimilar issue in the war to preserve the Union. This is where the discussion should first be rather than the choice of complete capitulation and treason, on the one hand, or more of the same impotent peace that has proved so fatal to our hapless soldiers.

MANILA: Charter change (Cha-cha) is needed to accommodate the proposal of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for the establishment of a Mindanao sub-state, an administration lawmaker said on Tuesday. Congressman Rodolfo Farinas of Ilocos Norte province in Northern Luzon cited the urgent need to amend the Constitution if the MILF proposal is to be seriously considered by the government in its negotiations to bring peace and end decades-long war in Mindanao. Under our Constitution, there is no such thing as a sub-state, said Farinas, the deputy majority leader in the House of Representatives. In political law, there is a definition for a state but not of a sub-state. Farinas warned that even if Congress would approve a sub-state, its legality would be questioned before the Supreme Court (SC). He recalled that in 2008, the SC declared as unconstitutional a draft agreement between the government and the MILF calling for the establishment of an expanded Moro homeland in Mindanao under the concept of ancestral domain. In the same briefing, Congressman Tupay Loong of Sulu province also said he personally believes that instead of a sub-state, the government should seriously consider improving the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which is already in existence. Farinas and Loong were reacting to the disclosure on Tuesday of Mohagher Iqbal, the fronts chief peace negotiator, that the issue was raised during the secret meeting last week in Tokyo between President Benigno Noynoy Aquino and Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, the MILF chairman. Aquino also admitted on Monday that a Moro sub-state would need Congress approval after which this would be submitted to a plebiscite involving all the stakeholders as mandated by the Constitution.

Perryscope: The price of peace in Mindanao

Perry Diaz By Perry Diaz Recently, in a surprise move, President Benigno Aquino III traveled unannounced to Tokyo, Japan on a secret mission: to meet Al Haj Ebrahim Murad, the chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Although Aquinos aides later said that the secret meeting was just a tte--tte between the two leaders, the issue that brought them together is no secret. Its common knowledge that the MILF which splintered from the Muslim National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1977 has been fighting for the creation of an independent and sovereign nation carved out of Mindanao, which they claim to be their ancestral domain. But Murad told Aquino at that meeting that MILF was willing to abandon its demand for independence and would settle for a Bangsamoro sub-state. Peace process

And what exactly does a sub-state mean? That is a question that would be the focal point of the peace negotiation from here on, which I can sense would be as contentious, if not more contentious, than before. However, if the peace negotiation between the government and the MILF is not going to bear fruit soon, the issue could escalate into open warfare in Mindanao just like what happened several times in the past. Before Aquino decided to meet Murad in Tokyo, the ceasefire pact between the government and MILF signed 10 years ago was tenuous and shaky. However, there seems to be a mutual attempt to maintain a peaceful coexistence. In a way, the MILF is exercising a certain degree of unofficial or de facto autonomy of the area it occupies. And while the peace negotiation is going on albeit at a turtle pace Mindanao is relatively peaceful except for occasional ceasefire violations. Now that Aquino has gotten himself directly involved in the peace negotiation, suddenly the laissez faire politics that has dominated the peace process for three decades is now on the wayside. With Aquino on the drivers seat in the peace process, he revealed that his administration is working out the details of the creation of a Bangsamoro sub-state. Whoa! Slow down Mr. President. Driving a twin-turbo Porsche at top speed to reach a peace accord might be dangerously fast; but flying an F-16 at supersonic speed could be suicidal. Your predecessor former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo tried to fast track the creation of a

Bangsamoro homeland at warp speed and failed. Are you sure you want to repeat the same mistake? Bangsamoro Judicial Entity 2008 In my article, What Price Peace (PerryScope, September 9, 2008), I wrote: In her fervent desire to have peace in Mindanao, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo went to the extent of secretly forging an agreement that would virtually cede a huge portion of Philippine territory to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The treaty would have expanded the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) into a virtual state within a state replete with all the functions and authority of a sovereign and independent state. But, in a twist of fate, the day before the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) last August 5, 2008 in Malaysia, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order in response to several petitions claiming that the treaty was unconstitutional. What followed next was a tragedy of error that cost lives and property in Mindanao. In the aftermath of the public uproar over the attempt to partition the country, Gloria decided to scrap the controversial MOA-AD. She also dissolved the governments peace panel negotiating with the MILF. Basically, its back to square one for the peace process. And, worst, Mindanao is now in a virtual state of war or, to be more precise, a civil war between Muslim Filipinos and Christian Filipinos. In reaction, Mohaqher Iqbal, the MILFs chief peace negotiator declared, The peace process is now in purgatory. Bangsamoro sub-state 2011 If Aquino is going to create a Bangsamoro sub-state, how will it differ from Glorias Bangsamoro Judicial Entity? Aquinos solution to that was to remove the provisions of the substate that are deemed unconstitutional. But Mr. President, the idea of a sub-state or a state within a state is by itself, unconstitutional. Weve gone through that before and its very likely that the Supreme Court would take a hard look at its constitutionality again. Marvic Leonen, the governments peace panel chairman, hinted that a Bangsamoro sub-state is not feasible. However, he said that the government is looking at a one-year timetable to seal a peace agreement with the MILF. But the MILF negotiator, Michael Mastura, said that MILF would not settle for anything less than a sub-state, which he described as similar in political structure to those of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland who have their own governments but remain within the framework of the United Kingdom. And to make his point crystal clear, Mastura said that if they were not granted a sub-state, the MILF would revert to its old position, which calls for secession. MNLF and ARMM In 2001, RA 9054 was passed to expand the autonomy of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which was created in 1989. However, the new law states that ARMM shall remain an integral and inseparable part of the national territory of the Republic. MNLF claims that the new law violated the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) signed between the government and MNLF in 1996 both in letter and spirit. In November 2007, the first tripartite meeting among representatives of the Philippine government, MNLF, and the 57-member-state Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The tripartite meeting served as the mechanism to resolve the kinks and weaknesses in the FPA. Last February 2011, at the fourth tripartite meeting in Jeddah, the Philippine government and MNLF agreed to an amendatory bill, which will be introduced in the Philippine Congress for

early adoption. The tripartite meeting also welcomed the creation of the Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund (BDAF). Price of peace The ideal thing to do is to expand the FPA to include MILF. But this is easier said than done. However, if Aquino is going to pursue a separate treaty with MILF without involving or consulting MNLF, the political dynamics in Mindanao could dramatically change. The real challenge for Aquino would be how to bring MILF and MNLF together within the framework of ARMM. That was the spirit of the law creating ARMM. The Presidents meeting with the MILF chairman was indeed a great leap forward. However, it remains to be seen what direction it would take? Will it lead to the creation of an autonomous Bangsamoro sub-state, exclusive of MNLF and separate from ARMM? Or, will it unify MILF and MNLF under the aegis of ARMM and bring peace to Mindanao?

Nothing less than substate for peace deal, says MILF

By Mario J. Mallari 08/17/2011 The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) insisted yesterday that any agreement less than its proposed Bangsamoro substate will not address the decades-long Mindanao conflict as the group indicated that the substate proposal would be the least it can offer at the bargain table in terms of autonomy when it negotiates peace with the government in Kuala Lumpur late this month. MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, however, maintained there is nothing definite in any negotiations just like the ongoing peace process with the government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). We are not talking of non-negotiable because in any negotiation you cannot say that. What I can say is that (Bangsamoro substate) is the least form of self-governance that can really address the problem in Mindanao, said Iqbal. Short of that will not resolve the problem because the government of the Philippines will continue to decide what will happen, so that is not good, he added. The proposed sub-state was personally discussed by MILF chieftain Al Haj Murad to president Aquino during their secret meeting in Japan last Aug. 4. Earlier, former President Estrada cautioned the government from entertaining the idea of a Bangsamoro sub-state, stressing that if not handled with caution, it may border on treason. Estrada stressed that peace must be attained but not at the cost of the territorial integrity. During his time, Estrada ordered the military to launch an all-out war against the MILF that virtually wiped out the secessionist group. More than 20 MILF camps all over Mindanao were captured by the military, including the sprawling Camp Abubakar, the MILFs main camp straddling the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao and Cotabato. Reports describe the sub-state as one that will exercise powers over its political and economic affairs and enforce security within the Bangsamoro territory. While it will remain under the Republic of the Philippines, it would have asymmetrical relations with the national government, similar to Hong Kongs relations with China and will have the unique position of having its own responsibility in governing Bangsamoro lands. Iqbal took a swipe at former North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Pinol and Zambaonga City Mayor Celso Lobregat, who both questioned the MILFs reference to the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain in the ongoing peace negotiations even after the Supreme Court junked the MOA-AD as unconstitutional. The MILF admitted that the proposed Bangsamoro sub-stae is just a reframed version of the MOA-AD. Pinol, who was among those petitioned against the MOA-AD in 2008, earlier vowed to return to the SC to seek clarification.

State lawyers in oral arguments yesterday also asked the Supreme Court (SC) to dismiss petitions filed by the opposition questioning the suspension of the elections of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao as they rejected any supposed links between the shelving of the elections and the recent secret meeting between Aquino and MILF spokesman Al Haj Murad in Tokyo. Solicitor General Joel Cadiz asked the court to dismiss the consolidated petitions led by House minority leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman seeking to nullify R.A. 10153 or the law synchronizing the ARMM polls to the May 2013 mid-term national elections. In his last State of the Nation Address, President Aquino said the need to synchronize the elections is meant to keep costs down and to prevent using the vote-rich area as a staging point for cheating in national elecitons. Cadiz insisted there is nothing illegal or unconstitutional in the postponement of the polls and the power of President Aquino to appoint officers-in-charge in ARMM, contesting the argument of Lagman that appointment of ARMM officials is not within the power of the President vested under section 16, article VII of the constitution. The President can reset the elections in ARMM and appoint OICs since he is authorized by Congress, he argued. Cadiz has downplayed as speculative the point raised by Rep. Lagman in the previous hearing on purported link between President Aquinos recent meeting with the MILF in Tokyo, Japan and the postponement of ARMM polls. The meeting in Tokyo between the leadership of the MILF and the President was a meeting between people of good will, people who want to talk and people who want to show sincerity to each other. Let us not put any other meaning on that, he appealed. The solicitor general stressed that any possible change in the structure and the composition of the constituent units of ARMM as a result of a negotiation or a peace agreement with MILF would anyway be subject to a plebiscite. It will be good that it will happen even before the 2013 elections if the postponement of the elections would be validly upheld, he said, adding that the next meeting of the peace panel and MILF has been set on Aug. 22. Last week, Rep. Lagman argued before the court that the mandate of elective officials should come from the people and allowing the President to substitute to this power of the electorate could set a dangerous scenario. The lawmaker stressed that even if the appointment would be just transitory, the law is strict in providing that elective officials should be chosen by people. Lagman further alleged that the grounds for the appointment were maliciously devised by the administration so they can appoint OICs in ARMM. Sen. Francis Escudero, meanwhile, said the supposed plan by Bangsamoro groups to declare him persona non-grata in Mindanao was well within their rights, but challenged them to first check the veracity of statements being falsely attributed to him. Escudero has voted against the postponement of the election in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), originally scheduled for Aug. 8, because of conflicting provisions and the absence of mechanism on the selection of officers-in-charge, whose appointments rest solely on the Executive Department.

The senator strongly believes that Malacaang should give Mindanao, particularly the ARMM, the free hand to choose its own leaders and without military intervention. According to the senator, sensitive issues in Mindanao should not be debated on the basis of lies, but rather on their merits, inclusivity and constitutionality. Pointing out rooms for improvements in the peace process do not equate to being anti-Muslim, he said.