The solution was always there

Yesterday I wrote “The only way out” for what seems an intractable problem: how to achieve peace with Muslims in Mindanao while ensuring the unity of the Philippine nation. It was not intractable, or indeed, a problem beyond solving.

The solution was always there except for the shortsightedness of a few wealthy and powerful Filipinos. A parliamentary government had been long wished by brilliant Filipinos as far back as the Malolos constitution who saw the dangers of too much power vested on a president. It lost by one vote during the 1987 Constitution. Those who protected the status quo of our presidential system have a lot to answer for because the system led to the election of an incompetent and reckless president.

 A shift to parliamentary federal was a threat to their privileges. It used clever machinations to frustrate constitutional reform that would have satisfied the need for collective leadership and political and cultural freedom for smaller communities within a national structure.

This could have led to negotiations for a draft acceptable to the entire Filipino nation whether from Luzon or Mindanao, Christian or Muslim.

But we must move on. Despite Mamasapano the solution is to retrace those steps, go back to the negotiating table and find our way to live together in peace and united as a nation.

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In many ways, the Philippines can learn from the experience of Spain. It was composed of several kingdoms until the monarchs Ferdinand and Isabela united it at the dawn of the modern era by conquering the Muslim kingdom of Granada and completing the Christian re-conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.

Under the monarchs it had a parliamentary form of government centralized in Madrid. When the monarchy was overthrown and a Republican government installed, Spain enjoyed some degree of regional autonomy.

When the Republicans were defeated by the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, Gen. Francisco Franco reversed the gains in regional autonomy and Spain reverted to being a highly centralized state. He abolished the regional government bodies and enacted measures against the use of the Basque and Catalan languages. He removed all vestiges of parliamentary democracy by outlawing political parties and eliminating universal suffrage.

His authoritarian rule characterized by a strong degree of control and repression produced a counter-reaction. In the Basque region, it gave birth to the terrorist organization ETA which plagued Spain up to the restoration of democracy.

The Spaniards realized they could no longer continue with a highly centralized system.

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Federalism as an option for unity in diversity should be revived. To the MILF, it must consider other groups that make up Muslim Mindanao.

I would never have been able to see the enthusiasm of our fellow Muslim citizens until I saw for myself their enthusiasm for constitutional reform that would have granted them a federal state within the national ambit. I wrote the column “Standing Ovation for Cha-Cha in Marawi City” on May 12, 2006.

“I am glad I came here otherwise I would never have overcome my fear of Muslim land in our country. Inured as I was in tales of its terrorism and grief it was with some trepidation that I ventured in what has been made out to be danger zone. It was a lovely ride breezing through zigzagging mountain roads on one side and the calm waters of Lake Lanao on the other. The ride itself was a little over two hours but it was well worth it for its beauty alone.”

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Here was a different world and a different culture. The temper of the symposium in the Lanao Provincial Social Hall was quickly set.

A charismatic ulama captivated the crowd in a single phrase. “it was here that the advocacy for federalism in the Philippines was born.” Yes, he said we are for Charter change if it will mean we will be able to live according to our Muslim culture and tenets.

“We are for it 100 percent” he said and at that moment the audience rose to its feet and applauded.

He talked about the hundreds of thousands who have died for that cause but if Charter change could bring about a peaceful resolution of the conflict so be it. He immediately sponsored a resolution expressing that support and seconded unanimously with raised hands by a passionate Muslim audience. Alas, the lights suddenly went out but the symposium continued without microphones.

Everyone, both the commissioners and the audience of Muslim mayors, barangay captains, NGOs and others just kept going, talking, asking questions, remonstrating as they do not care if there was a blackout in this much neglected region.

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At the end of the symposium, a little man came forward to tell me, ‘not to forget the restoration of the 16 sultanates’ as well. This just shows you how varied the audience was. It was then I realized that the future, the present and the past were all heaving in motion in that packed hall. He was referring to historical Maguindanao when it was a Muslim state that ruled parts of the island of Mindanao. Its influence ranged from Zamboanga to the bay of Sarangani. There was a time when the sultanate ruled in the entire island and other smaller neighboring islands. His request was something else but it was clear that the culture and way of life that came about during that rule is still there among the descendants of the early Muslims. 

I reminded them that this desire for federalism as a way out of ethnic conflict was not just in Mindanao but in many parts of the world. It is now seen as the response to bring about unity among diverse peoples as well as how to govern effectively huge populations in modern times.

The essence of a federal system of government is simply the division of political power between a central or national authority and smaller, locally autonomous units such as provinces or states under the terms of a constitution. So the concept of a genuinely autonomous Muslim region in the Philippines was not a strange or merely local issue.

It is well known by those who care to know that federalism is regarded by both Muslim and Christian reformers as the answer, the very last card, to safeguard against separatism. In that hall, I understood how ardently peoples want to protect their identities even as they live in diverse communities and empower themselves to take charge of their future.

The Bangsa Moro must be given their autonomy but it must be within the Constitution for the entire country for parliamentary federal government. Bayanko and Bangsamoro plead for the cause to unite for peace in the Philippines.