4 presidential bets blame Arroyo for Mindanao peace problem
ANDREO CALONZO, GMANews.TV
03/09/2010 | 04:58 PM
DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Four presidential candidates on Tuesday hit President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her administration's failure to bring peace and order in Mindanao despite spending almost a decade in power.
The four – Sen. Ana Consuelo “Jamby" Madrigal (independent), environmentalist Nicanor Perlas (independent), Sen. Richard Gordon (Bagumbayan), and JC delos Reyes (Ang Kapatiran) – were attending a presidential forum on Mindanao issues at the Ateneo de Davao University here.
Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) and Bro. Eddie Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas) were also in the forum but did not blame the Arroyo administration for the peace problem in southern Philippines.
The other presidential candidates — former President Joseph Estrada and Senators Manuel Villar Jr. and Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III — did not attend the forum.
Madrigal, an opposition senator, said President Arroyo has “mismanaged" the Mindanao peace process, referring to the government’s peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
"The Mindanao peace process has been mismanaged by the Arroyo administration … Instead of solving the conflict, she has militarized Mindanao," she said.
She also blamed the Department of National Defense (DND), which was formerly headed by Teodoro, for the proliferation of private armies and civilian armed groups in the region. She said it is the responsibility of the department to dismantle armed groups.
"This is command responsibility. This is failure in the part of the DND, allowing men to amass so much arms," said Madrigal, who was seated just inches away from Teodoro.
Local peace councils
Teodoro, however, let Madrigal’s criticism pass and instead laid down his own platform regarding peace in Mindanao, which he said would involve tapping “local peace councils" in areas where there is conflict.
"Nobody can impose any paradigm of peace in Mindanao except the Mindanaoans themselves, who have to live with each other, who have to stay here, who have the largest stake on the island. The national government should support whatever peace initiatives the people of Mindanao themselves come up with and guarantee an atmosphere of peace," he said.
He also said the local peace councils should also play a bigger role in forging peace with the MILF. "We should continue the local peace dialogues to continue engaging the MILF and to strengthen the local capacities for peace negotiations under your local peace councils."
IDPs, journalists
Perlas, for his part, associated the Arroyo administration to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and murdered journalists.
"We have the world’s largest internally displaced people. This is a shame. The worst killing of journalists also happened here," he said, referring to the November 23 massacre in Maguindanao where 57 people, including 32 media workers, were killed.
In case he wins, Perlas said he would dismantle private armies within his first 100 days in office, and vowed to get rid of “patronage politics."
Lack of consultation
Gordon, meanwhile, said the peace process in Mindanao has failed because of the Arroyo government’s "lack of consultation" with the stakeholders.
"The peace process has failed because of lack of consultation… It is important that a leader has a clear vision of the areas where he wants to concentrate in here in Mindanao," he said.
Gordon also said that national leaders should likewise consider the multiculturalism in Mindanao in approaching the peace and order problem in the region. "It is important that we respect and understand the people who are in the conflict, and [we have to set aside] stereotypes," he said.
Based on latest government records, Mindanao has a total population of over 21 million people. Majority of the population in southern Mindanao are Muslims, although Roman Catholicism remains the dominant religion in the region.
More than 12 million registered voters from Mindanao are expected to participate in the upcoming May polls, according to latest data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Solutions
Delos Reyes, for his part, said the government’s "failure" to address the Mindanao peace and order problem can only be solved by consultation with the locals themselves.
"I intend to consult the peace negotiators and peace advocates. I believe it is the good fate of people that can solve this problem. I intend to consult the stakeholders — those who are displaced, the refugees, those who are affected… We need real leaders who will aspire for peace," he said in the same forum.
Villanueva, meanwhile, said his party would adopt “participative politics" to ensure “genuine and lasting peace" in the region.
"We in the Bangon Pilipinas party believe that genuine peace can only be achieved through participative politics... and with genuine sincerity in solving social injustices in Mindanao," he said. - KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV
The four – Sen. Ana Consuelo “Jamby" Madrigal (independent), environmentalist Nicanor Perlas (independent), Sen. Richard Gordon (Bagumbayan), and JC delos Reyes (Ang Kapatiran) – were attending a presidential forum on Mindanao issues at the Ateneo de Davao University here.
Gilberto Teodoro Jr. (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) and Bro. Eddie Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas) were also in the forum but did not blame the Arroyo administration for the peace problem in southern Philippines.
The other presidential candidates — former President Joseph Estrada and Senators Manuel Villar Jr. and Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III — did not attend the forum.
Madrigal, an opposition senator, said President Arroyo has “mismanaged" the Mindanao peace process, referring to the government’s peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
"The Mindanao peace process has been mismanaged by the Arroyo administration … Instead of solving the conflict, she has militarized Mindanao," she said.
She also blamed the Department of National Defense (DND), which was formerly headed by Teodoro, for the proliferation of private armies and civilian armed groups in the region. She said it is the responsibility of the department to dismantle armed groups.
"This is command responsibility. This is failure in the part of the DND, allowing men to amass so much arms," said Madrigal, who was seated just inches away from Teodoro.
Local peace councils
Teodoro, however, let Madrigal’s criticism pass and instead laid down his own platform regarding peace in Mindanao, which he said would involve tapping “local peace councils" in areas where there is conflict.
"Nobody can impose any paradigm of peace in Mindanao except the Mindanaoans themselves, who have to live with each other, who have to stay here, who have the largest stake on the island. The national government should support whatever peace initiatives the people of Mindanao themselves come up with and guarantee an atmosphere of peace," he said.
He also said the local peace councils should also play a bigger role in forging peace with the MILF. "We should continue the local peace dialogues to continue engaging the MILF and to strengthen the local capacities for peace negotiations under your local peace councils."
IDPs, journalists
Perlas, for his part, associated the Arroyo administration to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and murdered journalists.
"We have the world’s largest internally displaced people. This is a shame. The worst killing of journalists also happened here," he said, referring to the November 23 massacre in Maguindanao where 57 people, including 32 media workers, were killed.
In case he wins, Perlas said he would dismantle private armies within his first 100 days in office, and vowed to get rid of “patronage politics."
Lack of consultation
Gordon, meanwhile, said the peace process in Mindanao has failed because of the Arroyo government’s "lack of consultation" with the stakeholders.
"The peace process has failed because of lack of consultation… It is important that a leader has a clear vision of the areas where he wants to concentrate in here in Mindanao," he said.
Gordon also said that national leaders should likewise consider the multiculturalism in Mindanao in approaching the peace and order problem in the region. "It is important that we respect and understand the people who are in the conflict, and [we have to set aside] stereotypes," he said.
Based on latest government records, Mindanao has a total population of over 21 million people. Majority of the population in southern Mindanao are Muslims, although Roman Catholicism remains the dominant religion in the region.
More than 12 million registered voters from Mindanao are expected to participate in the upcoming May polls, according to latest data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Solutions
Delos Reyes, for his part, said the government’s "failure" to address the Mindanao peace and order problem can only be solved by consultation with the locals themselves.
"I intend to consult the peace negotiators and peace advocates. I believe it is the good fate of people that can solve this problem. I intend to consult the stakeholders — those who are displaced, the refugees, those who are affected… We need real leaders who will aspire for peace," he said in the same forum.
Villanueva, meanwhile, said his party would adopt “participative politics" to ensure “genuine and lasting peace" in the region.
"We in the Bangon Pilipinas party believe that genuine peace can only be achieved through participative politics... and with genuine sincerity in solving social injustices in Mindanao," he said. - KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV
