As the third anniversary of the failed MoA-AD, as the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain is usually referred to, President Aquino pointedly omitted any and all references to what has since proved to be a watershed in Modern Philippine History, the 2008 War. The infamous debacle at the hands of his predecessor Gloria M.Arroyo, in which the previous Government Peace Panel secretly negotiated an un-Constitutional Final Peace Agreement that in the end had cost Mindanao dearly was still at the forefront of everyones' mind. Subsequent intervention by the Supreme Court mere hours before the scheduled signing sent Mindanao into a tailspin from which it has yet to recover. Strange then that a President so attentive to the Peace Process wouldn't even mention the MILF OR the conflict that resulted from the MILF's inability to control its armed wing, the BIAF, or Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces.
Then on the third anniversary itself, August 4th, the nation discovered that President Aquino and MILF Chairman, al Haj Murad Ebrahim had spent the evening together in a suburban Tokyo hotel (sounds as sleazy as it really was though a tad bit different than most imagine-wink). The meeting, held in the second floor Function Room of the Crowne Plaza ANA in Narita took place at 830PM out of deference to Chairman Ebrahim and his gaggle of MILF flunkys since the Islamic holy month of Ramadan precludes all eating during daylight hours, and the early evening hours are usually the time when meetings are held, daylight hours being used to contemplate more spiritual concerns. Accompanying Murad was:
1) Chairman of the MILF Peace Panel, Mohagher Iqbal, concurrently the Chairman of the Information Committee
2) Eternal fly in the ointment- I mean fly on the wall - Datu Michael O.Mastura, a former Congressman and long time member of the MILF Peace Panel in all its various incarnations
3) Maulana "Bobby" M.Alonto, another long term Panel member and joined at the hip with Mastura
4) Aleem Abdul Aziz Mimbantas, Vice Chairman of Military Affairs Committee
5) Aleem Khalifa Ando, Chief Justice on the MILF Supreme Shari'a Court (Islamic Court)
6) Datu Antonio Kinoc, an Alternate on the Peace Panel and the only non-Muslim on the Panel to boot, a B'laan Tribesmen he is the token Lumad (Animist Hilltribesman) on the team
7) Dr.Zafrullah Dipatuan, Chairman of the BDA, or Bangsamoro Development Authority. The BDA is the MILF interface for MILF "approved" developmental and infrastructural projects within the MILF/BIAF AOR (Area of Responsibility, as in Area of Operation)
8) Ismael Pasigan, Peace Panel Secretariat member
9) Muhajirin Ali, Peace Panel Secretariat member
10) Mahmur Estino, Provincial Chairman of Sulu Province
11) Kumander Sonny Davao, Commanding Officer of the 111 Base Command of the BIAF
Joining President Aquino were:
1) Chairperson of the GPH, or Government of the Philippines Peace Panel, Mario Victor "Marvic" Leonen,
2) GPH Peace Panelist, Professor Miriam Coronel Ferrer
3) Secretary Teresita Q.Deles of OPAPP, or the Office of the Presidential Advisor for the Peace Process
4) Voltaire Gazmin, Secretary of the Department of National Defense
5) Cesar Garcia, Presidential Advisor on National Security
6) Florencia Abad, Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management
7) Cesar Purisima, Secretary of the Department of Finance
8) Edwin Lacierda, Presidential Spokesperson
After an initial handshake at 845PM- some call it TREASON- between President Aquino and Chairman Ebrahim and some small talk with Malaysian Facilitator Tengku Dato Abd Jafa'ar Tengku Mohammed the pair moved into an adjoining side conference room for more focused discussions which included the Chairman of each Peace Panel as well, to take notes and helf better define minor points. The meeting ended on a high note at 1015PM. Afterwards Professor Coronel Ferrer told anybody that would listen that the meeting did NOT represent a new direction for the Government and that most of all, people should not think that the Government was selling out Mindanao...COUGH.
As Secretary Deles told it in the days immediately after the meeting, as criticism reached a crescendo, it was not an impetuous decision at all. At President Aquino's behest back in June, GPH Panel Chairperson Leonen officialy forwarded a request to Chairman Ebrahim via Facilitator Tengku Mohhamed. The MILF responded positively with a single pre-condition; whereas the Government offered to meet Chairman Ebrahim anywhere in the Philippines, the MILF specified that it must take place within one of the four governmental members of the ICG, or International Contact Group. Having to choose from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Japan the Government very quickly agreed to hold the meeting in Japan with full planning to take place not too far in the distant future.
President Aquino's staff contacted the Japanese Embassy.
Japanese Ambassador, Minister Hitoshi Ozawa, quickly forwarded the request to his superiors in Japan. Banking on Japan's strong involvement in Mindanao the Japanese Government was the logical choice. If possible everyone wishes to ingratiate thenself with any generoud benefactor. "Strong involvement" indeed. In pre-World War II Mindanao the Japanese managed to outfox the American Administration in Manila and wrest control of the island's extremely lucrative abaca (Manila Hemp) trade. Of course several factors plyed into this very quick and thorough economic turnover but the jist of it is that with direct Japanese Governmental support the Japanese settlers on Mindanao managed to turn Davao District into an unofficial but never the less unmistakable Japanese Cantonment. Of course during the ensuing war the Japanese terrorised the entire nation but Mindanao was particularly hard hit. The Japanese were so entrenched that as recently as 2008 the Japanese Embassy in Manila was still trying to round up its soldiers who had never surrendered and instead had gone feral, inhabiting the thick jungle in the Mindanowan interior.
Today there is no mention of "Comfort Women" or of Filipino babies tossed into the air and speared with bayonets in a perverse form of gambling. Today's Filipino has a very short memory. Instead of contemplating Japanese degeneracy and racism the Filipino of today instead admires Japanese technology and more importantly, Japanese wealth.
A State Visit to Manila by the late Japanese Emperor and Empress in 1962 ushered in the post-war era of forgive and forget. If Americans could drive Volkswagens why couldn't their Filipino counterparts take a less critical view of their former enemy? Despite the re-establishment of diplomatic relations the Japanese didn't pay much mind to the Philippines until the early 1980s when Philippine exports began taking an increasingly aggressive share of the Japanese Import Matket creating a counter-intuitive over-reliance on the Japanese to purchase Philippine manufactured products. By 2009 the Japanese sharehold on Direct Investment in the Philippines had increased to an astounding 58 percent so that the Philippines was now taking in both ends if one may excuse such colourful language.
As Japan became a major actor in disparate facets of the Philippine Economy it began shoring up extant investments while setting the stage for even more aggressive economic infiltration by involving itself in the GPH-MILF Peace Process by nurturing a relationship with the MILF, recognising that CAAs, or Conflict Affected Areas, offer the best returns though the economy, like the geopolitical context on Mindanao is extremely volatile. In 2006, at the MILF's behest, Japan became the first non-Muslim Nation to join the ICG, or International Contact Group. The ICG, created in 2005 is composed of national government and NGO repsentatives is designed to help both Panels to overcome whatever speedbumps may arise during the long and drawn out peace negotiations. The ICG earned its keep in the last Round of the Peace Process when on August 28th it prevented a total meltdown, shuttling between each Panel so as to keep them communicating, albeit through an intermediary.
In 2006 Japan created the Japanese-Bangsamoro Initiative for Rehabilitation and Development, or J-BIRD, to serve as the Japanese Interface between JICA, the Japanese International Co-operation Agency, and the BDA. Assigned funding via JBIC, or the Japanese Bank for Interantional Co-operation and it's Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects, or GGPs. Focusing on schools, hospitals and other projects in Central Mindanao that try and alleviate suffering of beleagured non-combatants. Sadly however this AID is entirely channeled through the BDA, or Bangsamoro Development Agency as noted previously, the MILF interface for development and infrastructure within its AOR.
Japan has also taken an active role in the Rehabilitation Component of IMT, or International Monitoring Team, joining the the Component in late 2009. Today two Japanese members handle the entire component on IMT-6 (6th Deployment of the IMT):
1) Naoyuki Ochibi
2) Kei Fukunaga
So, Japan's role in Mindanao, especially vis a vis the GPH-MILF Peace Process is anything but altruistic. No nation pours money into another nation without ulterior motives in the form of well defined strategic objectives.
Then, shortly before the next scheduled Round, to take place on June 27th and 28th GPH Panel Chairman Leonen contacted his MILF counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal, via the Malaysian Facilitator as protocol dictates, and advised him that the GPH would bot be ready to turn over its Draft Comprehensive Compact, ot Final Peace Agreement blueprint despite having already failed to do so during yet another hastily cancelled Round in April of 2011. However, he asked that they still meet in a single day in Executive Session. Executive Session denotes an Official Meeting between Panel Chairmen and one Panelist from each side to serve as both a secretary AND a resource person. His stated rationale for the desired Executive Session was that- according to the narrative related by OPAPP, is that GPH Chairman Leonen wished to discuss the aforementioned meeting between Aquino and Murad. In this case OPAPP's official narrative begins to veer towards fact and leave fantasy by the wayside. In fact, it wasn't until late July that the President and his Cabinet began to formulate a bait and switch with which to avoid turning over the much delayed GPH Draft Comprehensive Compact. Knowing that the MILF was already under extreme internal pressure with heavy in-fighting between different BIAF Base Commands, and that is without even touching upon Kumander Ameril Ombra Kato and Kato's recently formed BIFF, or the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. The Government knew that it had room to maneuver and dictate conditions but only up to a point.
As the next Round, scheduled for August 2nd and 3rd, drew near the Government once again decided to stall though this time it tossed Chairman Ebrahim the aforementioned invitation to meet. President Aquino was walking a very fine line and yet he pulled it off neatly. The MILF accepted the invitation and so the third anniversary of the failed MoA-AD saw the two men sitting down in that Tokyo suburb.
Meanwhile, as word of the secret meeting filtered back to the Philippines shock quickly changed into trepidation for many, fearing a repeat of the 2008 MoA-AD/Supreme Court meltdown. In that political nightmare Government secrecy nearly tore Mindanao apart, not to mention more than 1 million IDPs, or Internally Displaced Persons desperately trying to stay clear of the line of fire. Even now, more than three years later, there are IDPs who still haven't returned to their farms and villages- not to mention those that did and who have subsequently been forced to flee four or even five times since. When President Aquino first took the helm in July of 2010 he vowed to aggressively tackle the inertia that had characterised most of his predecessor's efforts with regard to the GPH-MILF Peace Process. More to the point the President swore to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding much of the Peace Process. "Transparency" became President Aquino's mantra.
Citing the Supreme Court admonishment of secrecy by the Arroyo regime, Aquino sent the GPH Panel on a road tour all over Mindanao so as to conduct Community and other stakeholder forums on the Peace Process. While some were mere jokes, like the single cup of coffee enjoyed while chatting with local politicians like Zamboanga City's Mayor Celso Lobregat, some were quite informative and even began pulling in a tiny portion of the island's perenialy ambivalent majority...and then came August 4th and the meeting in Toyota (actually it was in Narita, a suburb of Tokyo but you should get the point). All that "transparency" gone in one fall swoop.
Even more troubling is that when the next Round DID take place, scheduled for Augst 27th, 28th, and 29th and the Government finally managed to turn over its own Draft Comprehensive Compact the disappointment felt by the MILF was that much more profound. The meeting in Japan merely bought the Government three more weeks and in the end has hurt Philippine objectives on all sides. The MILF sees the Government as insincere and the Christians on Mindanao see it as a betrayal and most no longer put stake in the Government's claims of transparency.
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