Mindanao group urges creation of national peace commission

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Peace advocates in Mindanao are urging incoming President Benigno Aquino III to create a national peace commission and a national peace policy to address the recurring problem of peace and order on the island.

Father Angel Calvo, lead convenor of the Mindanao PeaceWeavers, said the creation of a peace commission and the drafting of a peace policy would uncover and address the root cause of the Mindanao conflict.

But Calvo told reporters after the launching of the Mindanao Peoples Peace Agenda (MPPA) here Thursday that the peace commission should be “independent in nature and does not depend on the President alone but the country as a whole.”

He said peace advocates have already compiled documents on the real cause of the conflict and they were willing to present it to the national government so it could be used as a guide.

“Being in the middle of the conflict, the civil society can vouch for the real issues and concerns in Mindanao. We want to present to the peace panel the real causes of the Mindanao conflict for it to be able solve the contentious issue of peace,” Calvo said.

Dr. Grace Rebollos, a member of the government panel negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said she supported the creation of a national peace commission and the crafting of a national peace agenda.

“The creation of a National Peace Commission will probably be the key to solving the problem of peace in Mindanao and the never-ending cycle of evacuation,” Rebollos said.

As this developed, Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) executive director Gus Miclat said they were hopeful that Aquino would work hard for a solution to the Mindanao conflict.

He said the Arroyo administration might have done something for peace but it was simply not enough to make Mindanaoans live in peace.

“Although the Arroyo administration has advanced some initiatives to resolve the conflict, this is because it was forced to do so out of pressure from external forces, among others, the media sector,” Miclat said.

Source: Inquirer