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MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino prevailed over his reluctant Cabinet members in his decision to meet Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Al Haj Murad Ibrahim secretly in a hotel in Tokyo, Japan last Friday, it was learned yesterday.
In an interview with former Senate president Ernesto Maceda’s “Mr. Expose” program in radio dzRJ, a broadcast partner of The STAR, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. explained that the peace process was something “personal” to his boss.
“It was the President’s own idea,” he said of the meeting, which government chief MILF negotiator Marvic Leonen described as “out of the box,” and which many Mindanao leaders have commended.
Ochoa said the President’s move was proof that the government is sincere in its peace efforts. He said Aquino feels strongly about talking peace with the Muslim rebels, which has in fact historical roots, like what his mother – the late President Cory Aquino – did during her tenure, when she met Nur Misuari in Jolo, Sulu in 1987.
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The executive secretary downplayed insinuations that Aquino was not satisfied with the way Leonen and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles have been handling the peace talks, but pointed out that it was one opportunity Aquino would want to show the MILF.
He said positive developments were apparent during the course of discussions such that the President was encouraged to participate personally.
The Palace official brushed aside criticisms over the hush-hush meeting, noting that the most important thing is that the conversation brought the two sides to agree to fast-track the peace process and end the decades-long conflict in Mindanao.
“The more important reason here - at one time or another - this is one legacy he (Aquino) would like to leave behind in his term… for us to achieve peace. This is really personal to him,” Ochoa stressed.
“It (article) was cited in a broadsheet and it was cited as the diplomat speaking as a source. That remark is cowardly, it’s undiplomatic, and it’s unintelligent,” she said over state radio dzRB.
Valte said the last president who talked directly with the rebels from Mindanao was former President Corazon Aquino.
“And after her nobody dared, but President Aquino did it,” she said.
She expressed confidence that the anonymous diplomat was “alone” in her dissent and that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stands by the President.
“They said this person is alone in having those sentiments and that the DFA does not share the same sentiments. And, from what we know, the DFA is also looking into the identity of this supposed source if there was such a diplomat,” Valte said.
No more independent state
Leonen, also UP law dean, said over the weekend that the MILF had already abandoned its quest for an independent state in Mindanao before meeting President Aquino.
“To be sincere does not mean surrender,” Leonen said over dzRB, emphasizing that the only agreement made at the meeting was to fast-track the peace negotiations.
Unlike in the botched memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) between the Arroyo administration and the MILF in 2008, Leonen said the geographical areas that the MILF would like to comprise its “sub-state” would no longer cover highly contentious ones.
Many had opposed the MOA-AD because its implementation would have entailed amendments to the Constitution and place under MILF jurisdiction several barangays within Christian-dominated provinces.
Rogue elements of the MILF went on a killing rampage in some areas in Mindanao after the Supreme Court declared the MOA-AD unconstitutional in 2008.
Leonen said the talks would focus on achieving a “politically, economically and socially” feasible agreement, adding that the government peace panel had done the needed spadework before the President’s meeting with Murad.
This included meeting with political leaders, civil society groups and even the military to get their side on the issue.
He said only “political naysayers” would disparage the President’s gesture, which was a “positive step forward” as far as the peace talks were concerned.
Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II, a close friend of Aquino and a staunch critic of the MOA-AD when he was senator, said the President’s trip was his “personal effort” at securing peace for Mindanao.
MILF: We want a ‘sub-state’
A day after the Tokyo meeting, MILF vice chairman Ghazali Jaafar said they were no longer seeking the creation of an independent state.
“We want a nation but not separate from the republic. It must have power to govern but not above the power of the Philippine government,” he said in statement.
He said the MILF told the President that they want a Bangsamoro state not like the ARMM, which is inutile. “The peace process is now on the straight, sa matuwid na daan,” he said, echoing Aquino’s promise of a straight path in government dealings. “We saw seriousness in him in facing and talking to us. With this meeting, I’d say that other members of the Central Committee who were doubtful were encouraged.”
Jaafar said the MILF leadership presented their position on the peace process and talking points to the President and his party while his group also presented the government’s talking points.
“All that was discussed was about the peace process, how to find solutions and how to develop Muslim Mindanao,” he said.
“The discussion gave a shot, like an injection because it could bring a renewed hope… I hope this could strengthen the talks,” he said, expressing cautious optimism that negotiations have yet to be completed.
Jaafar said they are hopeful that a peace agreement would be signed within the Aquino administration. He, however, admitted that they are not completely confident due to the state of politics in the country.
“We are not 100 percent confident because there are things that we have to consider in the state of politics in the Philippines,” he said, noting that the opposition tries to find loopholes in the President’s policies.
“In Philippine politics, the focus of some politicians is on the next election even if an election has just been conducted,’ Jaafar said.
He said he could not provide details about the topics covered by the meeting in Tokyo but gave assurance that the focus of discussions was all about the Mindanao issue.
MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal also said they would push for a “sub-state” instead of an independent state.
He explained that under a sub-state, Mindanao Muslims would have control over major aspects of governance, except national defense, foreign affairs, currency and coinage, as well as postal services.
The Tokyo meeting was lauded by the military, saying it will boost the ceasefire between troops and the rebels on the ground.
Unprecedented, historic
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. defended yesterday President Aquino for his unprecedented move of meeting the MILF leadership, saying it was necessary to jumpstart the “slow-moving” peace process.
“What the President did was a huge step forward for the peace process,” Belmonte said in a telephone interview. “Before it was slow-moving, but now it has been spurred by that historic meeting.”
The Speaker downplayed criticisms over Aquino’s secret meeting because “he acted in the way the Filipino people expected him to do as President.”
“We should get used to the fact that the President thinks out of the box. Now the prospects of having a peace agreement are very good,” Belmonte said. Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers’ Association party-list Rep. Arnel Ty also welcomed Aquino’s move to meet with Murad.
“The President’s gesture clearly demonstrates that he is prepared to go out of his way to build peace – that government is willing to walk the extra mile to engage in substantial talks and hopefully settle the dispute with the MILF,” he said.
House Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, on the other hand, urged Aquino to immediately disclose to the public details of his meeting in the spirit of transparency.
“While the furtive presidential trip to Tokyo is no longer a secret, much of what transpired or what was discussed in the meeting between the President and MILF chieftain Murad remain under wraps,” Lagman said.
“Secrets may be maintained between lovers, but there should be no secrets between the President and the Filipino people,” he said.
He said after the meeting, which reportedly lasted for two hours, “the bits and pieces of information which trickled to media are scanty and stereotyped.”
“The House Minority supports the President’s initiative for a peaceful settlement of the decades-old armed conflict in Muslim Mindanao, but we cannot support a peace agenda whose parameters are nebulous and whose terms of engagement and possible agreement are concealed,” Lagman said.
He added that since any negotiation and settlement with the MILF would involve national security, Aquino must convene the National Security Council, which he has not yet done despite security concerns like the dispute over the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea. Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said the meeting between the President and the leaders of the MILF could gain much-needed fresh impetus for Mindanao.
“An atmosphere of trust and well intentions between the two parties could now provide the needed boost to development initiatives in Mindanao,” he said, expressing optimism that the move would foster much-needed development in the region. Estrada has also been pushing for a railway system network covering strategic areas of the country, including Mindanao, to further advance trade and facilitate investments in the region. – Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, Michael Punongbayan, Raymund Catindig, Alexis Romero, Roel Pareño
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