Peace panel member Rodolfo Garcia yesterday belied lingering doubts on the real intention of government behind the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). He says cha-cha is not the prime reason for the MOA. They consulted Constitutionalists Fr. Bernas and Sedfrey Candelaria and at no point did they view the MOA as violative of the charter. Yes, they may be some constitutional changes, but this does not involve a suggestion or a proposal for Gloria to extend her term beyond 2010.

Ding Deles, former peace adviser castigated the government for going to the peace table with “unclean hands”. She says government can’t deliver its promises because the MOA will go thru many constitutional processes before it can be effected and it might hit many snags, leading to frustration and failure of the talks.

What Deles is actually saying is that this government cannot really enter into any agreement with the MILF because it really cannot deliver what the Bangsamoro is aspiring for.

Baloney. If this administration can’t deliver, then, there’s no chance also for the next to solve the Bangsamoro Question, right?

Besides giving the Bangsamoro their own independent Republic, what more can the government under ANY admistration can offer within Constitutional bounds? Can we think of other proposals besides giving the Bangsamoro a state under a federalist setup?

What Deles and the rest of the oppositors don’t realize is this–if this deal doesn’t push thru, we all risk a further escalation of this problem, even leading to a very serious regional security problem in the years to come. Why?

If the MILF fails to deliver its mandate before its constituency, it risk losing credibility and support. When it loses credibility, young and old fighters would turn into another direction, one of them is extremism, as offered by the Jemaah Islamiyah. This regional terror group has been operating in Mindanao since 2000, and if the MILF loses its mass base, these fighters will resort to other more extreme means of getting what they want. This is what happened to the MNLF. When it capitulated in 1996, extremist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) gained strength and became such a huge force it is still being neutralized as of this moment. Are we prepared to see other ASG-like guerilla groups operating not only in Mindanao, but in other parts of this country?

That’s the second point—are we ready to deal with a new secessionist group, and not the MILF? Do we have a better chance to forge peace with another group? What more can we offer?

This is what US Ambassdor Kristie Kenney wants to avoid. That’s why the US deems it very important to oversee the talks. Defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro in his interview over at Private Conversations on ANC says that the real interest of the US in those talks is to ensure regional security. Why?

If the Mindanao conflict spills over the rest of the region, it threatens the US mainland. A radicalization of young Moro fighters in Mindanao poses a very serious security risk for America. Remember that past World Trade bombers trained and even used the Mindanao corridor as a springboard towards the US. The possibility of Mindanao becoming a regional hub of terrorism is very high if these peace initiatives fail.

So, my fellow Filipinos, I know we hate Gloria so much. We don’t want her to extend her term beyond 2010. If we really think hard about this, a term extension is simply a totally different matter altogether. It is really not connected with this MOA or the Mindanao peace talks. For once, try to think beyond our interest and consider the implications of this issue in the regional fight against terror.

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