Gov’t open to greater autonomy for Muslims

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza said yesterday the government is open to granting greater autonomy and capability for "self-determination" to people in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), even to the extent of allowing them to have their own constitution.

Briefing media practitioners during the first multisectoral media dialogue on the peace process here, Dureza said the government has conveyed this openness in a letter to Muslim leaders last Nov. 9.

"We are offering an opportunity for self-determination to the Bangsamoro people to craft what they want in their justice and educational systems, anything conforming to their Koran precepts," he said.

Dureza said Muslims in the ARMM could even hold their own constitutional convention for their own constitution and "live their lives the way they want."

He said the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) perceives the present autonomy of the ARMM as inadequate.

Dureza, however, said the government would insist that the expanded autonomous Muslim region be still under "one flag, one armed forces, one foreign affairs policy, and one currency" with the rest of the country.

He said the granting of greater autonomy for the ARMM, with its own charter, would need congressional legislation.

The expanded autonomous region, according to Dureza, could cover the same areas under the present ARMM — Shariff Kabunsuan, Maguindanao, Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Marawi City.

There have been suggestions to refer to the autonomous area as Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, but Dureza said this is just a temporary term since the people affected are the ones who would decide on the proposal.

Dureza said the process for greater autonomy could take off in 2010 since local elections are likely to be held next year, and that the winners will be holding office up to 2010.

He said the proposal merely serves as a "roadmap" for the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and is "not an official government position," stressing the need for the Muslim population to accept and support the proposal.

Dureza, however, admitted difficulties in realizing the proposal due to factions among Muslim communities in the South. 

The MILF seems inclined to widen the scope of the autonomous region without the benefit of a plebiscite, he said.

Without revealing details of the new government proposal, Muhaquer Iqbal, chairman of the MILF peace panel, was quoted by the front’s website (www.luwaran.com) as saying that the new offer was "too good for the eyes to see" and should be "studied meticulously."

Iqbal said the MILF central committee and peace panel began its consultations on the new proposal yesterday.

"This time we shall come out with a definite position," he said.

Dureza said the government has continued to integrate MNLF members into the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police as an alternative to the government’s disarmament efforts in the face of terrorist threats.

So far, at least 7,500 MNLF members have been integrated into the military and the national police, he said.

Meanwhile, Dureza said the government remains open to peace negotiations with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) which unilaterally suspended the talks in August 2004.

"The door may be closed but it is not locked," he said.

Still, the government continues to provide assistance to communist rebels who have returned to mainstream society, he said.

According to Dureza, 40,277 rebel returnees have been given "immediate assistance" amounting to P77.43 million, in addition to P307.62 million in livelihood assistance extended to 38,336 more former guerrillas.

Dureza said his office is making moves to help people in barangays where the CPP-NPA is known to be active.

About 600 such barangays are now the beneficiaries of the government’s Kalayaan Barangay Program.

Some of these barangays have been declared "peace zones and sanctuaries" by their residents themselves, he said.

— With John Unson