Koko -- Federalism will insure lasting peace in Mindanao

Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, president of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) today said that peace in Mindanao can only be permanently attained by adopting a federal system of government.

In a speech during the 1st District 3810 Rotaract Peace Summit in Manila, Pimentel said that federalism will prevent the dismemberment of the country while providing the secessionist Bangsa Moro a legal and political structure to preserve its own culture and identity.

Pimentel said that he fully supports the ongoing peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), but "there is no guarantee that the talks will be successful" because, it may mainly create a temporary kind of truce, while "some obstacles would remain on the path to a peace settlement of the permanent kind."

"Still, we cannot afford the resumption of armed hostilities. Another war in central Mindanao will have its human and economic costs," said Pimentel, adding that the nation should not fail this time to end more than three decades of bloody domestic strife.

He said that the country is beset with problems on mass poverty, joblessness, poor health, access to education, vulnerability to disasters, traffic gridlocks, high crime rate, slow pace of justice, inflation, rising cost of living, high taxes and graft and corruption.

But he said that he is now focused in the search for enduring peace in Mindanao because what happens in the island affects the entire country before the eyes of the world that are glued to news reports on bombings, kidnapping and skirmishes with the rebels.

He challenged the young Rotaractors and their elders from the Rotary Club of Manila Bay to actively participate in what he described as "Peace through Service" projects to hasten the search for lasting peace in Mindanao.

Known as the "peacemakers", Pimentel said that the Rotaractors and Rotarians can put their proven "culture of service" into action in the promotion of peace in the country, particularly in Mindanao.

He asked them to sponsor dialogs on federalism and the root causes of the Mindanao conflict, monitor the peace process to check on human rights abuses and assist in the rehabilitation of internally displaced people caused by armed hostilities.

Pimentel also encouraged them to help clear the air of misinformation on Mindanao issues, and support the "confidence-building" efforts to prove that government is sincere in keeping "our brother and sister Muslim Filipinos" as part of the republic.

He enjoined them to support the cost of infrastructure projects to ease the lives of Muslim Filipinos in the construction of potable water systems, irrigation, community learning, livelihood, roads, markets, solar dryers and other community support systems.

Through these initiatives, Pimentel said that the foundations of a "true, just, and lasting peace in Mindanao" are built so that the country can then move forward towards full economic development where the poor can share in the fruits of progress.

He challenged them to help the people from the mire of poverty and in providing solutions to the age-old peace problems that have already claimed the lives of thousands of innocent civilians and displaced millions of Filipinos.

"The elusive peace in our land, and the economic progress and development that our people long for would become concrete realities, for our people to see, feel and enjoy," said Pimentel, adding that "peace is the stable, smooth, and well-paved runway from which the plane of economic progress can take off."