Peace pact deemed ‘best antidote’ to extremism

The Philippines’ largest Moro rebel group said a peace accord it’s trying to implement with the government is “the best antidote” to violent extremism exemplified by the bloody siege of Marawi City.

Government and rebel representatives submitted a new draft law to President Rodrigo Duterte which aims to establish a more powerful Muslim autonomous region under a 2014 peace deal that stalled in Congress.

“This is the best antidote to the violent extremism that has wrought havoc” in many areas, Moro Islamic Liberation Front Vice Chairman Ghazali Jaafar said during the presentation of the proposed autonomy bill to Duterte at Malacañang Monday.

Once established, the autonomous government, to be called Bangsamoro, “would be at the forefront of keeping public order and safety, dispensing justice within the bounds of law and addressing the basic requisites of a good life,” Jaafar said.

Duterte pledged to back the bill in Congress as long as it adheres to the Philippine Constitution and promotes the plight of minority Muslims.

“I am for this,” Duterte said to applause from officials and the insurgents, who came in business suits. “Within the context of the Republic of the Philippines there shall be a Bangsamoro country.”

The rebels, who dropped their secessionist bid in exchange for broader autonomy, signed a pact with the government to establish a region with more powers and funding for minority Muslims in the south of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation and end a decades-long rebellion.

The conflict has left about 150,000 people dead and stunted development in the resource-rich region.

The peace pact stalled in Congress in 2015 after some rebels from the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front became entangled in fighting that killed 44 police commandos during an anti-terrorism raid in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao.

The commandos managed to kill top Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli bin Hir, who had long been wanted by the United States, but the large number of police deaths sparked public outrage and prompted lawmakers to stall passage of the autonomy bill.

Rebel leader Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said amid growing frustration among Muslims over the bill’s failed passage, extremist groups in the south emerged.

“These misguided people have filled the vacuum created by our failure to enact the basic law and fed into the frustration of our people,” Murad said at the ceremony, which was attended by leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives.

“Today, we watch with utter disgust at the destruction that violent extremism has inflicted in the city of Marawi,” Murad said.

Irene Santiago, an official dealing with the rebels, said public and congressional support for the Muslim autonomy bill is crucial. “The dangers are staring at us in the face,” she said.