- European envoys who traveled to Mindanao prior to the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro note the improved peace and order situtation in the area.
- A Bangsamoro political entity will replace the ARMM by 2016.
- The European envoys note Mindanao’s potential for economic growth.
Belgian Ambassador Roland Van Remoortele had been to Mindanao before. It was a different Mindanao then, he said, as a small group of reporters and diplomats watched him flip through the pictures on his phone. On the small screen the group saw photos of the ambassador on-board a military vehicle or being escorted by heavily-armed soldiers.
“I remember traveling 15 years ago surrounded by bodyguards and armored personnel carriers… Now, apart from the little van, (we had) a few military escorts this afternoon. It was very peaceful. You’ve come a long way already,” he told INQUIRER.net after a meeting with the Bangsamoro Transition Commission in Cotabato City.
More than a dozen years ago, amid the inking of the final peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), parts of the region remained in turmoil as unresolved conflict with other local groups such as the breakaway Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) remained.
Like his fellow ambassadors, Remoortele returned to the region to see, with his own eyes, if the new peace accord with the MILF was already bearing fruit.
On April 25, a month after the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), a group of envoys from the European Union (EU) headed to Mindanao to meet the stakeholders in the peace process.
How is the Bangsamoro proposal being received by the people? Is it enough to address the inequities that caused conflict to arise in the first place? Are the institutions well-equipped to implement the transition? These were just some of the questions that the participants of the EU mission sought to answer.
The EU delegation included ambassadors Guy Ledoux of the European Union, Thomas Ossowski of Germany, Massimo Roscigno of Italy, Josef Muellner of Austria, and Roland Van Remoortele of Belgium; Chargé d’Affaires Trevor Lewis of the British Embassy and Mihai Sion of the Romanian Embassy; deputy ambassadors Hugues-Antoine Suin of France and Jan Vytopil of the Czech Republic, and Senior Program Manager of Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines Carlos Gallego. They were joined by several EU staff, journalists and aid workers.
The death of ARMM
After arriving at Awang Airport in Cotabato City on April 25, the diplomats were whisked to a luncheon meeting with officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Atty. Laisa Alamia, Executive Secretary of the ARMM, presented to the visitors a comprehensive report on what the local government had already achieved and what they were aiming for before the establishment of the Bangsamoro political entity.
“By 2015, after the plebiscite, the Bangsamoro will be set up, ARMM will be replaced and we will step down,” she said, explaining that only those under the civil service will be retained by the Bangsamoro.
Alamia said their efforts are now focused on campaigns to promote the CAB and to ready ARMM’s turnover of projects to the future Bangsamoro government.
She said the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), which is mandated to lead development programs in the region, has been invited in their activities so transition would be easier.
“There will be proper turnover of the administration (of the region),” Alamia assured the diplomats.
Under the CAB, a Bangsamoro autonomous political entity will replace the ARMM by 2016. Authorities have assured the public that it is not an Islamic state but will be presided over by a ministerial form of government.
The provinces under ARMM will be included in the establishment of the new region, which may encompass Marawi City, Cotabato City, Isabela City, six municipalities of Lanao del Norte (Baloi, Munai, Nunungan, Pantar, Tagoloan and Tangkal) and villages (under the municipalities of Kabacan, Carmen, Aleosan, Pigkawayan, Pikit and Midsayap) that voted for inclusion in the ARMM in 2001, depending on the result of the plebiscite.
Fear of the unkown
However, Alamia admitted that the Bangsamoro has yet to be fully accepted by the residents of some provinces.
“If you go to the grassroots level, particularly in the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, there is a lot of fear of the unknown…So there’s a need to work on bringing down the information to the people,” she said.
The same sentiment was shared by MILF chairman Murad Ebrahim.
Heavily armed soldiers of the MILF stood guard by the dirt road that led to the camp.
Murad and members of the MILF central committee met with Ledoux and the other ambassadors to share their thoughts on the peace process and the prospects of the Bangsamoro.
“The Muslim population in the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao have a higher optimism of acceptance,” he said, adding that it was the same for Basilan but not for Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. Murad said this is because the MILF political organization is not as strong in the said provinces as it is in Maguindanao.
Nevertheless, he said they are working hard to inform the rest of the population on the vision and prospects of the Bangsamoro.
Austrian ambassador Muellner said that while “There is a lot of skepticism” both the Philippine government and the MILF will just have to work hard to make the peace process more inclusive.
Another challenge that the Bangsamoro is facing is the amendment and approval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will pave the way for the plebiscite in 2016.
“Congress may try to change some provisions of the Basic Law. It could be watered down. This is one of the challenges we foresee,” Murad said.
The MILF chairman said they will have to convince lawmakers that the law should not be diluted because it is a crucial part of the peace agreement and a product of four decades of “hard negotiations…hard struggle of the Bangsamoro (people).”
Cycle of violence and poverty
Later in the afternoon, the diplomats went further into Camp Darapanan, which also serves as a village for MILF members and their families.
Inside the camp is a small school where an EU-funded program on mine risk education training was being held. The diplomats were able to interact with the children and some residents who were given a certificate for finishing the training course. They were also given a run down of the mine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) situation in the area.
The concern of security was further discussed during a forum with the Mindanao business sector.
The Mindanao Business Council (MinBC) said a lot still need to be done to promote economic progress in the area.
During the forum, German ambassador Ossowki admitted that it would be difficult for the diplomats to convince entrepreneurs to invest in the region “if security problems exist.”
“I believe there must be ways and means to address the security issue here within the community before we generate jobs,” he said.
But MinBC chairman Vic Lao said poverty is the first thing that must be resolved if people want to maintain peace.
“When you generate livelihood and poverty is resolved then maybe you resolve the issue on terrorism, you resolve the issue of kidnapping because people will be having jobs and they will not be thinking of joining rebels because they are busy making a living,” he said.
Other members of the MinBC pointed out that the Normalization annex of the CAB should be able to address the security problem, though it would take a while since the peace deal itself is a long transition process.
The annex on Normalization, finalized two months before the CAB was inked, details the laying down of weapons of MILF members and their transition to civilian life. It describes normalization as a process through which the communities affected by the conflict in Mindanao can return to peaceful life and pursue sustainable livelihood.
In the meantime, the businessmen suggested that foreign investors could tap local partners who are more knowledgeable in the “terrain” and the risks involved in doing business in Mindanao.
Engine of growth
The evening was capped off by a sumptuous dinner and cultural presentations at the Bangsamoro Transition Commission’s (BTC’s) office in Cotabato City.
EU Ambassador Ledoux praised the commission not only for the “excellent food” and the dances, which featured the culture of the various tribes of Mindanao, but also for their “amazing job” in crafting the draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
During separate interviews, some of the ambassadors noted the potential of Mindanao for economic growth, especially since it is rich in resources.
Remorteele said, “Mindanao can be an engine of growth for the Philippines. That’s why I think this agreement, this Bangsamoro peace agreement is very important.”
“There’s a lot of underdevelopment but I believe that with the peace process, development will set in and eventually help the people develop their communities, develop their infrastructure because I think there’s a lot of potential in this island,” German ambassador Ossowski added.
Making peace work
The next day, the diplomats went back to Maguindanao to visit Kurintem, a village that has been benefiting from the Mindanao Trust Fund, which is administered by the World Bank. After donating an additional P500 million, EU remains the biggest contributor in the multi-donor trust fund.
Kurintem has received six water supply systems and a community center through the fund.
Meeting with the residents at the center, the diplomats listened to how the new facilities had changed the lives of the locals. They also expressed their own thoughts on the peace process, which was met with optimism by the residents.
“The European Union is a group of countries that have been fighting for centuries and finally found way of making peace and working together,” Ledoux said during his short speech. “That’s why we are very much supporting of peace and we have been supporting the peace process here in Mindanao for many years.”
Before rushing back to the airport, Ledoux told INQUIRER.net that they were happy that there was so much optimism on the ground.
Italian ambassador Roscigno agreed, saying, “I think that it’s really important to come and see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears what’s happening because it’s not the same as reading reports or reading on the press. I am coming back to Manila tomorrow with a clearer view and I would say more optimism from what I’ve seen.”
“As Ambassador Ledoux said, the road is still long. We’re not there yet. (But) at least now there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Remoortele said.
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