Peace and development
By Carlos Isagani Zarate
Inquirer News Service

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IT MAY NOT BE PURE COINCIDENCE THAT THE 2005 Philippine Human Development Report focused on Mindanao in coming up with an assessment that was intended to be a tool for policy advocacy in the country's quest for peace and development. Almost always these recent times, Mindanao has largely figured in major developments in our country-from the alleged massive cheating in the 2004 election that was the heart of the "Hello Garci" scandal to the rape of a Mindanaoan lass involving five American "sex terrorists."The 2005 PHDR, which carried the theme: "Peace, Human Security and Human Development in the Philippines" and was presented to Mindanaoans last week, had revealing findings, some of which were not really new but merely ignored in the past, both by the government and other development stakeholders.

For example, for a long time -- despite the era of political correctness -- prejudice and stereotypes against the Muslims are still prevalent among Filipinos. This fact has apparently further been reinforced by the so-called US-led "global war against terrorism."

A specially commissioned survey made by the Human Development Network (HDN), which made the 2005 PHDR, showed that 55 percent of Filipinos think Muslims are more prone to run amok, 47 percent think Muslims are terrorists or extremists, and 44 percent think Muslims harbor hatred toward non-Muslims. "Typical of classic prejudice, such opinions persist although only a small fraction of Filipinos (14 percent) have had firsthand encounters with their Muslim brethren, and even second hand information is available only to a minority (28 percent)," the report said.
Quite intriguing also is the further "minoritization" or "statistical genocide" of the Moro population, if one is to compare the official government statistics provided by the NSO and the statistics provided by the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA), which were both reflected in the report.

The NSO claimed that, as of 2000, there were only 3,854,315 Muslims in the country -- almost 95 percent of them reside in Mindanao. The OMA thinks this figure "undercount(s) the Muslim population by almost half."

The OMA estimates the Muslim population all over the country in 2000 to be at 8,349,183, or about 10.9 percent of the country's total population.

The HDN report, however, said that the "undercount" may have resulted from a survey flaw, citing that while the NSO is engaged in scientific data-gathering, "(r)espondents may not wish to admit to being Muslims for fear of being labeled a 'terrorist.'" In other words, the report stated that Muslims, especially those residing outside Mindanao, do not trust NSO enumerators and so are not keen to register and affirm themselves as Muslims.

These lingering biases are apparently one of the reasons why present and past efforts to forge a meaningful solution to the conflicts in Mindanao, which the report said cost P5 billion to P10 billion annually since 1975, have failed.

In the main, the 2005 PHDR aims to "stir debates" on the resolution of the more than three-decade-old Moro and communist rebellions, especially in Mindanao, a major host of these two longest-running rebellions in Southeast Asia.
The core of the PHDR findings showed that "deprivation and injustice, rather than hardship... lie at the heart" of the country's two major rebellions. Failing to adequately and squarely address the root causes of these conflicts "merely tightens the cycle of conflict-insecurity-further conflict."

The report further criticizes present and past government approaches to insurgencies that simply put premium on either pure "military victory," like the past "total wars" waged by the Aquino administration against the CPP-NPA-NDF; and by the Estrada and Arroyo administrations against the MILF; or the pacification and mobilization campaign initiated by the Ramos administration against the MNLF.

To achieve "sustainable, long-term peace," the report suggests the adoption of a consistent national policy in dealing with revolutionary groups. It cited that the lack of policy consensus, coherence and consistency is an important reason for extreme protraction of the peace process.

"But while policy coherence is essential, even more important is the nature of the policy pursued. All administrations have given lip service to the peace process, but within each, the cause of genuine peace had been invariably damaged by the recurrent resurgence of the 'victory' position, as espoused by some military circles," it said.

Also recommended is the passing of a law institutionalizing a national peace policy, like creating a permanent peace commission. More importantly, the report proposed that this policy must also incorporate, among others, the following: renunciation of war as a national policy and a reaffirmation of the principle of civilian authority over the military; a clear distinction between rebellion and terrorism, which implies that their respective solutions shall also be distinct; a search for peace that is just, lasting and comprehensive; and the insulation of the peace process from partisan politics.

"In many ways, the insurgencies have helped Filipinos and their government realize how they ought to build a more just, more democratic society. Then, it should not be paradoxical if, by engaging its erstwhile challengers and adversaries in the peace process, Philippine society itself should emerge a better one," the PHDR said.

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