Three large religious sects in the country have joined the mounting appeal for the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to stop the armed conflict in Mindanao and resume the stalled peace talks.
In a resolution promulgated early this month, the Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP), the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and the Iglesia Filipina Independiente jointly appealed to the parties in conflict to stop the armed encounters to ease up the sufferings of the civilians.
Signed by Bishops Ignacio Soliba, prime bishop of ECP; Elmer Bolocon, secretary-general of the UCCP; and Tomas Millamena, the resolution warned of further degeneration of the peace and order condition in Central Mindanao region if the fightings continue.
The impasse would mean an intensified armed conflict between the military and MILF, which will result in grave sufferings of civilians and noncombatants, and the destruction of populated communities and natural resources, the bishops stressed.
Officials said that at least 160,000 people were displaced by the renewed armed confrontation that started on February 11 when the military pounded the MILF’s Buliok complex in Pikit, North Cotabato. Some 38,000 individuals continue to languish in evacuation centers in Pikit alone owing to sporadic fightings.
Over 300 individuals from both sides were also reported killed in the fightings that did not spare even civilian installations such as electric transmission pylons and water reservoir. A series of deadly bombings also occurred in different parts of Mindanao, believed to be retaliatory actions of the MILF.
The religious leaders claimed that the alleged political package of the government is not acceptable to the MILF for it would be tantamount to surrender and it does not address the fundamental demands of the Bangsamoro people for their rights to ancestral domain and self-determination.
We, as Christians who uphold and propagate peace based on justice, have recognized the legitimacy of the struggle of the Bangsamoro for their rights to ancestral domain and self-determination, said Soliba, Bolocon and Millamena.
They said the government should not insist on its political package, which includes surrendering their (rebels’) guns, since any proposal for the MILF to lay down their arms without addressing their demands will not result in genuine and lasting peace.
Earlier Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, urged the government to resume stalled peace talks with the separatist Muslim rebels.
Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesman, said his group was committed to the political settlement of the Bangsamoro problem in Mindanao but would resume talks only if the government troops would be pulled out from Buliok complex, a demand rejected by the military.
Kabalu had also declared that the MILF would not anymore consider back-channel negotiations, insisting that communications from Malacañang be coursed through the Malaysian government.
Echoing the bishops, local officials in South Cotabato province have urged the national government to immediately stop the military offensive against the MILF to stabilize the peace and order condition in Central Mindanao region.
Rep. Arthur Pingoy Jr. of the Second District of South Cotabato also said, Solving the Mindanao problem should be addressed at the negotiating table and not in the battlefield. Instead of resorting to war, consultation should be the foremost option to resolve the conflict, he said.
Vice Gov. Eliordo Ogena, a lawyer, criticized the national government’s war stance against the MILF as the tack is a waste of resources.
Instead of spending lots of money for war, why not just channel it to basic social services such as education, health and shelter, the vice governor said.
According to him, the failure of the government to deliver the basic services to the people is one of the root causes of insurgency.