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The News
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Written by Ali B. Panda, Ph.D.
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Saturday, 05 January 2008 |
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Marawi City, Philippines--A prayer rally set on January 9,2008 in Marawi City is not an act from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Concerned Bangsamoro organizes and will lead the prayer rally on the first day of Muharam or Amon Jaded in Lunar calendar which may be on January 9, 2008, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon, in the Gregorian calendar in Marawi City.
This rally is not an act from the MILF but rather an act which is purely an initiative of concerned Bangsamoro. Abu Taslim from the Saksi Islamic Radio Forum was reacting on the scheduled prayer rally, when he said: “It is most horrible on the part of the MILF to make prayer rally asking whatever purposes as a result of the their aborted peace talks with the government. A revolutionary group should resort to armed struggle and confrontation against its enemy rather than to have a prayer rally which is an act of suppliant, he added.
Some urge the use of flag, placards, banners and etc. to demonstrate the moral support to the on-going MILF-GRP peace talks. Certain political leader, who requested on condition of anonymity, stresses the need to make use of red flag and symbols during the rally so the government and concerned international communities can pay serious attention in resolving the Moro problem.
This prayer rally is a response reaction to the government practical abandonment of the consensus points which the MILF and the GRP have jointly crafted, agreed and signed since December 2004. This is manifested when GRP panel added extraneous elements, or introduced “constitutional process” in the proposed agreement with the MILF.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 05 January 2008 )
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The News
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Written by Sanaira P. Hadji Jamel
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Sunday, 06 January 2008 |
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By: Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews
The joint working groups set up by the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) are presently reviewing the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement and will report the results of the review to the January 14 Tripartite Meeting with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The review was proposed in May 2006 by a Fact-Finding Mission sent by the pan-Islamic body to look into the implementation of the September 2, 1996 peace agreement, given the conflicting reports from the government and MNLF.
The Tripartite Meeting, supposedly scheduled for July 2006 finally pushed through only in November 2007 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
As a result of that meeting, five joint working groups were created to review the implementation.
The working groups will look into the provisions of RA 9054, the law that was supposed to have incorporated the provisions of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement, and compare this with the Agreement’s provisions.
The joint working group on Shari’ah and Judiciary met Thursday while the joint working group on Special Regional Security Force (SRSF) and Unified Command for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao met Friday at the Indonesian Embassy.
A source from the MNLF named the members of the MNLF delegation to the Joint Working Group on Shari’ah as Ustadz Shariff Zain Jali, Bashir Idris and Atty. Ulka Ulama.
MindaNews sought Peace Process Undersecretary Nabil Tan, who headed the government delegation in Jeddah, for a list of the members of the government team but he had yet to answer as of press time.
Three more joint working groups are scheduled to meet until January 7: Natural Resources and Economic Development issues (including mines and minerals) on January 5; Political system and Representation on January 6; and Education on January 7. These five main issues are the same issues listed in Phase 2 of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement.
The joint working groups, composed of three representatives each from the government and the MNLF, are expected to submit their reports on January 10 for deliberation by the next Tripartite Meeting on January 14. The venue for the meeting has yet to be announced.
The working groups’ meetings are attended by representatives of the OIC’s Peace Committee for Southern Philippines (PCSP), an 11-nation expanded version of what used to be the Ministerial Committee of the Eight headed by Indonesia.
The Committee of the Eight had earlier been tasked by the OIC to chair the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the MNLF, which has been holding an observer status in the OIC since 1977.
In the early 1970s, the OIC tasked a Committee of the Four which was later expanded to Six – Libya, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Senegal and Somalia and in 2000 was expanded to Eight with the inclusion of Malaysia and Brunei.
The PCSP now includes Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan as chair of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers.
Tan had earlier told MindaNews that government had proposed the venue for the January 14 meeting to be in Manila to give MNLF chair Nur Misuari a better chance at attending.
Misuari is presently detained in a bungalow in New Manila, Quezon City, for alleged rebellion. He has been detained in the country since January 2002, first at the bungalow in Fort Sto. Domingo, Laguna originally intended for deposed president Joseph Estrada, then at the St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City. His transfer to the New Manila detention house is for health considerations, to ensure he is near a hospital.
Misuari was arrested and detained in Sabah, Malaysia from late November 2001 until early January 2002, for alleged illegal entry.
The OIC had earlier repeatedly urged the Philippine government to free Misuari. (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)
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Article
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Written by Ali B. Panda, Ph.D.
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Friday, 04 January 2008 |
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Marawi
City was a municipality named Dansalan, capital of the defunct undivided Lanao province in the
Philippines from 1907 to 1940, first under the government of the
Moro
Province, the Department of Mindanao and Sulu, the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, the Commonwealth, and finally the Republic.
According to one of the late well-known Meranao scholar Dr. Mamitua Saber, “
Marawi
City got its charter in 1940. The granting of a charter to the old
Dansalan
Municipality was jointly conceived by Commonwealth President, Manuel L. Quezon and Assemblyman, later Senator Tomas L. Cabili. The changing of the official name from Dansalan to Marawi was through Congressional amendment of the Charter in 1956 sponsored by Senator Domocao Alonto.” This is embodied in Republic Act No. 1552 dated
June 16,1956. Under the impact of Islamic awareness and consciousness, the renaming of
Marawi
City into Islamic City of Marawi was proposed in Parliamentary Bill No. 261 by former Assemblyman Dianalan, brother of former late Mayor Omar Dianalan.
Professor Talib Benito in his thesis work entitled:, “the Renaming of Marawi City into Islamic City of Marawi: An Attitudinal Study Among City Residents in 1983,” revealed that the bill was read before the Batasan floor during its second session on July 24,1979 and was transmitted to and received by the Committee on Local Government and Community Development on August 2,1979.
Republic Act No. 6734- “An Act Providing for an Organic Act for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao” as amended by Republic Act No. 9054 “An Act to strengthen and expand the Organic Act for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao” and the Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Acts.
During the 1990 plebescite, the people of
Marawi
City voted against the inclusion of the City in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Therefore, Executive Order No. 429 dated
October 12,1990 provides the transfer of the City to Region 1X.
Another plebiscite was scheduled toward the end of 2002. Despite government campaigning for a yes vote in many provinces in
Southern Mindanao, only one more province (Basilan) and one city (Marawi) voted to be included in the expanded ARMM.
Marawi
City could be one of the progressive city in the
Philippines. Its geography and socio-educational and political setting will surely be presented in another article.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 06 January 2008 )
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Article
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Written by Bangsamoro Reporter
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Thursday, 03 January 2008 |
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Maugan
Buat Mosaid, Ph.D.
Again, the New Year tradition
of predictions and fortune-telling comes to the fore as people expect
some changes for the better in their lives and career. Some express
them in the form of new year resolutions which are mostly stern promises
of leaving bad habits behind with the outgoing year . Others want to
be guided by the more conventional art of knowing the things and events
that are yet to come, i.e. through feng shui, astrology, tarot cards,
etc. (I would still refer to these media of predicting the future as
more of an ‘art’ than scientific as there is yet no means for an
empirical inquiry to prove them through and through). Still others,
the more pious ones, resort to prayers as it is still the best means
to shape up the future the way it should be through Divine intercession.
Equally interesting and
worth mentioning are the thoughts posted by two unassuming intellectuals
who hid their identities under the following: Toyskie: “More
interesting than predictions for 2008 is the list of predictions for
2007 that came true and another list for those that did not. I wonder
which list is longer. Perhaps another little research on feng shui’s
batting average is called for at this time”; and Maxim: “Feng shui, astrology, tarot cards, etc. have become interesting media
for predictions, though I consider them as more of an art than scientific.
As an art it has drawn many enthusiasts and adherents for the intrinsic
means by which it is undertaken and for
the value attached to it. For its unique system, procedures and technique,
the art of prediction or fortune-telling has even develop its own culture
that not too many have mastered. Interestingly, it is appreciated more
for its ‘hits’ than its ‘misses’. So, regardless of which list
is longer, the art will continue to grow in popularity and may even
generate more downstream opportunities.”
On the national scene,
the following are some of the scenarios foretold by the ‘experts’
in the aspect of predicting/fortune-telling:
On the economy:
- The economy
will be stable; good businesses are food, travel agency, electronics,
construction and real estate;
- The year 2008
will be good for those born in the year of the rat, tiger, dragon and
snake;
- It is good
to set out under the sun as it gives so much positive energy for the
year 2008;
On politics:
- There will
be a coup for the Senate leadership;
- Threats for
GMA continue but will finish her term until 2010;
- Women leaders
shall be perceived to be powerful and strong;
- Erap shall
continue to be popular among the masses;
- Noli de Castro
will just do some balancing acts to continue to play second fiddle to
GMA;
- Trillanes will
continue to be restless and remain a problem of the Arroyo administration;
Sex scandal:
- One Senator
will be involved in a sex scandal;
- Homosexual
relationships will be problematic;
Accidents:
- Accidents due
to landslides will be more this year; some few accidents in water and
air transportations will also happen;
- Traffic accidents
due to hotheads will be more in 2008 than past years;
On sports:
- The year 2008
may not be too good for Manny Pacquiao in terms of his boxing career;
- Other Filipino
boxers, including new ones, will continue to have good boxing career
for 2008.
However, on the other
side of the euphora for brighter things to come, is the fact that not
one of the corrupt, oppressors, and tramplers of human rights (and minority
rights) has come to the fore to say their piece for the new year , which
means, that the oppressed has nothing much to expect about in the year
2008. These people, whose fate rests in the hands of the few rich and
powerful, are not in a position to try to shape up the future or improve
their lot.
There is no need to mention
a lot of them but the more prominent ones are: 1) the case of the Sumilao
farmers in Bukidnon, who marched to Manila from mid-October 2007 and
arrived in early December, or more or less two months of hiking to dramatize
their claim to a portion of the 400-hectare farm estate formerly owned
by the prominent Quisumbing family then sold to the more powerful San
Miguel Corporation; and 2) the case of the Bangsamoro people who are
claiming a small portion of Mindanao (once dominated by them) under
an established right for ancestral domain which they can call ‘homeland’.
Their other wish is that this ‘homeland’ shall be govern by an indigenous
system called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) under an established
right to self-determination and self-actualization.
The Bangsamoro people
have more than dramatize their cause in terms of lives lost and properties
damaged when they decided to claim these rights through armed struggle.
Now they are anchoring hopes on peaceful means, i.e. the on-going negotiations
between the GRP and the MILF but nothing seems to be certain yet as
of now.
What is certain is that
the GRP-MILF Talk has bumped into another impasse as the GRP panel allegedly
reneged in its commitment in the peace process by inserting the phrase:
“in accordance with constitutional processes” in its copy of the
draft Memorandum of Agreement. This was vehemently opposed by the MILF
panel. And when the GRP panel failed to cleanse its copy of the MOA,
the MILF panel decided that it is no longer feasible to face the other
party in the negotiating table. This was supposed to be the 15th exploratory talks had it pushed through in Kuala Lumpur last December
15-17, 2007.
Thus said, the oppressed
Bangsamoro people cannot wish for something better in the New Year or
probably in the entire duration of 2008. But the ball is still in the
hands of the GRP panel. If it has the political will to return to the
unadulterated original draft of the MOA, the MILF panel is more than
willing to go back to the negotiating table (Mr. Mohager Iqbal, in
an interview with local station DXMS, Cotabato City; Jan. 3, 2008).
For our part, the lowly
Bangsamoro masses, we can only wish that people high up in government,
who ‘call the shots’, shall be Divinely inspired to see the wisdom
of continuing on with the peace talks. If and when they see the ‘light’,
there is still chance for a happy new year, so to speak.
Any agreement between
the two parties will not directly bring food to the lowly Bangsamoro’s
dining table, but, seeing the talks proceeding through unhampered is
enough reason to be happy for the new year because that would mean that
peace is still certain even if it is not too soon. Peace is a window
to development!
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 06 January 2008 )
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