Press Release No. 085-03
13 March 2003
OIC AMBASSADORS BRIEFED ON THE MINDANAO SITUATION AT THE DFA

OIC Ambassadors were briefed this afternoon at the Department of Foreign Affairs by Executive Director Severo Catura of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. DFA Secretary Blas F. Ople was present during the briefing. Mr. Catura read the report made by General Eduardo Ermita who was indisposed. Fourteen of the fifteen OIC resident Ambassadors attended the briefing at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

In that report entitled “Addressing the Conflict Situation in Southern Philippines (Directions Along the Peace Process Agenda)”, read by Executive Director Catura, General Ermita pointed out the measures to be undertaken by the Arroyo administration in handling the situation in Mindanao.

These are the following :
  1. Peace negotiations will be pursued with the assistance of a third party with the view of attaining a comprehensive and durable  peace settlement in line with the Constitution.
  2. Development will also be pursued in line with the over all national economic plans, giving priority on projects and programs that would have a close bearing to the peace process and the alleviation of poverty for all communities of Christians, Muslims and Lumads.
  3. Justice will be pursued against those who engaged in terrorism and organized crime, separate from the pursuit of peace and development processes,

According to the report, for Mindanao to recover from the reverberations of conflict, internal security must be increased so that businesses would flourish. There should also be an integration of intelligence and investigative findings so that the public is duly informed of the identities of these lawless elements. There shall be coordination with neighboring countries with a view of identifying possible links of local terrorist groups and activities with transnational terrorist networks. Diplomatic initiatives will be undertaken with OIC member states in order to isolate all terrorist cells in Mindanao and deprive them of legitimacy.

A multi-pronged approach to the conflict in Mindanao is crucial. As the armed forces and the police are tasked to keep the peace and ensure stability in the region, the Arroyo administration recognizes that a holistic approach is needed to address the conflict situation. Therefore the approach would necessitate a strategy for coordinated action and response by all concerned institutions of Government, covering political, judicial, socio-economic, peace process and public information concerns.

The approach recognizes the call of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for a paradigm shift in solving the terrorism problem. President Arroyo emphasized the urgency for cooperation and coordination among national government, the local government units, the local communities and the citizenry.
General Ermita’s report provided a three point strategy to advance the peace agenda. Primarily the creation of an  acceptable monitoring team which will effectively monitor ceasefire mechanisms on the ground. This can be done by urging the MILF to declare a unilateral cessation of hostilities through a third party facilitator, which in this case ought to be any of the OIC member countries. This would allow a more favorable atmosphere for the resumption of talks.

Secondly, for the parties to reaffirm their commitments in the Joint Communique of May 6, 2002 in Malaysia on how they should address the issue of criminal elements seeking refuge in known MILF occupied areas.

Lastly the need to identify the responsibility for the spate of bomb attacks in urban areas and the toppling of NPC transmission lines.

According to the report, the actions prescribed will lead to an end to hostilities by both sides, so that the peace talks would have a greater chance of success. The Government will continue to undertake all other actions aimed at resuming formal talks between the Government and the MILF.

At the end of the briefing the Ambassador Salem M. Adam of Libya and Ambassador Gholamreza Yousefi of Iran expressed their respective country’s support for the government’s proposal for a third country to act as a facilitator in the Peace Process.