Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the Manila Overseas Press Club Night

[Delivered at the Manila Hotel, July 11, 1996]

Seizing the historic
opportunity in Mindanao

I AM AWARE of the conventions of this forum—whose purposes are best served if we move quickly to the question-and-answer portion of the program. I will confine myself, therefore, to an opening statement on an issue that cuts deeply into the state of our national life today—the prospects and conditions for peace and development in the Southern Philippines.

As we meet tonight, many of our people are racked by anxieties and questions about what the recent arrangement for the establishment of a Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development—concluded by Government and Moro National Liberation Front negotiators—portends: for Mindanao in particular and the nation as a whole.

Breaking the decades of conflict

At one end, we hear encouraging support that the Agreement could finally break the decades of conflict that had taken thousands of lives, and open the way for the full and unimpeded development of that part of our country. At the other, we hear an outcry of fear and suspicion that the Government may have sold out the welfare of millions of our compatriots in the region; and that therefore the Agreement has ushered only the prospects of a new phase in the conflict.

No day passes in which the Council is not denounced or defended. No day passes in which we do not hear petitions to postpone the Agreement and replace it with another plan that would take another round—and years—of negotiations.

These varied voices reflect the centrality and complexity of the problem we face in Mindanao. I understand the depth of feeling of those who have expressed concern about the change dawning on the region.

But I also fervently believe we have now—with this Council—a historic opportunity to achieve peace in our southern regions, to mold lasting unity among our people and ensure our nation’s sustainable development. For the first time in a generation, we have the chance to turn our collective talents and energies to the work of peace and sustained progress.

What the Agreement provides

All of us should strive to seize this opportunity—to break the shackles of the past and create new hope for the future.

Much that is being said against the Agreement arises from misunderstanding or inadequate information of what it explicitly provides for and envisions. Part of this opposition is also being fed by preconceived biases or hidden fears owing to ethnic or religious differences.

The main remedy to the situation is accurate and timely information leading to better understanding of the issues. In this effort, I appeal to you, the leaders of the media, to lend your responsible hands.

Let me therefore begin by discussing here exactly what the Agreement explicitly states and provides for. As described in the document arising from the eighth meeting of representatives of our Government and representatives of the Moro National Liberation Front, the panels reached key “points of consensus” for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

The Agreement in the eighth meeting calls for implementation in two phases. During Phase 1, the primary points of consensus are the following:

First, the Agreement calls for the establishment of the Council—a council that will principally promote, monitor and coordinate peace and development efforts in the South.

The Council will be composed of a chairman, a vice chairman, and three deputies representing the Muslims, the Christians and the lumad, or indigenous peoples—all of whom will be appointed by the President.

This Council is not a political governing authority; it has no police power or law-enforcement authority; it has no separate judicial personality; it is a transitory administrative entity under the control and supervision of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

Second, the Agreement calls for the establishment of a consultative assembly, which shall serve as a forum for consultation on issues and the recommendation of policies and programs to the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

Local governments will not be prejudiced

The assembly will be made up of 81 members, composed of the Council chairman, the governor and the vice governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the 14 governors and all the city mayors in the area, 44 members from the MNLF, and 10 members from various sectors recommended by non-Government organizations and people’s organizations. The tenure of the Council and the assembly is three years.

Third, the Local Government units in the area, including the ARMM, shall continue to exist and exercise their functions in accordance with existing laws. Thus, the functions, powers and responsibilities of Local Government units and their officials will not be prejudiced, and their local autonomy under the Local Government Code of 1991 will not be diminished.

Fourth, there shall be established a special zone of peace and development in Southern Philippines in the 14 provinces and all the cities therein covered by the Tripoli Agreement. Within the next three years, these areas shall be the focus of intensive peace and development efforts. Public and private investments shall be channeled to such areas to spur economic activities, enhance social equity and uplift the conditions of the people therein. It is to be noted here that no new area of autonomy is declared in the document. No new autonomous government is formed or established, but only a description of an area where peace and development efforts will be focused and given priority.

Phase 2 provides for the establishment of a new autonomous government.

First, through an act of Congress amending or repealing the ARMM Organic Act of 1989 (R. A. 6734), a new plan for regional autonomy will be submitted for approval by the people in the affected provinces and cities within two years from the establishment of the Council.

The area of autonomy shall then consist of the provinces and cities that vote to join the new autonomous region.

Second, a regional security force for the autonomous regional government will be established as provided by the amendatory law. This organization will be composed of the existing Philippine National Police units in the area of autonomy, qualified MNLF elements, and other residents in the area who may be recruited into the force.

The spirit of reconciliation

These are the key provisions. The rest of the text concerns definitions of the powers of instrumentalities created, and details on the implementation of initiatives.

I would like to underline one more point that has often been forgotten in the rush of comment on the agreement:

The powers and functions of the Council and the consultative assembly are explicitly defined as “derivative and extensions of the powers of the President.”

This means that the powers or functions to be exercised by the Council and the assembly are only those that could be within the authority of the President to give. Otherwise stated, these bodies cannot possess a power or function that is beyond the authority of the President to delegate, or which only Congress by law can grant to an agency.

Necessarily, to reach this accord, both sides had to accept the spirit of reconciliation and of give-and-take. Without such accommodation—as we know well from all negotiations, here at home and around the world, to end protracted conflict—no end to strife is possible.

Democratic consultation

On the part of Government, we recognized the necessity of accepting some of the provisions of the Tripoli Agreement and subsequent understandings made—which the MNLF viewed as basic to a settlement. This means, fundamentally, acceptance of the idea of an autonomous government in the South, covering 14 provinces and all cities therein—if they vote for inclusion in the area of autonomy.

On the part of the MNLF, it recognized the necessity of democratic consultation within the affected communities as the formula for determining which provinces and cities will finally constitute the autonomous region.

The idea of autonomy for certain parts of the country has for some time now been recognized by our people. It is embodied in the Constitution. And it has been tested, on one hand, in the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and, on the other hand, in the failure of the one in the Cordilleras in Northern Luzon.

What is specifically new in the Agreement is, first, the platform for democratic pluralism under which citizens in the affected areas will choose or not choose to be part of a future autonomous region.

The other new element is the transition phase of three years, which calls for the establishment of the Council before the holding of a plebiscite on inclusion in or exclusion from the proposed the autonomous region and the creation of an autonomous government. This transition period is also a confidence-building measure for the MNLF, for Muslims and for Christians and for the indigenous people within our democratic system.

The Council and this transition period are what many find objectionable and disturbing. Many reckless things have been said—such as that the Government has installed Mr. Nur Misuari and the MNLF as virtual overlords of the provinces and cities covered by the Agreement; that the Council is a provisional government; that existing local governments will henceforth be under its control. Yet none of these things are true. They exist neither in the letter nor in the spirit of the transitory accord.

To repeat, the Council will serve as a coordinating arm for peace and development efforts in the affected areas. Its powers and functions derive from—and are extensions of—the powers of the President.

A forum for discussing problems

As for the consultative assembly, which the accord also envisions, it will be a forum for the discussion of issues affecting the region. It will have no power to legislate or to make laws that local governments must follow.

Some would prefer, of course, that no Council, no consultative assembly, no transition period for autonomous government are established at all. But this is the prescription for inaction. It would prefer the certainties of conflict now—to the possibilities of peace and development in the not-too-distant future.

Let us give peace a chance to do its work in the Southern Philippines. For only peace can become the stoutest shelter of democratic development. Let us be worthy of our freedom—by assuming the burdens of peace as gallantly as we have taken up the burdens of war and bloody conflict.

I realize it is natural for people to be anxious and apprehensive when they are trying something new. But, in the spirit of unity and reconciliation, let us cast aside our fears and our small hurts. Together, let us look toward the vision of lasting peace and development for all the peoples of the Philippine South.

We live in rapidly changing times; and changing times call for innovative ways of dealing with conflicts and problems.

Enlarging the field of consultation

Let me reiterate here that I welcome the suggestion of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that we enlarge the field of consultation on the proposed Council. Although we are accused of not consulting with our Mindanao constituencies, we have in fact held four peace summits in four key cities there between May and November last year. We have also held four follow-up consultations with Mindanao leaders between April and May this year in Mindanao and in Manila. I attended all these summits and consultations—except for one preparatory meeting on April 22, 1996.

These earlier consultations notwithstanding, I have invited the Catholic bishops to a dialogue within the next few days. And we shall be holding more consultations at various levels, with various sectors intensively and regularly—until the signing of a final agreement with the MNLF and beyond.

Meanwhile, I have thanked the CBCP as I thank the Manila Overseas Press Club once more for providing opportunities for democratic consultation. I do not think any of us wish our peace process in the South to be set back by emotionalism, preconceptions and misconceptions that may be based on religious and ethnic differences.

I was not elected President to do nothing about this conflict in the South that has already cost us so much—so much in lives, time, good will, resources and opportunities that otherwise could have been harnessed for the tasks of development.

My responsibility—and the responsibility of all who had led or who shall lead this nation—is to create conditions under which our people can work in peace, for the lasting progress of the country. I see the accord being negotiated as a road map to the future—a peaceful path away from the strife and division that have gripped a major component of our republic for decades.

None of us can, of course, predict with certainty the precise results of the changes envisioned by the Agreement still to be finalized. From where we now stand, we can only see part of the path ahead; and, therefore, we hope fervently for the blessings that autonomy, peace and development could bring to Mindanao.

We can stop the killing

Yet there are some things we can be certain of. If we—Muslims, Christians and indigenous people alike—bring to the consultations and to the negotiations the spirit of reconciliation and accommodation, the killing will stop. And that is and has always been our first objective.

If we bring to the people the spirit of sharing, giving, integrating and uniting, we will not only rebuild the ruins—we will create a new structure of progress. For Mindanao is truly our land of promise—rich in natural and human resources.

Already we see today a bountiful future stirring in parts of the island that have not been devastated by the conflict—the Cagayan-Iligan Corridor, the Davao growth center, and the South Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos area.

Finally, if we bring to the forefront the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity, we shall finally become one truly cohesive national society, enriched by the contributions of all the regions, cultures and traditions of our country.

This is the way to the future, and I believe this is what most of our people want—not tomorrow, but today. This is what our Muslim brothers and sisters want, who all these years have felt left out of the mainstream of national life and progress.

This is what our Christian majority want, who seek to do right by all the minority groups in our society. This is what those who have had to bear the burdens of bloody confrontation and violence throughout this 25-year conflict in the South—soldiers, policemen and innocent civilians—want.

And this is what our leaders—in all the sectors of society—should aspire to, because it is only through peace and only in peace that we can develop and enjoy the full potential of our beloved Philippines.

The lessons of conflict

Our experience of separatist conflict, here and around the world, should have taught us by now many painful lessons—lessons we wish we might have avoided or learned at less cost.

It should teach us that the grievance of one group eventually becomes the deprivation of all.

It should teach us that armed conflict within our society is infinitely more wounding than conflict with another country—because we suffer from our own hands.

Above all, it should teach us that we cannot develop in separation from or in isolation of some of our parts—but only as one country and one people together.

It is time we make these lessons impact on our present and future actions in—and for—Mindanao. No other course is more just and more democratic. No other course is more liberating of the energies and prospects of our people and our country, especially in Mindanao.