Give up arms for farms

We call on the government anew to focus on strengthening agriculture and food production in Mindanao in paving the way towards lasting peace.

One of the main causes of insurgency is high incidence of poverty. the government must map out a plan that would, in time and with the cooperation of all stakeholders, develop Mindanao as the nation's true 'food basket'.

We call on both the GPH and the MILF to seriously explore the possibilities of prosperity should the decades-old conflict finally ends. There is much work that needs to be done, but we first need to end this decades-old war. This war has already cost us over P100 billion pesos in the past four decades. Should the war end, we can allocate the much-needed resources for the basic services , infrastructure and the necessary investments in the countryside and agricultural development.

We firmly believe that the country's far too neglected agricultural sector is the key to the country's economic and social ills.

We have neglected agriculture for decades, which is why our neighbors like Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Thailand are zooming past us while we are limping like a crippled old man. If we had, instead, focused on developing agriculture in our “food basket” of Mindanao think of where we might be today.

History has taught us that a military solution in Mindanao has failed time and time again. We must look at the Ramos administration’s aggressive peace initiatives in the 90s that helped create the window of opportunity that laid down the foundation for economic progress in cities like GenSan (General Santos), Cagayan de Oro, and Davao. In the Mindanao experience, war has brought only misery while aggressive peace initiatives have brought real, tangible progress and development in these areas.

General Santos, for example, has risen from being a war-torn area to the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines,” with exports in 2010 valued at $359.4 million (approximately P15.5 billion).

The root cause of insurgency is poverty. What our people in the rural areas need are sustainable agricultural programs that can help feed our people and give our farmers and fisherfolk dignity in their professions. Then maybe they will no longer be encouraged to take up arms.

We welcome resumption of peace talks with MILF and urge peace panel to address gaps in peace process

We welcome the resumption of the formal peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), set to begin Monday in Kuala Lumpur.

The peace talks are a sign that both groups are now willing to move forward after the deadly series of clashes that occurred between government forces and the separatist group starting October this year.

Nobody wins when Filipinos kill fellow Filipinos, and the whole country continues to grieve for all the losses incurred by both sides. Pilipino silang lahat, at bawat isa sa mga namatay ay may mga naiwang pamilya at mahal sa buhay. While nothing will be able to take back the lives of these slain men, we can ensure that their deaths will not be in vain by continuing to push for genuine peace. That is the only way forward.

Four decades of war has cost us at least a hundred billion pesos, and the atrocities made to our people have been unspeakable. We need to end this war within this generation for our country to finally take off, but the framework has to be clear and the loopholes must be addressed for the peace process to move forward. We urge both sides of the panel to be clear about the terms of the peace process and for them to abide by these terms. We also urge that those who will disregard these terms be held accountable under the full force of the law.

We also hope that, from here on, peace will be our primary agenda in the South. History has taught us that a military solution in Mindanao has failed time and time again. We must look at the Ramos administration’s aggressive peace initiatives in the 90s that helped create the window of opportunity that laid down the foundation for economic progress in cities like GenSan (General Santos), Cagayan de Oro, and Davao. In the Mindanao experience, war has brought only misery while aggressive peace initiatives have brought real, tangible progress and development in these areas.

Peace process must remain within constitutional limits

The gaps in the 2001 ceasefire agreement must be addressed. While we are for peace, we must build a peace process that recognizes its limits under the Constitution.

While we welcome the efforts of the Armed Forces to capture and bring to justice those responsible for the murderous rampage that led to the deaths of our men in uniform, we must reiterate our position that bombings and the capture of rebel camps do not necessarily lead to victory in the field.

The US dropped more bombs during the Vietnam War than they then did during World War II, yet they lost to the Vietnamese.

We must win the peace. Military operations, war, and destruction will not achieve this.

Spend our billions on food production, not war, in Mindanao

There is nothing that our country will gain by waging an all-out war against our fellow Filipinos. In fact, in the four decades that we have been waging war in the south, we have already lost close to P100 billion in damage to crops, infrastructure, property, and in spending for arms and ammunition that have killed countless lives. That’s P100 billion that we could have invested elsewhere, like for agriculture and food production, education, housing, health, and other basic services.

We have neglected agriculture for decades, which is why our neighbors like Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Thailand are zooming past us while we are limping like a crippled old man. If we had, instead, focused on developing agriculture in our “food basket” of Mindanao, think of where we might be today.

History has taught us that a military solution in Mindanao has failed time and time again. We must look at the Ramos administration’s aggressive peace initiatives in the 90s that helped create the window of opportunity that laid down the foundation for economic progress in cities like GenSan (General Santos), Cagayan de Oro, and Davao. In the Mindanao experience, war has brought only misery while aggressive peace initiatives have brought real, tangible progress and development in these areas.

General Santos, for example, has risen from being a war-torn area to the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines,” with exports in 2010 valued at $359.4 million (approximately P15.5 billion).

The root cause of insurgency is poverty so why should we waste even more precious resources when we should instead be helping our people get out of poverty? What our people in the rural areas need are sustainable agricultural programs that can help feed our people and give our farmers and fisherfolk dignity in their professions. Then maybe they will no longer be encouraged to take up arms.

Ang sanhi ng gulo sa Mindanao ay matinding kahirapan. Ang solusyon ay pagkain at kabuhayan, hindi baril at armas.

We continue to call for justice for our fallen soldiers, plus the innocent lives that got caught in the crossfire. But while we need to re-think our handling of the peace negotiations with the MILF, we ought to do so in the context of how to strengthen the peace process rather than abandoning it for the path of war. And we need to retrain our focus on feeding our people, rather than perpetuating an unnecessary war.

Temporarily suspend ceasefire talks with the MILF

We support the President’s call for sobriety in not going for an all-out war against the MILF, but we urge the MILF to come out with a categorical statement in regard to their so-called ‘lost commands’ that have been sowing violence in Basilan over the past weeks. We also urge the President to suspend peace talks with the MILF temporarily. The GPH and the MILF must first strengthen the mechanisms of the peace talks, specifically the provisions on ceasefire violations.

Unless the loopholes in the provisions on ceasefire violations are addressed, we fear that violations will continue and more lives will be lost.

Ceasefire violations are a hindrance to genuine peace talks. The strengthening of mechanisms against such violations is crucial to both parties moving forward with the peace negotiations. This must include provisions on bringing to justice those perpetrators who, with their actions—regardless of their motives—have resulted in the loss of lives.

Show no mercy for murderous lost commands

We cannot simply turn a blind eye to the murderous and lawless armed elements in the area, who with treachery take advantage of the restraint exercised by our men in uniform out of respect for the peace process.

We should continue to talk peace with the MILF but we should show no mercy for the murderous lost commands. We trust that the MILF will agree that these lost commands should be dealt with the full force of the law.

A three year election hiatus in ARMM is needed to effect reforms

While we recognize and respect the views of those who believe that the elections should push through, we believe that for the sake of genuine reforms in the ARMM, we must be willing to do things differently. Clearly we are left wanting in this failed political experiment. The Ampatuan massacre is one clear proof that the elections there have failed to benefit the people, thus radical change is needed.

Several elected governors of the ARMM have faced graft charges. The ARMM was first created in 1989 through Republic Act No. 6734 in pursuance with a constitutional mandate to provide for an autonomous area in Muslim Mindanao. Despite being classified as autonomous, the region still receives approximately 98% of its operating budget from the National Government.

We have had regular elections in the ARMM for two decades now yet, with all due respect, those elected by and large failed to provide the leadership needed to transform the region. We propose a three year hiatus so that we may have a window to implement genuine reforms needed to govern such a region. We would like to see an ARMM that will truly provide real meaning to autonomy and self-governance.

My statement on the Jolo bombing

The Jolo bombing, which happened on Christmas Day of all days, should serve as a stern reminder to government that the path to peace, even if fraught with danger, should nevertheless be pursued with greater intensity and aggressiveness. It should tell us that we must relentlessly confront the root causes of armed conflict and violence, which are poverty and discrimination.

The peace initiatives of the government must not be sidetracked by these acts of senseless violence. It must, in fact, strengthen our resolve to bring peace negotiations to a higher level and end decades of armed conflict and social unrest in the South.

With inspiring and determined leadership and a people inspired to get involved and see an end to war and violence in their respective communities, there is no reason why we cannot succeed in silencing the guns of war for all time.

My 12 Christmas wishes for our country and our leader

1. For peace talks to start: “An end to the armed conflict around the country could lead to the emergence of cities such as General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao city.”


2. A new image for the country’s tourism industry: “We must attract tourists; not criticisms. Our people are by nature extremely friendly and hospitable. We are only doing/achieving some 3M tourist arrivals annually while our neighbors are doing four or five time more with 12 to 15 Million tourist visits annually. It has been said that other countries in the ASEAN are doing so much more with so little in terms of natural wonders and beautiful sites while we are doing so little with so much.”


3. For the CCT to be implemented ASAP: “I share the President’s fervor in lifting our countrymen out of poverty. We would like to see the CCT be implemented the soonest so we can assess right away its impact on our nation’s marginalized sector and tweak the system as necessary.”


4. A girlfriend for PNoy: “I hope all the best for our President, but more than that, I wish for him to finally find that special someone so that the media can focus their stories on the more substantiative aspects of being the leader of a nation.”

5. A united Malacanang: “We would like to see A more disciplined and cohesive team working towards achieving progress in the country. Let us be rid of the factions within. Filipinos are naturally resilient and love to laugh. But it does us no good to laugh at the follies of those who represent PNoy.”


6. Stable gasoline prices: “We make an appeal to those controlling the prices of this very important commodity: Let us give our countrymen a chance to rise above subsistence. Let us find a compromise wherein your business can still thrive without the poor suffering at the end of the consumer chain.”


7. For Filipinos to start thinking of fishing as a viable industry: “There is more to the country than agricultural farming. We have one of the longest coastlines in the world and a treasure trove of aquamarine resources. The Philippines can easily be the aquamarine resource powerhouse of the world.”


8. To be rid of garbage: “The tragedy of Ondoy should serve as a powerful lesson to us all. Cleaning up the environment also gives one a sense of pride and dignity, no matter what social class he or she belongs to.”


9. For families to be informed of their choices on family planning: “The fact remains that unless we are able to address the issue of population management, we can never realize our true potential as a nation. The government can only provide for so much of its citizen before there is chaos. An informed choice is what Filipinos need to manage the booming population.”


10. More private-public participation in worthy projects: “ The Gawad Kalinga is an exemplary example of how the synergy of government and private sector partnerships can bring about sustainable reforms for our communities and indeed, the whole nation. We all hope for a better nation, and as a people we will collectively realize these hopes only when more of us are willing to make a stand, take the risk, move out of our comfort zones and pledge to commit to doing our share in helping shape our communities and in helping move our nation towards a new direction.”


11. For smugglers to go to jail: “Smuggling affects the sustainability and profitability of our trade industry. It has been pervasive for far too long. We would like to see these unscrupulous traders finally put to jail. Smuggling is an indication of pervasive corruption in the country. We hope to stamp out all forms of corruption in the Philippines, and we need to make examples of them by punishing them.”


12. For our staple to have price stability: “Rice has been the cultural staple of Filipinos. And yet not all of our countrymen are able to afford to have them on their tables. For us to have economic stability, we will need to have food security. Addressing the gaps that affect the prices of rice will greatly improve the lives of our impoverished people. One cannot dream of prosperity after all if one has an empty stomach.”

Achieving lasting peace

We welcome the silencing of the guns of war this Yuletide season. It is our genuine hope that soon, through a negotiated honorable peace settlement, these guns will be silenced for all time. May this generation of leaders achieve what previous generations have failed to do. May we as a nation achieve lasting peace in our lifetime. For the cause of progress, for the welfare of our nation, for the future of our children