Orlando Cardinal Quevedo, archbishop of Cotabato City, says the people should be active in engaging the next leaders to push the drafting and approval of a Bangsamoro Basic Law that is compliant with the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. (Ace R. Morandante/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY – Peace advocates from around the country gathered here on Friday, April 22 tofind ways at how to “bridge” the peace efforts from the current administration to the next.
The symposium dubbed, Titayan: Bridging for Peace, was held at the Ateneo de Davao University and was attended by various peace networks from Manila, Cotabato, Marawi and Sulu. Titayan is a Maguindanaoan word for “bridging”.
Orlando B. Cardinal Quevedo, O.M.I said the objectives of the symposium, spearheaded by the Friends of Peace and the Ateneo de Davao University, is to “identify the gains of the peace process and ensure to preserve them.”
“The idea is we are trying to bridge for peace inclusive political transitions in the Bangsamoro,” he said.
“We also wanted to identify ways to continue promoting the peace process, especially after the non-passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law,” he said.
“We are in the midst of political transition from a government that negotiated the fundamental bases for a just and lasting peace to a new government whose peace interests are still to be known,” Quevedo said.
The BBL, which was signed by the Aquino administration and the MILF, failed to pass in both the House of Representatives and Senate until its final session last month.
The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed the CAB on March 27, 2014 which served as the basis for the drafting of the BBL. The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process described CAB as what “outlined socio-economic interventions and transitional justice and reconciliation mechanisms to ensure a just and lasting peace not only in Mindanao but across the country.”
Active participation of people, LGUs
Quevedo, during the press conference, explained about the logo of the symposium, which is the bridge in Tukanalipao in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province which symbolizes the Mamasapano tragedy on January 25 last year.
Quevedo said that with the symposium, they aim to reach a broader number of people “including ordinary people, Lumads, Christians and other faith” to participate in the promotion of peace.
He said to do it, the participants should be able to engage the national officials of the next administration, including the local government units and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, to support a law that could be re-filed “that could be compliant with the provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).”
He also said the LGUs who are not in the Bangsamoro territory were “not active”.
“The ones that were very active were LGUs in their own capacities governors, congressman, mayors, but with the rest of Mindanao, no,” he said. He said they want the local officials to “know more about the BBL.”
On his personal view ,Quevedo said the “failure of the negotiated peace” could be attributed to: “perceived lack of general consultation with Mindanawos; divisions of opinion among Mindanawons; lack of united Bangsamoro stand – failure to see BBL as the Bangsamoro stand; lack of peace constituency; misunderstanding and misinformation about the output of the negotiation –FAB, CAB and BBL; Mamasapano and its aftermath; politicalization of the BBL in view of elections; media misinformation and disinformation; and the radical changes in the MILF-government version of the BBL.”
7 imperatives
The symposium also presented seven imperatives to achieve “inclusive political transitions” and to support the continuing implementation of the Bangsamoro peace process, including:
1. Protection of the CAB, that is facing constitutional challenges;
2. Sustained implementation of the CAB to address the root causes of the conflict;
3. Continuing to transform the relationship between the center and autonomous regions;
4. Interim political arrangements, including coordination and coherence, for the political transition;
5. Widening participation of political and civic actors in the peace process;
6. Delivery of meaningful peace dividends to conflict-affected communities; and
7. Maintaining security during the period of transition.
The organizers hope that the workshops after the Titayan symposium would achieve their objectives of “enhancing broad-based process for a wider and more sustained participation in the peace process; agreeing on a framework that integrates various post-election scenarios; and strengthening and restoring trust among the parties and critical stakeholders.”
“The Titayan of Mamasapano is symbolic of grave disaster in the past, insecurity and uncertainty in the present. But for the future, it is a bridge of hope. May we contribute to the fulfillment of that hope,” said Quevedo. (davaotoday.com)
