EDITORIAL - Limits of a peace pact

Even before the Aquino administration has inked a preliminary peace agreement with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, government forces are already confronting a new separatist threat: the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. The BIFF is led by Ameril Umbra Kato, who headed the MILF unit that staged deadly raids on villages in Cotabato and Maguindanao after the group failed to sign the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain with the Arroyo administration three years ago.

Since then Kato has refused to subject himself to disciplinary action by the MILF leadership. Last year he formed the BIFF and staged attacks on government and civilian targets, raising the prospect of prolonged violence even if the government manages to forge a peace agreement with the MILF.

During the separatist rebellion waged by the Moro National Liberation Front, disgruntled members broke away and formed the MILF. The MNLF forged a peace agreement with the Marcos administration in Tripoli, and then had to renegotiate the terms after the collapse of the dictatorship. But even after a formal agreement was signed by the MNLF with the administration of Fidel Ramos in 1996, the MILF stayed away, gathering strength and collaborating with extremists belonging to the Abu Sayyaf and Southeast Asian terror cell Jemaah Islamiyah.

Today it looks like it’s the turn of the MILF to see its group break up. Ignored by Kato, the MILF leadership has threatened to expel him and expose him to government assault. But weren’t government troops already hunting down Kato?

Perhaps MILF commanders can still bring Kato back into their fold, and the government won’t end up forging peace with a group that has lost control of its members. MILF infighting, like its rift with the MNLF, shows the limitations of a peace agreement in bringing actual peace and development to a conflict zone.

While pursuing peace with the MILF, the Aquino administration should intensify its development efforts in the conflict areas of Mindanao, improving basic services, enforcing the law and keeping the public safe, delivering good governance and providing social justice. When these elements are present, insurgencies become irrelevant.