Rep. GMA to push Mindanao peace

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo bared yesterday some of her legislative priorities when she assumes her new post as congresswoman of the second district of Pampanga, which would include measures to promote lasting peace in Mindanao.

“When I became president, I declared a policy of all-out peace in Mindanao. As president, I have fought every day in office to bring that peace to that great island. I will continue to do so until the last minute of my term as president and maybe even beyond. As congresswoman I will file the bills that I feel are needed in order to bring just and lasting peace in Mindanao,” Mrs. Arroyo said before a meeting of international peace negotiators at the New World Hotel in Makati City.

Mrs. Arroyo was the guest of honor and speaker at the close of the two-day roundtable dialogue with international negotiators jointly sponsored by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

Mrs. Arroyo said she would file a bill in Congress calling for a policy review towards an enhanced autonomy in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to fully realize the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people.

“It will be an enhanced autonomy, that’s one very basic bill that we will file,” she told reporters after her speech.

To bring the country closer to the completion of the peace process, she said various agreements have been signed over the last nine years with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), including those with bearing on the ongoing peace negotiations facilitated by Malaysia and the 2003 ceasefire which holds until today.

“What is needed now is recognition by all parties that a political settlement will transform the peace on the ground to a permanent and just peace, and lead to better economic prospects and a brighter future for the people of Mindanao, That is the best result for everyone,” the President said in her speech.

She said the individual experiences shared by the international negotiators in the conference are timely in helping find a solution to the decades-old problem in Mindanao.

“Mindanao is poised for peace. Whether we achieve it in the near future remains to be seen. For sure, there is more work to be done, but the efforts we have made over the last nine years have brought us closer to achieving long-term peace in the region,” she said.

The foreign speakers included former Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who helped resolve several conflicts in Indonesia; Ireland’s Gerry Kelly, who played a key role in successful negotiations between the British government and the Irish Republican Army; Dr. Nureldin Satti, who helped bring peace in Sudan and Burundi; Prof. Omar Dajani, who participated in the negotiations between Israel and Palestine; and Aceh Gov. Irwandi Yusuf, who played a key role in the signing of the Helsinki peace talks between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Annabelle Abaya and government peace panel chief Ambassador Rafael Seguis also attended as representatives of the Philippines.

Mrs. Arroyo said since 2001, her administration has worked hard to bring peace and development to Mindanao to tap its potentials as the country’s food basket.

“We are making small but important steps toward long-term peace. We always knew from day one that this is a process that will take time and patience but what is important is that we are continuing to make progress in the right direction,” the President said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Edgardo Angara called for a reform oriented Congress since the next administration faces daunting challenges from 2010 to 2016.

Angara said whoever would lead us during that period will be crucial to our progress, if not our very survival.

“I’d like to be able to influence the agenda and make it reform oriented. At every Congress that opens, I always take the lead in suggesting that the incoming leader adopt an agenda because I don’t want us struggling throughout the three-year period,” said Angara, the longest serving incumbent senator.

Angara said he is contented being a regular senator but he wants a significant role in the formulation of policies that will bring the country to progress and good financial standing.

“I’d like to see a more systematic and a more purposeful discussion of public policy and I’d like a public policy that is of national significance,” said Angara, chairman of the Senate’s finance committee.

Angara also suggested that the next Congress should give priority to legislation and policy that can direct the country to economic growth.

Leading an emerging majority bloc at the Senate, Angara has been pushing for key reforms in governance, arts and culture, education, science and technology, and finance and banking. With Christina Mendez