Failed promise of peace

Despite the plebiscite’s “Yes” vote for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), it was hardly surprising that the bombs went off in Jolo, Sulu aimed at a Catholic church with over 25 dead and scores injured.

Jolo, Sulu is believed to be the stronghold of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), once led by Nur Misuari, as well as the Abu Sayyaf that has joined up with the Maute and foreign terrorists believed to be IS recruiters and bomb-making trainers.

Peace in Mindanao was hardly expected to bloom and will continue to be elusive, mainly because, as it has been pointed out too many times, the Moros are tribal and not one Muslim tribe in power can expect to subdue other Muslims, like the MNLF tribe and its armed members, as they believe they have been betrayed by the government since their peace pact with the Ramos government was not respected, despite having been granted the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao – an experiment that went wrong – just as the BARMM may end up the same way as the ARMM – and perhaps even worse, since independence is the (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) MILF’s intent.

It should be recalled that when the pact was forged between the Ramos peace negotiators and Misuari’s MNLF panel, a group in the MNLF cut itself off from Misuari and formed its own tribe, calling themselves the MILF. These rebels claimed that they oppose autonomy. The MILF, with their arms, started their terrorist attacks and it even came to a point where government authorities had to seek permission from the MILF to enter its claimed territory.

The MILF, then led by Hashim Salamat, had taken over the government military camps, such as Camp Abubakar. But then came President Joseph Estrada who decided to launch an all-out war against the MILF and, in fact, won the war against the rebel MILF, as even Salamat ran off to Malaysia.

After Estrada was ousted, his vice president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency and went into peace talks with the MILF. By the way, this group was part and parcel of the coup plotters against Estrada and many of whom went on a bombing spree in Manila and its environs, resulting in many injured or daed.

Arroyo had her own panel of negotiators whose agreements with the MILF, however, failed to pass constitutional muster. Peace continued to be elusive as the MILF wanted more, while the MNLF forces, displaced through politics, became rebels, believing that they were double-crossed by the Arroyo government.

Yet another rebel group stemmed out of the MILF – the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters that has joined up with the Abu Sayyaf.

The Aquino government also tried forging a peace pact with the MILF, but excluded the MNLF. A peace pact was agreed upon, which was similar to the failed peace pact of Arroyo and her team. Again, this failed to pass constitutional muster. Still, the Aquino peace panel was careful not to displease the MILF, which is why then President Aquino did nothing by way of stopping the MILF leaders and their armed rebels from their massacre of the 44 Special Action Force members that were on a mission to capture or kill the international terrorist Marwan.

The MILF is a murderous Muslim tribe and appears to have gotten away too many times with all administrations, except the Estrada administration.

Even today, the MILF appears to have gotten all it wants by having its own parliamentary government and territories under a Bangsamoro government.

Almost everything in this deal was agreed upon between the government and the MILF, as the peace pact that was virtually written and approved by the MILF leaders had no representation from the MNLF.

To this day, the government has not learned from past lessons, which is not to come up with a peace agreement without all Moro tribes as participants.

Where the peace pact with Misuari and his MNLF agreed to give up their arms and have their armed members integrated in the Philippine military for a constitutional autonomous government, the MILF fighters get to keep their guns and are expected to be loyal not to the country and the Philippine flag, but to their leaders, who refuse to dissolve their armed forces.

In effect, the MILF government will have its own private army, with this army getting their commands from the MILF prime minister, who, due to criticisms, is now named chief minister, which is no different from prime minister. And to think that there is now a powerful Moro autonomous region that operates under a parliamentary system even under a present presidential government with its own private army. Wow!

There is even a fantastic bonus for the MILF peace pact. Guess who the ponente and overall in charge of the MILF case?

One guess gets it right! It’s Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen – who acted as chief government negotiator in the Aquino peace panel with the MILF.

There is no word that Leonen has the delicadeza to recuse himself from the case.

But, do these yellows ever have delicadeza?

And there will still be no guarantee of peace in Mindanao!