MANILA, Philippines - [UPDATED 10:05 PM] As the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) began using the term “sub-state” again to embody their demands for political settlement, President Benigno Aquino III has reminded the government peace panel to push for an agreement "that is within the powers of the Executive to deliver."
"The instructions of President Benigno Aquino III remain the same. The government wants an agreement that will address the roots of conflict and is within the powers of the executive to deliver," presidential peace adviser Teresita Deles said on Sunday.
The rebel group said at its official website, meanwhile, that a peace agreement to end over four decades of Moro rebellion in Mindanao could be reached by March this year if the autonomy formula that government offered responds to the Bangsamoro right to self-determination.
The government and the MILF panels are scheduled to meet in Kuala Lumpur from January 9 to 11 to follow through on substantive discussions. Deles said the government panel, led by chief Marvic Leonen, is aware of the President's desire to have a final peace pact signed "early within Mr. Aquino's term."
This, she said, “will allow us to put in place proper implementation of the peace agreement, including monitoring mechanisms.”
Deles added, “Without short cuts or quick fixes, our panel is working hard to reach a peace agreement with the MILF at the soonest possible time.”
Ahead of the meeting in Malaysia, MILF chief negotiator Mohaqher Iqbal said they will "zero in on the elements of a sub-state" during the talks. "If that will be followed by the Philippine government, there is going to be the signing (of a peace agreement)... We will detail the powers, the basic powers, basic elements of a substate," Iqbal said.
The last time both parties met in Kuala Lumpur, the MILF was no longer using the term sub-state. The government has offered enhanced autonomy as a viable political solution to the MILF.
MILF: peace pact possible in March if...
The rebel group's declaration in its website Sunday about a peace agreement possibly being reached by March this year heightens the expectations of what will come out of Kuala Lumpur beginning Monday when the peace panels of government and the MILF convene for a three-day formal meeting.
Based on the parties’ joint statement last month, their recent meeting is geared at “the continuation of discussions on the substantive issues” of the peace negotiations with the view of “crafting a framework agreement.”
“Surely, the MILF is as excited as the government in ending this negotiation in March this year. If the two parties can do it in such a short period, why not do it. It is good for everybody, including the international community,” read a statement posted in the rebel group’s official website.
The MILF said it would scrutinize the details of government’s autonomy formula for a future Bangsamoro self-governance entity.
“If the government is really truthful to what autonomy and right to self-determination (RSD) are all about, then the March timeline is very easy to achieve,” the MILF said.
Under the Malaysian-facilitated peace negotiations since 2001, the MILF dropped its bid for independence and opted for an Islamic self-governance within the framework of the Philippine state.
Much of the renewed optimism with the Mindanao peace process is through the parties’ December 5-7, 2011 meeting.
For the first time, the rebel group revealed that during that meeting, “the two parties agreed in principle (on) some 11 points on various issues and concerns.”
A major consensus “is for the establishment of autonomy in the future Moro sub-state...”
However, the MILF wants this autonomy to be “a range above the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which it said is simply an “administrative region.”
The MILF further said that it wants to also see government’s 3-for-1 formula essentially shape up into “territorial autonomy” and veer away from the failed formula of Moro integration.
15th year
The MILF considers 2012 a “crucial year in peace talks.”
It views the government’s goal as “a bold step towards closing the final chapter of what otherwise is a long peace-making process in Mindanao.”
Peace negotiations with Moro rebels has usually been an on-and-off fashion. In 1976, government inked the Tripoli Agreement of Peace with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), but it took 20 years for both parties to agree on a modality of implementation.
The 15-year peace process with the MILF, which began in January 7, 1997, was also interrupted by the outbreak of three major wars.
The negotiations has now spanned through four presidencies. “It is time to arrest the long journey to peace and conclude it right away,” the MILF said.
Meanwhile, presidential peace adviser Teresita Deles expressed optimism 2012 will be “the year for peace” in the country.
Through the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (Pamana) program of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), the national government has earmarked some P1.2 billion for postconflict development initiatives in conflict-affected villages throughout the country. Of this, some P700 million is intended for the ARMM.
“The year 2011 was a rollercoaster. We were up many times and we were also down and under many times – but the solution is to always not allow ourselves to stay down,” Deles said. Reports from Chichi Conde, Ria Rose Uro
