No better peace pact than 1996 RP-MNLF agreement, says FVR

DAVAO CITY — Former President Fidel Ramos defended yesterday the peace agreement between the government and the secessionist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) during the commemoration here of the 10th anniversary of the peace pact.

"I do not think we could have forged a better peace agreement than the one forged on September 2, 1996," Ramos told reporters here upon arrival for the anniversary rites marking 10 years of the final peace agreement that was forged under the former president’s term.

Ramos said even the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which helped broker the peace pact, cited the accord’s distinct feature that allowed the integration of at least 8,000 MNLF rebels into the military and police.

The peace agreement, which was signed in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, ended years of armed conflict brought about by the quest of the separatists in exchange for a limited autonomy.

However, MNLF leaders demanded amendments to some provisions of Republic Act 9054 that created the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Abdul Sahrin, a member of the MNLF central committee, said RA 9054 has rendered the peace agreement useless.

The peace pact sought the establishment of Muslim autonomous areas in 10 cities and 14 provinces which were specified in the 1976 Tripoli Agreement signed by representatives of Libya and the Philippines on Dec. 23, 1976.

The ARMM now is composed only of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Marawi City as a result of a plebiscite held in 2001.

"The political, administrative and geographical structures of the expanded ARMM are supposed to be attuned to what were stated in the peace accord, which aims to provide Mindanao’s Moro communities with genuine and meaningful autonomy," Sahrin said.

Cotabato City Mayor Muslimen Sema, the MNLF’s secretary-general, said RA 9054 "abrogated" the peace agreement and superseded the supposed cooperation between the government and the MNLF.

"It seems genuine autonomy, for which we traded our cause for independence, can only be a dream for us. With RA 9054, the fate of genuine autonomy has been sealed and all the major things we have agreed (in the truce) have been rendered useless," Sema said in a statement.

Ramos said the OIC has never seen a peace agreement that involved the integration of former mujahedeens into the military or the police, which is a big achievement, and after so many years no integree has abused his being in government service.

He said the peace settlement opened the door for foreign donor countries and agencies to undertake projects for the welfare of the more than 10 million residents of the ARMM.

Ramos also acknowledged certain problems in the implementation of the peace accord as the MNLF accused the government of reneging on its part of the bargain.

"No matter how beautiful the peace agreement is, it is still up to those on the ground to implement it accordingly," he said.

Ramos said the MNLF has been complaining of their lack of representation in key areas in government and also for not being consulted on certain matters affecting the implementation of the remaining phase of the peace accord particularly on RA 9054 that created the ARMM.

The former president favors the amendment of certain provisions in the peace settlement.

Ramos conceded that in order for government to also forge a final peace agreement with the other rebel group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), certain provisions in the 1996 peace accord have to be amended.

"What should be done in order to keep up with what is happening? An amendatory law should be passed pertaining to that matter," he said.

Ramos cited the provisions on the ancestral domain which remained to be the most contentious issue in the ongoing peace negotiation with the MILF.

The government and the MILF negotiating panels have yet to resume formal talks which were stalled in 2001 due to the unresolved issue on ancestral domain.

He said the ancestral domain issues with the MILF have to be reconciled with the existing Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA).

Ramos likewise said that certain events such as the 1997 Asian fiscal crisis and the emergence of the international terrorist networks like the al-Qaeda and the Jemaah Islamiyah had also affected the effective implementation of the 1996 peace agreement.

"The situation has changed compared to 10 years ago. So, we also have to keep up with that change," Ramos added. — With John Unson