From being mired...

citizens with equal access to the same opportunities as everyone else has.

• In particular, providing them with the mechanisms and wherewithal by which they can govern their local communities with the same autonomy already enjoyed by other local government units. These mechanisms must be marked by the “seal of good governance” so that public authority is used exclusively for the common good of all constituents (and not to stuff the private pockets of public officials or to lengthen their hold on power without public accountability).

All this will take time, but the road to permanent peace is long and arduous. It will take a lot of patience and persistence. This is where the governance perspective can make a significant decisive difference.

First, we have to accept that peacebuilding and development are a longterm process. The important thing is to take one step at a time and ensure that some positive progress is being achieved with every step.

Second, we have to focus on a few strategic initiatives, which support and reinforce each other. We cannot be all over the place. Rather, we should work through the institutions that are already on the ground, further strengthen those that really work and make a difference, and focus on training young future leaders who share the same core Filipino ideology as our Constitution mandates.

Third, give flesh and face to the shared value idea, which is to give people in the rebel-infested areas access and connection to service centers, valueproducing networks, and other centers where long-term opportunities are offered. The people have to be given a stake in the system we have, and such system must be proven as one that promotes the interests of all, rather than the privileges of only a very few.

Winning hearts and minds is really another way of saying “winning the peace,” and winning the peace means winning the fight for long-term development. The AFP has made this as its doctrine for “winning the war against insurgency and separatism.” We owe it to the AFP and to ourselves to ensure that they succeed. Their success means that instead of being mired in decades-long insurgency, we in the Philippines will have transformed ourselves into a model for solidarity and social cohesion.