Ex gov’t negotiator urges fair treatment of Moros

By Redjie Cawis

BAGUIO CITY--A former chief negotiator in the Mindanao conflict urged government critics not to treat the Bangsamoro group negatively following the controversy on the fund given them by the government.

The call was made by Silvestre Afable, former government chief negotiator with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2006 that led to negotiations wherein the government and MILF reached an agreement to set up the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute.

Afable, in a statement, said institutions such as the BMLI and the Bangsamoro Development Agency must not be treated negatively because these, alongside the ceasefire, provide the necessary climate for negotiations and stem the urge among fighters not to shoot each other. “One must be creative in offering alternatives to those who have been used to live by the gun.”

He said he was glad the Aquino Administration gave P5 million funds for the BMLI.

Afable, who is now the John Hay Management Corporation Chairman of the Board, said the BMLI is an offshoot of an earlier agreement to form the BDA.

At that time, the MILF wanted to try its hand at implementing its own development projects.

Afable said that as the BDA grew, it needed more personnel who could receive, disburse and account for funds, and supervise incipient development teams.

“The BMLI was the envisioned training school for these personnel. We requested the Development Academy of the Philippines to work on the basic curriculum and devote trainors to the project, which was done with enthusiasm and zeal,” he said.

Confidence-building measures lie in the meat of any peace process anywhere in the world, Afable said, adding “while we seek a political solution in the peace talks, we try to safeguard the ceasefire like precious life itself, and carve out a positive direction for fighters-on-hold—who will hopefully trade their guns for ploughshares when a final settlement is reached.’

Afable said that when the government and the MILF restored the ceasefire in 2001, they needed to follow up on two key items: first, to get in an International Monitoring Team to help make sure the truce holds; and create the basic institutions to re-channel the energies of MILF fighters-on-hold.

The MILF itself has reportedly tried its best to abide by this negotiation-ceasefire-development model as a transitional mechanism to a final political settlement. “Filipinos are cynical about this, but I appreciate the fact that President Aquino is not,” he said.