IS it only because of President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s charisma and luck? Or is it because the leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have really decided to be pragmatic, no longer malevolent toward the Philippine Republic and therefore willing to count themselves as citizens—Filipino Muslims—in an autonomous Bangsamoro substate?

Or is it because of both plus the pressure of the powerful Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC, which used to be the Organization of the Islamic Conference) on the MILF to cut a deal with the Philippine government?

Whatever it is, the signing ceremony tomorrow of the “Framework Agreement” really looks like it will pave the way for the Final and Comprehensive Peace Agreement targeted to be finished and ready for signing in December.

And it looks like President Aquino has a charisma that affects many kinds of people, including veteran rebels and astute political poker-players.

According to some sources, in Malacañang on October 7, when the President was delivering his speech to announce the two sides’ coming to terms on the “Framework Agreement, something wonderful happened to indicate that peace and solidarity between Christian and Muslim Filipinos in the MILF can truly happen now.

We quote from Secretary Neric Acosta’s Free Corner column that appears on Page A4 of today’s issue:

“In his speech announcing the historic breakthrough in the talks held in Malaysia, the President was emphatic: This agreement creates a new political identity, and it deserves a name that symbolizes and honors the struggles of our forbears in Mindanao, and celebrates the history and character of that part of our nation. That name will be Bangsamoro. The President further committed to ensuring that this process would bring all other Bangsamoro parties onto this journey ‘so that this peace can be claimed and sustained by all.’

“These words reportedly brought the MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal to tears, as he and the rest of the members from both sides, watched the live coverage from their conference hall in Kuala Lumpur. Iqbal rose to his feet and applauded the President, who thanked the MILF for recognizing the administration’s sincerity and ‘our shared principles and aspirations.’ To that he added: ‘Together we traversed the distance between us until we finally met in a handshake and an embrace as fellow citizens of the country.’ ”

Civil society organizations helped
Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process Teresita Deles correctly credits civil society groups for being partly responsible for this breakthrough and—God willing—for the actual Final Peace Agreement in December.

“These civil society groups and peace advocates have consistently and relentlessly urged both sides not to leave the peace table until an understanding is reached,” she said.

These groups, mainly in Mindanao, are arriving in Manila today in caravans to demonstrate their support for the peace agreement. The peace caravans—one organized by officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and another by the Mindanao Peace Caucus—will hold a vigil in Mendiola.

Then the caravaneers will be among the witnesses in the signing ceremony in Malacañang. They are representatives from pro-peace networks, of Church groups, civil society groups, and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. They come from Cotabato City, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, and Davao City.

Secretary Deles expects the formal signing of the framework agreement tomorrow, October 15, to be a moving event, imbued with historical significance unparalleled in recent history. That will be the first time the MILF leaders, who originally wanted to secede from the Philippines with the Moro population, will set foot in Malacañang. And Secretary Deles sees that that first step “signifies a giant leap in the relations between the two sides.”