“The Visions of Peace in Mindanao”

Speech delivered by Atty. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III

During the Week of Peace Celebration
In Zamboanga City on Dec. 1, 2006
We are observing a week of peace. “Peace” is not only the absence of a
shooting war and violence but more importantly the lasting presence of
understanding, compassion, concern, trust, and love for one’s neighbor and
fellowman.
Let us imagine for a few seconds a Mindanao where peace prevails. What do
I see?
It’s the same typhoon-free Mindanao we are all familiar with, where land is
very fertile and all marketable crops and produce of the soil in the entire
Philippines can and will grow.
But its also a very different Mindanao. It will be a Mindanao where all
people believe that they are all together on board one ship. If the ship sinks,
they all sink together to the bottom of the ocean, but if it floats on top of a
tsunamic wave, they also all go together sky-bound. Truly one people -
Mindanao.
It’ll be a Mindanao with an integrated master plan for human, social,
political, and economic development. It’ll be a Mindanao with millions of
tourists, both local and foreign, roaming around enjoying our sights, sound,
cuisine, and company, without fear for their personal safety. It’ll be a
Mindanao where the budget for bullets, mortars, and bombs have been
diverted and spent on school buildings, water systems, tractors, farm to
market roads, irrigation systems, and post-harvest facilities.
 It will be a Mindanao populated by well-educated, literate, well-informed,
understanding people, tolerant of other cultures and supportive of the right
of people to preserve and observe their own religion, cultures and heritage. It
will be a Mindanao which can feed itself as well as the entire Philippines. A
Mindanao with a standard of living that is much better than what the
majority of Mindanaoans are currently enjoying or suffering from today.
For the good of Mindanaoans of the future generations, PEACE must reign
in Mindanao.
It is good that we are pursuing peace through dialogue and negotiations. It is
imperative that we all pursue peace.
What can we do, immediately?

(1) We should come up with a comprehensive Peace Strategy involving all

the stakeholders of Mindanao. A purely military solution to the conflict in
Mindanao has been tried for decades and has proven to be a failure. A new
strategy must be formulated and adopted and there is no better strategy than
that which involves the people who are affected by the conflict in its
formulation. A people to people dialogue is a must. This kind of a dialogue
will promote understanding, it will erase mistrust and certainly evolve a
common vision for all Mindanaoans. (This Interfaith Conference is indeed a
step in the Right Direction.)

(2) “Peace Negotiation” with rebel groups is necessary. It will serve as a

forum for the articulation of grievances and interests necessary for
formulating a common strategy for Mindanao. Peace Negotiation however
should be participated in and handled by the people of Mindanao
themselves. After all, it is the people of Mindanao who can feel the problem.
It is they who can work out the solution.

Talking of the Peace Process, I was informed that the Peace Negotiation
between the GRP and the MILF has reached an impasse. The negotiation
failed to reach a consensus on the issue of ancestral domain. I have been
informed that the MILF is looking at ancestral domain from a different
perspective than the one the GRP views it from.
Today, you will note that we have the Indigenous Peoples Right Act. This
law defines Ancestral Domain from the concept of the indigenous people.
Their right to their ancestral domain is founded on the concept of native title
(long and continuous possession and “time immemorial possession”), a
concept premised on the legal maxim of “prior in time, prior in right”. This
may be the perspective of the GRP Panel. On the other hand, the MILF
views ancestral domain as the totality of the “Bangsa Moro Homeland” a
political territory and not a mere land tenure. This concept of political
territory is anchored on the Moro belief, that at one point in our history, the
Moros or the Muslims were suzerain in Mindanao and Sulu. This
disagreement based on differing points of view can be resolved by the
people of Mindanao, the people who understand their history and
beginnings, and can not be left to people from the “outside”. Let the “one
people of Mindanao” search for the peaceful and lasting solution to this
impasse.
With Peace at hand, development in Mindanao will come as a matter of
course. People with money will surely come. Money after all, is a cowardly
commodity; it comes and remains only in areas where there is PEACE.
 However, the Philippine Government must manifest its sincerity in the
search for peace in Mindanao by developing war devastated and other
neglected areas in Mindanao. The National Government must support
infrastructure like airports, seaports, roads, railways, telecommunications,
markets, power and water systems, which will allow Mindanao to leap-frog
from a land of perpetual promise to a land of real progress, “a land of
fulfilled promises”.
Mindanao can indeed be the land of fulfilled promises. This, however, can
only be a reality if we in Mindanao speak as ONE. We must advocate for a
fair share in our National and natural resources and demand that we be
treated equally with the rest of the country. To do that, we must be well-
represented in all agencies of State especially in the agencies where the
allocation of public funds is determined, that is, the House of
Representatives, the Senate, and even the Presidency.
In short, Mindanaoans must involve themselves in the decision-making
processes in our country, at all levels but most especially at the national
level.
My dear fellow peace-loving Mindanaoans, let us therefore spare no effort
nor leave any stone unturned in our quest to promote mutual understanding,
tolerance, and respect among Muslims, Christians, and Lumads, and make
possible the peaceful and harmonious co-existence of all inhabitants of
Mindanao, regardless of their religions, culture, and social and economic
standing.
Mindanao is after all, our one and only land.
Thank you very much.