Gov’t hopes OIC team will have better understanding of Mindanao

Government officials expressed hopes that the fact-finding mission of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which is arriving today, would have a better understanding of the Mindanao situation as its members tour the island to assess the condition of Muslims there and the implementation of the 1996 peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr. earlier had admitted that the government has not yet fully implemented the peace pact with the MNLF.

"There is no such thing as perfect implementation, right? But we have nothing to hide. (The mission will come) because they heard two versions of how the (peace agreement is being) implemented. One is perfect, while the other is the exact opposite. The truth must be in the middle," Siazon said.

The mission, whose members will be split into two groups, will conduct its evaluation Oct. 16-23 in various areas in Mindanao.

Indonesia chairs the mission, with Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia and Brunei as members. These countries, except Brunei, comprise the OIC team monitoring the implementation of the peace pact.

The OIC decided to send the fact-finding team after getting conflicting reports from National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Nur Misuari on the implementation of the peace agreement during the OIC Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur last June.

The mission will submit a report during the OIC meeting in Doha, Qatar next month.

But despite the negative feedback the Philippines might possibly get from the OIC’s special mission, Siazon said it is better for the OIC, which was a party to the peace accord from the start of the negotiations, to see for itself the problems in enforcing the agreement.

"(If the results are unfavorable), why are you afraid of that? If the reality is seen on the ground that the government has its shortcomings, fine. We will see how it can be improved. But this is an exercise in good faith, at least from the Philippine government’s side. They also will understand our constraints," Siazon said.