Affair with the Rebels

Deals and concessions were made with armed groups in Mindanao in the interest of lasting peace, at least during the period of presidential incumbency. The pact with Nur Misuari and his Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that granted autonomy to certain regions in Mindanao had resulted to peace. That was until a new armed group called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a breakaway group from the MNLF, with the same separatist agenda became notoriously prominent. Current and ongoing negotiations with the MILF by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) is believed to  be heading positively towards another peace, but even before the framework agreement is forged, a new breakaway armed group from the MILF emerges and become known as the Bangsa Moro Freedom Fighters (BIFF). The latter demands independence from GRP which is more radical and directly challenges the GRP’s existing laws. Analyzing the mutations and evolution of the separatist rebels, one may realize that the people and sub-groups composing them do not share the same ideals and conviction. In terms of objectives there is no synergy and cohesion. There is no true leadership. They are divided even before they become one. They only use each other as a force multiplier. Some are prepared to compromise and some can go to extremism. Majority envisioned power and wealth that autonomy and independence may bring. Most are obsessed with the power from the barrel of the gun which is perceived to be better and less unproductive than sitting around and doing nothing amid unemployment. The multiplication and division of the rebel factions display the fact that the objectives and aspirations of the rebel groups in Mindanao is multi-faceted, complex, personal and unrepresentative. That is, no matter how many concessions and agreements are signed, the Mindanao conflict will continue because what is being appeased is a minute portion of the population who happens to be armed and who have shown willingness to die for what their leaders made them believe is worth dying. Let no one forget that the Mindanao unarmed populations, Muslims and Christians alike have their own agenda and aspiration for Mindanao. They are the peaceful and silent majority who choose not to voice their dreams and hopes through the use of arms, but rather had put their fate, trust and confidence to their elected leaders. What they have seen in the past decades up to now is the lack of political will to implement and enforce the law. What they have seen is the forever dilly-dallying of the GRP in dealing with the Mindanao problem. The GRP’s capacity to hear, only and only the voices of the small but rough population that carries and fires a gun. They have witnessed the failure of the GRP to ask what the people of Mindanao really wanted. They have seen the lack of firmness to obtain and assert the sovereign will. The layers and layers of peace agreement will eventually put Mindanao into a splintered state. More than ever Mindanao will be divided and ideals will continue to collide and power play will result to more conflicts, fighting, death and destruction. The GRP must and should re-examine its policy in the light of the existing laws. It must not allow its laws to end as subservient to the threat of violence and intimidation. To achieve and gain respect from the population of Mindanao and the entire Philippines for that matter it must respect its own laws, assert them and enforce them first and foremost before entering into any agreement. It must not enter into any agreement that would ultimately set a precedent that armed rebellion is the only means to change or the only venue where the people’s voices can be heard. No, that is not how a Republican state works. Those who aspire for change through violence must surrender their arms and answer for their crimes. The GRP on the other hand should conduct a referendum to get the pulse and aspiration of the whole population. If the referendum exhibits and represents the sovereign will, the GRP should validate its constitutionality and legality. Accordingly, policies on this basis should be formulated and implemented regardless of whose incumbency may come its way. Any armed group that will challenge the sovereign will must be crushed and be made to answer before the laws of the land. The road to peace is elusive because the policy is short-term and founded not on the laws but on convenience.