Group says Duterte should act on concerns of Bangsamoro people  

February 20, 2017

The Duterte administration should give a concrete commitment and act on "low hanging fruits" that will address the legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro people and correct historical injustices.

Failure to immediately act may result to a "full blown restiveness" among the youths in southern Philippines.

These were the call and warning of the members of the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC), which undertook a two-year study and prepared recommendations with a view to promoting healing and reconciliation among the different communities affected by the conflict in Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago.

"Over the past four decades, an untold number of people in Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago have experienced immense suffering. They have lost their family members; they have been driven from their homes; they have lost their lands and livelihoods," said TJRC chairperson Mo Bleeker, special envoy of Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, in a press conference in Makati City on Monday.

"They are poor and they are tired and they want peace now, not words about peace, but actions reflective of peace. Peace is needed now and we know that peace is possible: if and when you seriously commit to it," she said.

Rufa Cagoco-Guiam, lead coordinator of TJRC Listening Process, urged the government to act fast because "time is of the essence."

She cited there seems to be "evidence of restiveness" among the youths in some parts of Mindanao.

"There's a feeling that if we will not be able to address (this restiveness), what's happening could be unreasonable killings," she said.

She noted the presence of some foreign nationals, such as Turkish and Arab-looking, which could be "disguising as tolerance group."

Guiam said the Turkish ambassador warned her that this group could be "classified as terrorist."

Bleeker said they want to avoid what happened in the past as it could be a "cause for revenge" of youths.

The TJRC has recommended the creation of an independent National Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission on the Bangsamoro (NTJRCB) led by independent personalities of the highest moral standing and above lines of conflict.

The formation of this independent body was brought up during the previous administration, but this did not materialize.

The TJRC also advised the existing institutions to implement over 90 recommendations emerging from the consultation process immediately as part of an ongoing agenda of a State that takes its responsibility seriously.

Part of the 90 recommendations is the creation of landmarks to memorialize big atrocities that happened in the past, said Guiam, noting that this is one of the "low hanging fruits," which could immediately be implemented.

Another low hanging fruit is the integration of the Bangsamoro history in the books and teaching it not only to the Bangsamoro people, but to the Filipinos as a whole to prevent the wrong notion against Muslims, she said.

She said the people should know why the Bangsamoro people went through war.

The TJRC was formed as part of the Normalization Annex of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro that the government and the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III. Celerina Monte/DMS