The strong commitment of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to resolve the conflict in Mindanao, as observed in the ongoing peace negotiations, is laudable. However, there are key areas of concern that still need to be addressed in attaining long-lasting and sustainable peace. Of said areas of concern, one of the most pivotal is the concept of information and its role in affecting the success of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).
The FAB is an agreement between GPH-MILF aiming to end the armed conflict in Mindanao by establishing an autonomous political entity for the Bangsamoro. It is a term commonly heard nowadays but only a few is entirely knowledgeable of. Information, in this sense, is not only defined as mere communication or reception of facts but also includes transparent, accessible, and understandable flow of said facts.
The problem on the flow of information is highlighted with the discrepancy between what the grassroots know and what the people in charge of policy-making know about the framework agreement. By essence, the grassroots is aware of the existence of FAB but they are not knowledgeable about what it exactly implies. One example will touch on the definition of Bangsamoro, itself. For most, the word Bangsamoro connotes only the Islam-affiliated tribes in Mindanao. This, of course, is debunked in the actual framework agreement wherein it is defined that the Bangsamoro identity includes “those who at the time of conquest are the original inhabitants of Mindanao, the Sulu archipelago and the adjacent islands including Palawan, and their descendants”. The misinformation only begins there. Another example would be Muslim communities in rural municipalities who believe that the Bangsamoro struggle was never political in nature. Their support of the FAB stems on the belief that religion is a key factor in determining the Bangsamoro. While it may be true that religion is one of the most common denominator in unifying the different tribes during the first stages of the struggle, the fact that the evolution of the word Bangsamoro to accommodate the indigenous people and non-Muslim settlers no longer qualifies religion as the sole fulcrum of influence in mandating policy and norm once the Bangsamoro is finally established.
In those examples mentioned, we see that the information that the public receives and the information stated on the agreement, itself, do not necessarily match. In this case, awareness no longer proves sufficient especially that steps 11 and 12 of the agreements asks for referendum and plebiscite. If the very essence of democracy calls for the power of the people to choose what is the best for them, to what extent can we call it democratic when the people, themselves, are not entirely knowledgeable of the probable consequences of their choices? True that ignorance of the law excuses no one but then again, how can this statement be held absolutely true when even the educated find it difficult to access information regarding the framework agreement?
One may argue that there are copies of the agreement available online; however, the actual access and the availability itself of the material is limited to a few working links only. Also, the internet, albeit more commonly used now than it was back in the days, still remain a luxury for most part of the ARMM---the region which will compose most of the proposed Bangsamoro. Transparency International indexes also show that the said region ranks the lowest in the country’s literacy rate. That being said, a significant portion of the ARMM population is comprised of village-folk people who cannot even read and write, let alone understand a hundred-thick English primer of a political entity they would soon be constituents of.
The efforts of the GPH and the MILF are slowly coming into fruition. However, unless the aforementioned concerns are addressed, there will always be reasons for people to be discontented especially in this case wherein it appears that what they have been expecting is different to what is actually being discussed. Much has been sacrificed for the keeping of peace in Mindanao. Many of those who once had faith on attaining peace had given up. For once, and hopefully for the last time, let the remaining faith the people has entrusted not be wasted away. Let the aspiration for true and lasting peace come true.
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