"Hindi natin siya binalewala. I will deny that we have not given full recognition to Mr. Misuari and the MNLF," Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita "Ging" Quintos-Deles said during a press briefing Wednesday.
"[That is] a willful misunderstanding and misrepresentation of what is the reality," she added.
Deles was reacting to Misuari's claim that the government had disregarded them and abrogated the peace agreement they had signed in 1996, which allegedly prompted them to declare independence.
On Wednesday, Deles said they were not seeking to terminate the pact but just end the six-year review of the implementation of the agreement.
"A six-year review process is certainly sufficient to have identified what was done, what was not done, and we have ways of moving forward that is both on the development track and the political track," she said.
She explained that the tripartite review began in 2007, even before the Aquino administration.
"A lot of work had been done by the time this administration came in and would continue with this process," she said, adding that they held two meetings in 2011 and one in 2012, and a number of informal meetings which Misuari himself attended.
'What will make Misuari happy?'
But for three years, said Deles, Misuari has turned down every proposal that had been approved by his representatives and the government's technical working group.
"When we would find formula or language on which technical level there would be some understanding, Misuari would come in and say 'no'," she said.
"What will make Misuari happy? It appears that all our work with all the different factions and all our work with the MNLF communities does not seem to make Misuari happy. Therefore, what does he want?" she added.
Although refusing to speculate on what Misuari really wants, she said Misuari has always had "unresolved issues," each of which is supposedly not covered by the review because it is not in the 1996 pact.
"It is not new negotiations. We are not looking at new terms," she said.
Among these issues, said Deles, is an expansion of territory and a commitment from the government for the establishment of a provisional government for the MNLF.
Deles likewise said that there is nothing in the 1996 peace agreement that talks about independence, only autonomy.
Continuation of review
Last week, the Secretary said their facilitator from Indonesia came to the Philippines and met with the government panel and two MNLF groups to tell them that they will be holding a meeting in Indonesia.
A few days after that, however, Misuari's followers attacked Zamboanga City.
"It is a violation of what one has said on that table that, in fact, a tripartite meeting was the process that would address these problems," she said.
Deles said they have already informed the Indonesian Embassy about the attack.
But she immediately noted that it was important to "recognize" that it wasn't the whole MNLF that attacked Zamboanga.
"Other senior MNLF leaders have spoken and said that we have not, we are not supportive of this, this is Misuari acting on his own," she said.
Deles, however, said they are pushing through with its next tripartite review meeting in Indonesia on Monday.
"We had agreed to go and we are still committed to go," she said, adding there is already a request for travel papers for Misuari and two others.
However, she noted that there is no ceasefire mechanism under the implementation review process.
"It is reviewing a process that has already produced a law that is being followed in the land which is Republic Act 9054. It was never envisioned that there would be a return to violence so there is no ceasefire mechanism that is in place," she said.
New Bangsamoro entity
But since the government is in the process of sealing an agreement that will create the new political entity in Mindanao, Deles said they hope that the MNLF can take part in it as well.
"It is to be an inclusive process and we can ensure that there will be representation there as well," she said.
"We stand by the peace process that we are moving forward and we will complete the peace process for Southern Philippines," she added.
The Aquino administration is in the final stages of negotiations for a peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is expected to result in a Bangsamoro Political Entity.
The entity will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the existence of which is a product of the 1976 Tripoli agreement which the MNLF had negotiated.
Some members of the MNLF, from which the MILF originally broke away from, have expressed dismay over the framework agreement.
The peace talks between the MILF and the government panel resumed on Tuesday. — BM, GMA
No comments:
Post a Comment