President Duterte’s approach to the Muslim secessionist movement offers better chances at finally establishing lasting peace in Mindanao. Instead of negotiating with just one group, he has initiated dialogue with different groups, including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
His approach clearly shows that he understands that the Muslim problem is not limited to one group. Our Muslim population is comprised of many groups, such as the Tausugs and the Maguindanaoans, as well as numerous tribes in Mindanao.
You cannot choose one group, and then ignore the others. Therefore, a lasting solution to the Muslim insurgency problem has to involve most, if not all, of these groups.
Before the May presidential election, I mentioned the Muslim insurgency or secessionist movement as one of the five most pressing concerns that the new president
must address.
I have always said that while growing the economy is very important, it’s a lot easier to handle compared with the five issues I raised. The four other priority issues are the dispute with China over the Spratly Islands; communist insurgency; peace and order; and illegal drugs.
It is to the credit of the President that he is confronting these five issues. It’s very clear that he hit the ground running right after he took his oath of office.
With only four months at the helm since he assumed the presidency, I can say he is already way ahead in addressing these five concerns, which seemed almost impossible to do before Duterte’s election.
For instance, on the communist insurgency issue, the President has moved quickly to revive peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), whose armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), has been fighting government forces since 1969.
The conflict, according to geopolitical intelligence platform Stratfor, has to date left more than 40,000 people dead.
In an analysis published online, Stratfor says there is cause for optimism in solving the communist- insurgency problem. For one, it notes that Duterte has personal ties with some of the communist leaders, including CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, who was once the President’s professor. Also, during his time as Davao City mayor, Duterte forged a de facto truce with local NPA groups.
On June 16, or about two weeks before Duterte assumed the presidency, his peace negotiators opened preliminary talks with CPP representatives in Norway for the resumption of peace talks, which were stalled during the previous administration.
On the illegal-drugs problem, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported in August that its accomplishments during the first two months of the Duterte administration exceeded its accomplishments in the last six months of the Aquino
administration.
PDEA Director General Isidro S. Lapeña said the antidrug agency, together with the Philippine National Police (PNP), confiscated P5.44 billion worth of dangerous drugs during the period June 30 to August 25.
During the period January to June 29, 2016, the PDEA and the PNP seized P3.85 billion worth of illegal drugs.
Lapeña also said a total of 673,978 drug personalities—629,139 users and 44,839
pushers—surrendered from July 1 to August 22.
The seizure of illegal drugs and the mass surrender of traffickers and users were accompanied by a decline in the crime rate. Many people now feel safer to walk the streets even at night.
Finally, on the problem with China, fishermen from Zambales and Pangasinan have returned to the rich fishing ground at the Panatag Shoal as a result of Duterte’s first official trip to China last month. In the past four years, Filipino fishermen were barred by Chinese coast guard and navy forces from going to their traditional fishing grounds because of tension between the Philippines and China.
Without surrendering the country’s rights over parts of the Spratlys, Duterte sought, and succeeded, in improving relations with China, the world’s second-largest economy.
All of the President’s accomplishments with respect to the five priority issues that I raised even prior to the elections will contribute to making the Philippines an attractive investment destination.
In the end, solving these five problems will make it much easier to accelerate economic growth.
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