Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
On the acceptance of the 1997 Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize jointly with Governor Nur Misuari

Delivered at the Centre International du Senegal, Dakar, Senegal, June 17, 1998]

Mankind’s noblest goal

OF ALL THE TITLES a public servant can aspire to, there is none greater than that of peacemaker. For peacemakers are particularly favored:

“Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.”

— Matthew 5:9

That is why I am deeply grateful for this award the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has bestowed on Governor Misuari and myself—especially since it bears the name of President Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who embodied —for so many people—mankind’s longing for peace and brotherhood.

But—even as I thank you for this award—I must also say I can accept it only in the name of my fellow Filipinos— and my country’s friends and well-wishers from many parts of the world.

I say this because, in this century of conflict, peace—whenever it is achieved—is never the work of just a few individuals. It is always the collective achievement of many. And this was how it was in the case of the peace accord between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

An award that offers hope

For Filipinos—who lived through this conflict for 26 years—there is of course no greater prize than the dawning of peace itself and the consequent flowering of development. Because our peace process has stopped the fratricidal killings in our southern regions, it has lighted up many paths to a brighter future for our people.

The value of UNESCO’s yearly presentation of the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize is universally appreciated because it seeks to propagate a way for all mankind to rise above the conflicts that plague us. The Prize raises a beacon to all societies and nations embroiled in civil war, rebellion, insurgency and social violence.

It raises the hope that there is a way to end these conflicts other than mutual extermination. And this is the path taken by the statesman whose name this award bears. As President Houphouet-Boigny declared: “There is no problem in the world, however difficult . . . that cannot be solved through negotiation.”

Subscribing to that same truth, we found peace in Mindanao—which we are now following up with a focused development agenda. And we know others who seek peace will find peace in much the same way—by patient and creative negotiation.

The road to ending the armed struggle in Mindanao has been long, arduous and costly. Fortunately, we Filipinos did not have to travel that road alone. On the road to peace, we received the help and encouragement of leaders around the world. Many times the member-nations of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) provided the impetus that enabled us to press on when the going seemed toughest.

It was the OIC which pushed both sides in the conflict to take the first steps toward peace. At the OIC’s behest, Col. Muammar Qadhafi of Libya offered his hospitality and started the mediation process which produced the Tripoli Agreement of December 23, 1976. That landmark agreement provided the framework on which the Government and the MNLF built the architecture of peace in the Southern Philippines.

Senegal’s role

It is fitting that we should hold these ceremonies here in Dakar—for Senegal is one of the OIC’s Committee of Six (together with Indonesia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Somalia), which tirelessly offered its good offices to ensure that—despite seemingly irreconcilable differences in their interpretation of the Tripoli Agreement—the dialogue between the warring parties continued.

In February 1986 the Philippines was restored to its democratic system by a peaceful People Power Revolution that overthrew a dictatorship whose authoritarian ways had triggered the secessionist movement. This infused a new spirit into our efforts to achieve an honorable peace—and reconciliation—in the Philippine South.

With the OIC’s encouragement, the MNLF under Chairman Nur Misuari recognized the benefits of ending the conflict within the framework of a new Philippine Constitution. For its part, the Philippine Government also recognized the need in our multicultural society for people to determine freely their political status—and the way they would carry out the social and economic development of their communities.

This resulted in the setting up of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)—a political concept written into our 1987 Constitution. Initially, this Autonomous Region was not fully acceptable to all the parties in the controversy. But it provided the democratic space for the two opposite sides to meet at the center—and then travel the path to peace together.

With the hospitality and good offices offered by Indonesia—our neighbor and brother in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)—and the encouragement of the Committee of Six—the Philippine Government and the MNLF began to thresh out their differences in earnest, starting in October 1992.

In those meetings there were moments of tension and grave disagreement—moments that threatened to reopen the wounds inflicted by the years of conflict. But finally a Mindanao Peace Agreement was signed on September 2, 1996—just three months short of a full 20 years since the Tripoli Agreement.

Peace and development must go together

I remember receiving messages of congratulations from leaders of Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. I recall with appreciation the message sent by UNESCO Director General Federico Mayor on September 3—offering UNESCO’s full support for the Southern Philippine Council for Peace and Development, which we set up to oversee the Mindanao accord.

The equally difficult task of ensuring sustainable development in the affected areas has become a top priority of Government—because peace and development must go together.

Peace and development in Mindanao are the work of many good people, including those from other countries. And, as Governor Misuari and I accept this award from UNESCO, it is only proper that we acknowledge their help.

We thank the governments and peoples of Senegal, Indonesia, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Somalia—and especially His Excellency Col. Muammar Qadhafi and Ambassador Rajab Azzarouq of Libya; former President Soeharto and Foreign Minister Ali Alatas of Indonesia; former OIC Secretary-General Dr. Hamid Algabid and his deputy, Ambassador Mohammed Mohsin.

A meeting of minds

We achieved peace because of their willingness to mediate—even when our two sides seemed farthest from a meeting of minds. Their immense store of patience and diplomacy enabled us to transcend our then seemingly intractable differences. And their guidance led us to discover the key principles that made possible a just, honorable and workable agreement.

Many good people—many dear friends—helped us achieve peace in Mindanao after a generation of conflict. And that landmark achievement we commemorate today. But we Filipinos—Governor Misuari and I most of all—know that peace does not mean merely the absence of conflict. Peace—if it is to endure—must be much more than that. It must also be the means to the fulfillment of the hopes we share—of lifting up the common life, and of winning the future for every Filipino.

In the Southern Philippines there is much more the two sides to the peace agreement must do—together—in union with all our countrymen.

The Peace Agreement also calls for setting up the political, economic and social institutions that will enable the people of Mindanao to decide by referendum the future composition of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Such institutions and supporting programs are being put in place, as follows:

• A Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development and a Special Zone of Peace and Development are already established;
• Qualified members of the MNLF have been incorporated into the armed forces and the police;
• The executive and legislative assemblies of the Autonomous Region have both been strengthened; and
• Provisions are being made to enable ordinary people in the Philippine South to have a greater say in the development programs of their local communities.

More than $1 billion in public funds has been set aside for upgrading ports, airports, telecommunications, roads and bridges; for improving agricultural productivity and irrigation systems; for increasing electric power supply; for building low-cost housing; for setting up projects in livelihood and skills training; and for delivering primary health care, basic education, potable water and other social services in our southern regions.

Mindanao in a new growth zone

Mindanao Island, with a population close to 20 million, has benefited from a large proportion of the foreign loans and grants received by the Philippines. Development aid has come from Japan, Canada and Spain.

With Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, the Philippines has established a cross-border free trading area and growth zone—called the East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA)—that links our economies together with a minimum of formalities. As a result, Mindanao has become one of our country’s fastest-growing areas—with an annual growth rate higher than the national average. And its resurgence has helped stabilize our economy, reinforced the peace process, and enabled our country to weather East Asia’s currency turmoil.

Beyond East Asia’s financial crisis, the peace we were able to establish in Mindanao has bolstered our country’s competitiveness in the age of globalization dawning on us. The restoration of political stability on our southernmost main island has increased our economy’s attractiveness to foreign investors who more and more value the openness of national society and the transparency of governance in making their investment decisions.

Protecting our cultures from globalization

In the Southern Philippines, peace has also increased our chances of protecting our traditional cultures from the impact of globalization. Peace makes easier the work of reinforcing the unity of our mixed communities—on which neighborliness depends—against the spread of selfish opportunism. And the cohesive influence of Islam and ecumenism is helping keep families, neighbors and communities together, despite the unavoidable inflow of foreign cultures and new technology.

In closing, let me summarize my people’s message to you.

New hope and new life have risen in Mindanao because—with the encouragement and staunch support of our friends in the world—we have found the courage to make peace as brothers.

Despite the trials of a long and costly conflict, we remained unswerving in our determination to seek a peaceful solution to the age-old problems in the Philippine South. And, when given the opportunity to break through, we seized the opportunity to win the peace.

In the larger historical context, I am proud to say that the Filipino people have taken up the burdens of peace as bravely as they had taken up the burdens of conflict. And I am confident we Filipinos will continue to bear this responsibility of keeping the peace—for we know only too well the terrible costs of conflict.

We have come to realize we cannot develop separately—as ethnic groups or political factions or diverse cultural communities or economic classes isolated from one another.

We Filipinos have come to realize that, as a multiethnic society we can develop only as one country and one people. And we have learned—painfully—the lessons of our history—even as we continue to learn from the history of other peoples.

A legacy of freedom

Filipinos have been through the entire spectrum of bloody conflict during the past 100 years—revolution against Spain, war with the United States, invasion by Japan, a guerrilla resistance movement against occupation forces, a devastating allied liberation campaign—and after World War II—communist insurgency, separatist movements and a string of military coup attempts.

On the other hand, the Philippines claims credit for the first peaceful, nonviolent People Power Revolution that toppled a dictatorship in our part of the world. This act of the sovereign people, supported by a democratically-oriented military, showed the peace-loving character of Filipinos to the world in February 1986.

We have survived all these vicissitudes and our democracy has now emerged more stable and more united than before.

To us Filipinos, the higher significance of this 1997 UNESCO Peace Award is that it comes at this particular time—almost to the day—of our centennial of Philippine independence, of our 100th year of nationhood as Asia’s first republic. The UNESCO Peace prize therefore adds lustre to the legacy of freedom we leave to future generations of Filipinos.