If you notice the main issue opposing the GRP-MILF deal, you’ll notice one oft-repeating word: “dismemberment”. Most analysts, unfortunately including United Opposition Spokesman Atty. Adel Tamano (a born Muslim by the way), say they oppose the deal because it would cause the division of the country, which, they say, contradicts the Constitution.
I dare say, what dismemberment? What is to be dismembered when there’s no integration in the first place?
Beyond the legalities or the definition of a territory within the constitutional purview, did we, the Filipino People, really considered the Bangsamoro people as Filipinos? Are these people from Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Jolo, Zamboanga and all the rest of Moroland even considered themselves Filipino?
Did these people inhabiting Moroland act, live and breathe like Filipinos? Do we really integrate or assimilate their culture with our prevailing one?
When ask how do we describe our country, most of us would say “we’re the only Christian nation in Asia”, right? That statement alone shows you how isolated, how disjointed, how clear the distinction is in the minds of most Filipinos. Yes, it could be a factual statement, but it is not accurate. That statement already excluded 3 million born Muslims and millions more of reverted Muslims (or what we call “Balik-Islam”).
Face it–these people constituting the Bangsamoro People–have a different system of beliefs, have a different tradition, have a different culture that totally opposes or contradicts the prevailing culture. What most Filipinos consider as legal, most are contradictory to Bangsamoro beliefs. The Bangsamoro is different. The Bangsamoro is unique. The Bangsamoro is not Filipino.
People opposing this deal do so because they’re afraid they’ll lose their powers. More than property rights, these people got wealthy enslaving the Bangsamoro. For decades, they enjoyed the fruits of the land, exploiting the natural and human resources of Mindanao, for their own. And what happened to those whom they enslaved?
Extreme and widespread poverty leading to widespread dissent and a long-standing war that has threatened the lives and futures of the Bangsamoro people. In all provinces of this country, Mindanao is the most impoverished, especially Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Jolo and Zamboanga.
Those claiming “royal blood” oppose this deal because they’ll lose whatever “divine claims” they have over the Bangsamoro. I dare say, what right do they have to claim proprietary property claims to these Muslim lands when it is illegal to claim ownership of land under Islamic law in the first place? Besides, what “divine right” do they have when they have’nt done anything to uplift the lives of their fellow Bangsamoro in those lands which they claim to be theirs?
And those in the United Opposition who oppose this deal do so because, face it, Gloria can claim credence to this as the only president who successfully resolved the Bangsamoro Question. I oppose Gloria and want her out immediately, but, in this issue, I fully support her and the peace panel. The Opposition reject this deal because the deal is a landmark deal that Gloria can claim as her perpetual legacy to the peace issue.
The Opposition says government is entering into the deal with an insincere intention. They say government can’t deliver its promise. How do they know? Are these “oppositionists” now claiming to be psychics? I mean, how do they know that government can’t deliver? And besides, that’s the problem of the MILF right? If government can’t deliver its promises, then, government is liable to the MILF and the international community.
Opposition says they reject this deal because it would lead to charter change. I don’t believe that. MILF peace panel member Atty. Michael Mastura says that the deal only recognizes the right of the Bangsamoro to have their own state. And even if Gloria do want charter change, I don’t think she’ll succeed in it because people would definitely oppose any change other than resolving the Bangsamoro question.
We all need to give peace a chance. Those who want war, like North Cotabato Vice Governor Ed Pinol and the Lobregats of Zamboanga, let them be damned. Peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. is right–if the MILF imposes its rights under the deal in the future, the AFP does’nt have any right to intervene on their behalf. Let the MILF resolve these problems. It’s their territory anyway.
Let me say one thing–we need to consider this deal as a necessary small step towards the ultimate solution to the Bangsamoro question. For after this deal, there’s no more we can expect from this but a long debilitating war. And a war at this point, would affect everybody, Filipinos and Bangsamoros.
Popularity: 1% [?]
“It’s their territory anyway” ??
Says who? Patricio Mangubat? Ghazali Jafar? Eid Kabalu? Jess Dureza?
Who gave the MILF any rights whatsoever to threaten the republic with guns and bombs? Who made them the representatives of the Bangsamoro people? Did we not sign a “Final Peace Agreement” with the MNLF and establish an autonomous region for them based on our own Constitution?
People are sick and tired of all this historical victimology you are peddling Patricio Mangubat, because all Filipinos have suffered oppression and they long ago saw through this kind of justification for insurgency and violence. It is an absurdity to blame the sins of colonialists on those they conquered, as if those they conquered had nothing to do with winning their freedom and independence too. Let us not forget that if the indios decided to convert to Christianity it was because that was preferable to being forced into the harems of the Moro rajahs and have their children sold into slavery by these human traffickers and slave traders.
Who guarantees that giving in to the MILF will ensure that a Next Moro Liberation Front (NMLF) won’t be formed?
This is NUTS! The last time I checked the Republic of the Philippines is constitutional democracy, governed by a democratically ratified constitution.
If you deny that “dismemberment” would result from the establishment of Bangsamorostan right in the heart of Mindanao, then explain why the people who live there, be they Christians or Bangsamoro or lumads, have thrice in plebiscites overwhelmingly declined to be subjugated under a restored sultanate, a theocracy run by armed thugs?
And if the MILF claims to have given up separatism (which is the same as dismemberment) then let them lay down their arms as a confidence building measure.
Maybe then the people will be willing to negotiate with them.
No more deals, no more negotiations without disarmament.
DISARMAMENT That’s the word I would put up against dismemberment-by-negotiation. For that is the only acceptable sign that we are dealing with reasonable persons and not organized homicidal maniacs.
Now if they are willing to admit that they really are after independence and separation because they agree with you that they really aren’t Filipinos after all, then by all means I would urge the Filipino people to arms, since their own Military seems to have been bought off by the would-be rulers of Bangsamorostan.
DJB,
Interesting how you framed this conundrum: “historical victimology.”
World history indeed is replete with incidents of historical victimology in ethnic, religious, and economic class scenarioa and Filipinos are surely not alone in the oppression suffered at the hands of colonialists, those wielding the “manifest destiny” banner include.
The sad fact is until our own leaders rise beyond beyond their petty and self-serving agendas and survival-mode-only vision-less governance, our society will find both peace, and progress, elusive.
Ding,
Every nation gets the leaders it deserves. It’s really up to us, the people, to defend our Constitution, and this country for which we have all suffered and sacrificed and died. I’m sick and tired of being told that it was our ancestors’ fault that certain others are here today suffering, and that it is now incumbent on us to make it right for them, when we are pretty much in the same boat as them.
I urge everyone to study the US Civil War and the grand historical lessons that were taught there by great statesmen like Abraham Lincoln.
Why indeed did the South not have the moral or legal prerogative to secede. Why indeed did the US Congress, in a rare act, declare war on the South so that “government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this Earth”?
Nationalism breeds nationalism, so that if Patricio Mangubat is right, and the Bangsamoro do not consider themselves Filipinos, then they MUST take up arms and fight for their independence. But if they don’t agree with him, they ought to lay down those arms, reject the likes of the insurgent leaders, and work with the rest of us to build a great country.
“Historical victimology” is a mental illness and a rhetorical excuse for failure in that enterprise to which all great human civilizations are called–which is to build unity and cohesion around a set of principles and ideals to which all subscribe, and not to some nasty accounting of historical events that we can hardly be blamed for today, or even do anything about in any practical and morally acceptable way.
I urge everyone to fight for this principle: if the insurgents want to be part of this country, then they must respect the Constitution and DISARM as a sign of that intention. Else, let’s go to war and be done with it. If Allah is on their side, if their cause is truly just and there are enough Moros that really support them, then they will win their independence as we did in the end.
But I won’t stand for painters of a false and self-serving history. There is enough blame to go around, and enough justification for a genocidal war if were to take such histories seriously.
We must defend constitutional democracy, for that is all that ever stands against mutual annihilation in the imperfect and tangled mass of human history.
I say the way forward in Mindanao requires disarmament by the insurgents as a precondition to peace and negotiation. No ifs, buts or maybes, because it is the rejection of this precondition that is the true cause of an on-again, off-again war, instead of a fight to the finish one way or another, which is infinitely more merciful to all.
1) i’ve been getting 2nd hand reports that even Muslims are opposed to this deal. From the information i’ve read— MILF does not represent the 13 tribes in question. what peace can be made when Muslims themselves, who the MILF claim to represent are not for this?
2) Last i checked our constitution didn’t have “Catholics-only” or Tagalogs only or Illocanos only etc. Why are we always drawing a line between “them and us,” when clearly there is no them and us! People of the Muslim faith have been trading with everyone. heck one has just to go to Greenhills or Quiapo.
3) From my understanding MILF and other groups do not recognize previous plebiscites like when the people of mindanao were asked if they’d want to join ARMM. there were lots of regions who chose not to join ARMM. my understanding is that MILF doesn’t recognize people’s right to choose.
4) Last time i checked there was also this entity called ARMM, which by law is suppose to be autonomous and from my understanding it is suppose to give the Muslims of Mindanao the autonomy to govern themselves.
Yet it has not proven to raise the quality of living of their fellow Muslims largely from my understanding because of continued fighting amongst themselves.
5) my opposition to this is that from what i’ve read— it only benefits MILF. particularly the leadership behind MILF.
6) scenario planning tells us that there are many ways to go from here. talks could just collapse. there is talk that this is prelude to greater federalism. hawks say that war could happen. war between christian vs. muslims and quite possibly muslim versus muslim. if bombs should start to fall in davao, in cebu, in manila… if you follow scenario planning, is a state of emergency not far behind that?
7) what’s the only way for peace in Mindanao? a just peace can be achieved if the in fighting stop and get everyone who has a stake in this on the table. i agree with DJB, as a precondition for peace, it must be disarmament first and might i add that all sides must get equal footing on the negotiating table.
8) for any politician with 2010 ambition: time to step up. you’ve got to have a plan for mindanao because clearly this has to stop. i’ll vote for the guy or lady with the vision to end this wasteful conflict.
I’m sorry Patricio, I am just in disagreement with you on this one. BJE, MILF, the “peace” negotiators, this steers us in a wrong direction. My piece on this in a few minutes.
I don’t understand how we’re supposed to achieve peace through the BJE when clearly a lot of the people involved oppose it.
The problems in Mindanao are rooted in something much more deeper than just territories and religion, and giving in to the MILF will only increase the tension there. Mindanao is still the land of promise, full of untapped resources and faced with that much potential it’s easy to turn into a greed-eyed monster and want it all. I know I sound naive, but who’s to say that the MILF leaders won’t just replace the reigning Muslim upper class and leave the rest of their people in poverty? And who can say that they’ll stop with just Mindanao?
If we truly want to achieve peace in Mindanao, then we should start by stop looking at the Muslims as another. Isn’t there a provision in our constitution that allows for freedom of religion? Aren’t we allowed to practice our own cultures and beliefs? If Muslims and Christians can coexist in other parts of the Philippines, then why draw a line between “them” and “us”?
Besides, if this is simply about ancestral domains and Moroland, shouldn’t they be doing something about Sabah too?
By the way, Arroyo’s camp is strangely indifferent about the TRO on the MOA. It’s uncharacteristically Arroyo who’s always so defensive and strong-willed when it comes to her decisions. It’s almost as if they’re washing their hands from the whole event. I just feel as if there’s a lot more involved in the MOA than what we can dream of in our philosophy.
Hehehe. That’s what I like about Filipino Voices. We discuss things and we dissent. Very healthy. I like that.
The piece is actually what government is trying to say and tell us–that the MOA was crafted to “preserve” Bangsamoro identity.
This early, the government already conceded and said that the Bangsamoro deserve to be given a state because they’re “different”.
Yes, it’s true–we can exist as a united nation. But, what this government is saying is this–we can’t because the Bangsamoro is different.
All the comments, I believe are legitimate and valid. I share Cocoy’s observations as valid and would probably be re-validated in the next few weeks.
I also share DJB Rizalist views. The article was meant to show to people how this government justified this MOA. Disarmament, that could be a good call. However, that it very ideal, given that surely the MILF will not agree to that.
Let me just say that what I wrote is further validation of the kind of thinking the Bangsamoro and the GRP had when they sat down in the negotiating table. For in that instance alone, the government already lost. Why?
Because they had this thinking which was reflected in this entry! The government treated the MILF as a separate entity already given a status of belligerency. The defeat of this Republic already began when government sat down in that negotiating table. And dismemberment already started when they initialed the talking points last 28 July 2008. And it further eroded when they planned to sign it last Tuesday.
Yes, it’s easy to write the word “war”. Yet, are we prepared to stage a war at this point? Is government prepared to go to war, given the state of the economy?
Have all those who wrote a comment in this entry already experienced war? Well, I did. I saw war first-hand when Erap bombed the camp of the MILF. I saw it in Lanao, in Maguindanao , in Basilan and Sulu. I saw those dead bodies first-hand, a result of those who signed their death warrants in the perfumed halls of Malacanang.
make up your mind, patricio. you are saying all these peace initiatives are a virtual surrender – defeat, as you put it – of the government by the rebels. yet, you seem to doubt the government’s ability to wage war and you lament the consequences of war having saw it “first-hand”. should it be a negotiated peace or should it be war? i don’t think we can have it both ways.
edit: having seen it “first-hand” (on 2nd line from last).
In order for us to have peace here in Mindanao,
let’s push them (the Sultanates and their cohorts) back to Sabah Malaysia! That’s where their ancestral domain is. Let them claim Sabah, not Mindanao. These people are overstaying here in the Philippines. They are not Filipinos. What gives them the right to claim Mindanao?
Remember why the 10 Sultanates, their families and servants left Sabah, and seek refuge in our land,the Philippines?
I do believe with you Patricio Mangubat. BJE is the only effective solution in attaining peace in Mindanao.
It’s not true that there are Bangsamoro who are opposing the BJE. All Pure Blooded Bangsaromo are all heartily, spiritually and strongly support this fight except Adil Tamano. Perhaps he is ignorant of the issues and processes involved in the peace negotiation between the MILF and the GRP as he is preoccupied with Philippine partisan politics. He is also out of touch with the present condition and real aspiration of the Bangsamoro people, having been born in and being a permanent resident of Manila who rarely, if ever, sets foot on the soil of his native homeland in Mindanao. As such, he has never identified himself with the Bangsamoro, even disdain being called one, nor has he ever spoken in their behalf. Palibhasa he is married to a Filipino Christian who never became a Muslim; their children have also become Christians.
We Bangsamoro, NEVER CONSIDERED ADIL TAMANO AS ONE OF US.
DGB, where else do you get the moral ascendancy to say with imperative emphasis that we should live as one people under one constitution-a piece of doctored copycat of american constitution which is penned by fews self-inspired by this “conditional equality” syndrome? it should be gma, erap, marcos or any of those national chiefs of the philippines. but did they insist on taking the thick face imposing such concocted fallacy of “one people?” can’t you get the simple sign? we are sick and tired of you: philippine government has been a cancerous gland encysting the Bangsamoro for so long a time, those perpetuated cheating, stealing of moro lands, robbing of our rights, cajoling of corrupt moro chiefs to exploit ordinary moro, name it and you’ll have all those Filipino mischiefs that i shall never believe they’re absent in your head. How can you brush aside what you concocted “historical victimology” when all that relate to it happened in front of the eyes and ears of those who refuse to become senile of history? are you? As such, it (the philippine government)must be incised by all means from us. you are lumping together what are husks and grains in your arguments. of course, that is your law of physics-i.e. with your equivocation, with your semantic gymnastics, you’re magically connecting unconnected things so you’ll have an equation for the sake of having a racist formula craze. your rajahs, your moro oligarchs who exploited their own people in the past like the local moro corrupt politicians do today in mindanao are but pet-projects and puppets of foreign powers e.g. america in their obsession to perpetuate imperialism. these corrupt moro politicians you call datus, modern rajahs are instruments of the national government whose removal are but another subjects of the Bangsamoro struggle.where do you get again the face to impose upon us studying american history? as if it’s only america has the history-history of disenfranchising native indians of their lands, hey americans also have your own slave-trading of africans and chinese coolies, i think more cruel than the one you immorally attribute to the moros shall BJE reign; or an american constitution-a perfect one?huh! why should it undergo several amendments if it is perfect? is philippine constitution and other fundamental laws you have perfect too? or let’s reverse the story: it’s the moro people who are problematic as you claim, as self-proclaimed civilized men call them, moros like our forefathers are uncivilized, devil-incarnate, pirates, sea-robbers, etc., etc., so why keep us with you? i think there is more craze in getting together yet with unresolved and undiffused animosity bequeathed by your colonial masters now coupled with hypocrite reconciliatory rhetoric than in severing the fabricated umbilical cord that artificially binds moros and filipinos. come to think of these.
ADEL TAMANO was never considered by you? ashraf?? when you said us, to what group do you mean? you and your kid neighbor?? when you guys formed the swimming pool club? You are a funny man, when Adel Tamano became the president of PLM and the president of ALCU, he was bombarded by muslims all over the country who were seeking for education for their kids. what did he do? He educated the moros. but the sad part was, he never had the chance to educate you.. 2 bad. the one who really needs education are the likes of you.