Presidential candidates Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Brother Eddie Villanueva  JC De Los Reyes and independent  Nicanor Perlas showed up at the “Paminaw sa Mindanaw (Listen to Mindanao)” forum held on April 16 at the Holy Cross College of Davao City. The Mindanao Commission on Women co-organized the forum along with eight other networks.

The dialogue-forum was meant to find out what the next President would do for Mindanao and the possible impact of new policies on Mindanao including the women. A select group representing the different sectors of Mindanao asked questions which all of the candidates answered.

Apart from MCW, the following major Mindanao networks organized “Paminaw sa Mindanaw”: the Bishops- Ulama Conference (BUC); Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID); Kusog Mindanaw; Mindanao Association of State Colleges and Universities Foundation (MASCUF); Mindanao Business Council (MinBC); Mindanao Peaceweavers (MPW); National Ulama Conference of the Philippines (NUCP) and the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy (PCID).

“What is your position on the need for women to be represented in all levels of the peace negotiations and what do you think is women’s role in the peace process?” MCW secretary and program director Arlene Lozano posed this question to the four candidates.

The question elicited varied responses. For Teodoro, the special concerns of women in areas of conflict can be articulated by anyone regardless of gender. “Let us choose the best person who can articulate. If there is a woman, then that would be good.”

Perlas, Villanueva and De los Reyes gave the same answer.  Women  should definitely be represented and respected in the peace process. In addition, Villanueva said that  discrimination against women should be eliminated.

A question was also raised by former Commission on Human Rights Commissioner Nasser Marohomsalic about the candidates’ position on the Bangsamoro’s right to self-determination, human rights protection, federalism and charter change.

Perlas, who hails from Cagayan de Oro City, said that he totally supported the Moro peoples’ right to self-determination and that if elected he would ensure that the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain be advanced for as long as the relationship between the central government and the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity be well-defined.  He said he supported federalism through a Constitutional Convention only after the end of the current administration and that the groundwork for a Constitutional Convention that is truly consultative should be started.

For his part, Villanueva revealed that he met with former MNLF chair Nur Misuari and ex-MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu and learned that clearly the problem is the government’s insincerity in complying with previous agreements. “The problem is lack of mutual trust between the two parties.”  On federalism, he said that he would respect the “collective wisdom of the incoming ConCon delegates who should be elected in an honest election.”

De Los Reyes, the youngest candidate, said that he planned to be a “direct participant of the peace panel.” “I have always believed in a real enhanced autonomy for Muslim people. That would mean making sure that the principle of subsidiarity will be respected, which means there is no spoon feeding from Malacanang.”

Teodoro believed that the reason the Mindanao conflict remains unresolved is because “the Philippines is a weak state and thus can not enforce agreements.” On federalism, “yes but let us talk about capacity building first. Federalism can only be effective for areas that are already ready.” He supports Bangsamoros’ right to self-determination but it should be approached “within the context of territorial integrity unless there is a constitutional amendment.”

“What program will you pursue so that the war in Mindanao will stop and so that children like me will continue their education?,” a child participant asked. A “bakwit” from Maguindanao representing the internally-displaced people in Datu Piang, Datu Saudi, Talayan towns also spoke about  the prevalence of poverty and hunger and the disruption of education in IDP camps.  “How can you help us especially those who have lost their homes and guarantee us that we will live in security?”

Teodoro said that as Secretary of Defense, he knows first-hand the situation and that sometimes the lives of IDPs in the evacuation centers are much better than in their communities. “We’ll just make sure that no one benefits from this: not the rebels, landgrabbers, local government executives, and others,” he said. He said intended to devolve the distribution of relief goods to IDPs and to jumpstart development in the places of origin of the evacuees themselves.

‘I don’t know why government can not take care of the IDPs,” said De Los Reyes. He believes that the responsibility lies in the barangay level.

Villanueva vowed to conclude the peace talks in 100 days and to start a massive economic development in Mindanao.

Perlas said that a rehabilitation program for displaced people should be in place. “Let’s take a look at long-term structural concerns of peace and development to address various issues such as climate change and IDPs.  Smart governance is needed to take care of these challenges and none of this is possible if we’re still under traditional politics. We need new politics.”

Amina Rasul, convenor of the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy, ended the forum with a synthesis. She lauded the four candidates for taking the time to attend the forum and urged all Mindanawons to really listen to what they are saying.

“The four presented their vision for us according to their specific mindset and experiences: on human security; environment; common good and morality; local government; and with all of them supporting the diversity of Mindanao. . .All candidates strongly worded that sincerity is important;  but if government does not have capacity to implement it, something is wrong,” Rasul said.