From the Website of GPH Government of the Philippines
links: http://www.gov.ph/2012/10/15/speech-of-president-aquino-during-the-signing-of-the-gph-milf-framework-agreement-october-15-2012/
links: http://www.gov.ph/2012/10/15/speech-of-president-aquino-during-the-signing-of-the-gph-milf-framework-agreement-october-15-2012/
Frame Work Agreement in PDF
Speech of President Aquino during the signing of the GPH-MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, October 15, 2012
VIDEO:
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Speech
of
His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
During the signing of the Government of the Philippines – Moro Islamic Liberation Front Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro
of
His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
During the signing of the Government of the Philippines – Moro Islamic Liberation Front Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro
[Delivered at Malacañan Palace, Manila, on October 15, 2012]
His
Excellency Dato’ Sri Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Prime
Minister of Malaysia; Madame Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor; Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrile; members of the Senate present; Speaker
Feliciano Belmonte; members of the House of Representatives; Secretary
Albert del Rosario; Secretary Ging Deles; Executive Secretary Paquito
Ochoa and the other members of the Cabinet present; Datuk Sri Anifah
Haji Aman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia; Datuk Seri Mustapha
Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry; Datuk Sri Dr.
Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi, Minister of Defence; of course, Al Haj Murad
Ebrahim, Chairman of the MILF; Mohagher Iqbal, Chairman of the MILF
Panel; Dean Leonen, Chairman of the Philippine Negotiating Panel; His
Excellency Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu of the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation; Datuk Tengku Dato’ Ab Ghafar Tengku Mohamed, the very able
Malaysian facilitator of the GPH and MILF peace talks; excellencies of
the Diplomatic Corps; members of the Malaysian delegation; members of
the MILF and GPH panels; fellow workers in government; honored guests;
mga minamahal ko pong kababayan:
Magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat.
Today,
we sign a Framework Agreement that can finally seal genuine, lasting
peace in Mindanao. In full view of the Filipino people, and witnessed
even by our friends from different parts of the world, we commit to
peace: A peace that will be sustained through democratic ideals; a
peace that heals and empowers; a peace that recognizes the many
narratives of the Filipino people, and weaves them into a single,
national aspiration for equitable progress.
We
understand all too well the cycle of suffering that our people have
had to go through for the past two generations. We have seen children
torn from their homes, and communities, driven away from the land they
have tilled. We have seen lives lost and justice sought, but because of
the system’s failure to provide avenues for understanding and
effective redress of grievances, many resorted to the path of vengeance
and violence.
I
understand the temptations that can be borne of anger. I myself lost
my father to an oppressive system; I myself thirsted for justice, and
was deprived of it then by the dictatorship. I empathize with our
Bangsamoro brothers and sisters, [applause] and can only vow to
work as hard as I can to see that the culture of impunity is
dismantled, and that the foundations of righteousness and cooperation
are laid. We will give our people what is truly due them: a chance to
direct their lives towards advancement in a democratic, peaceful, and
safe society.
This
agreement not only marks a new chapter in our history; it now defines
the very path we take as a people—one where opinions are heard and hope
is shared; where understanding and consensus breed meaningful
solutions for all stakeholders; one where every child is offered the
opportunity to shape his own destiny.
Again,
on behalf of the entire Filipino nation, I thank Prime Minister Dato’
Sri Muhammad Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak and his countrymen, whose
commitment to our peace process shone as a beacon of peace to the
international community. [Applause] Again, let me thank Tengku
Dato’ Ab Ghafar Tengku Mohamed, the Malaysian facilitator whose wisdom
and experience served as a bridge towards mutual understanding. They
approached this process devoid of personal aggrandizement, and acted
with the honesty, earnestness, and resolve that brought both panels
closer and closer to each other until consensus was reached.
I reiterate my gratitude to Secretary Ging Deles and Dean Marvic Leonen, [applause]
who not only had to work tirelessly with their counterparts from the
MILF, but also had to exercise great patience in the face of probing
inquiry—from me especially. [Laughter and applause] Aside from
their work at the negotiating table, Secretary Ging and Dean Marvic
produced voluminous memos that thoroughly threshed out all the
issues—and which I then had to wade through thoroughly also. I am
grateful for the dedication, commitment, and sacrifice of these true
exemplars of public service. [Applause]
May I thank also the MILF Chief Negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, [applause]
who approached the process cognizant of our shared aspirations for
peace. Mohagher Iqbal kept an open mind, which enabled compromise
without sacrificing the interests of the Bangsamoro people.
Of
course, I must also express my gratitude to Chairman Murad Al Haj
Ibrahim of MILF, whose very able and genuine leadership provided us
with a partner who, even while striving for the aspirations of the
Bangsamoro people, remained an astute statesman who realized that
progress lay in building consensus among the many stakeholders in the
region. He led not with dogmatism or hardened ideology, but with a
flexibility and open mindedness borne of trust. We all owe him our
collective thanks.
I
first had the opportunity to interact with Chairman Murad in Japan, in
August of 2011. Back then, some commentators expressed concern; I was
criticized for supposedly demeaning the Presidency by meeting with a
rebel group. But I approached the meeting with Chairman Murad as a
fellow Filipino; not as combatants with opposing views, but as fellow
victims of a non-responsive system [applause] which has so often
driven our people towards bloodshed and suffering. We looked at each
other as brothers, responsible and committed to the attainment of the
aspirations of our people. This mindset, I am certain, percolated
throughout the negotiating process and our respective panels. We now
all share in the triumph of this Framework Agreement.
I also thank the governors of the ARMM provinces for their support of this agreement, [applause]
and thank them in advance for the hard work they will certainly exert
so that today’s signing leads to positive changes in their provinces. [Applause]
To ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman, and Governors Jum Akbar of Basilan,
Mamintal Adiong Jr. of Lanao del Sur, Toto Mangudadatu of Maguindanao,
Abdusakur Tan of Sulu, and Sadikul Sahali of Tawi-Tawi: with your
support, it is now only a matter of time before your region truly
fulfills its promise. May I also acknowledge the presence, today, of the
following other governors of areas beyond the ARMM but are adjacent to
it. Starting with Governor Emmylou Mendoza, Governor Migs Dominguez,
Governor Plaza, Governor Dolfo del Rosario, Governor Dimaporo. [Applause] Their presence today tells me that they will help our ARMM governors work even harder to obtain their goals. [Applause]
Let
me now echo both panels’ challenge to the people: Much work remains to
be done in order to fully reap the fruits of this Framework Agreement.
We have commitments to fulfill, people to lead, and dreams to achieve.
The details to be laid out in the annexes, in particular, provide us
with a solid opportunity to expand the common ground whose principles
we have already articulated through the agreement. I am confident that
our faith in each other, and in the Filipino people, will not waver,
and in fact will only grow even stronger in the years to come.
But
as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. We are now at the
beginning of a comprehensive agreement that will map out the detailed
steps, detailed commitments, and detailed programs that will lead to
the fulfillment of our long-term goals. We are committed to enabling
our partners to transform themselves to a genuine political party that
can help facilitate the region’s transition towards a truly peaceful
and progressive place. This year the government has committed 8.59
billion pesos for the Transition Investment Support Plan, on top of the
12.93 billion pesos already allocated through our budget. We are
committed to giving the region its rightful share, not just now but
each and every time, confident that it will redound to the benefit of
all citizens, and will not just line the pockets of a very select few.
And
to all the partners who have long sought this peace, and who have
committed to its fruition in the coming years—our friends from the
international community, the academe, and civil society—thank you from
the bottom of our hearts. The Filipino people share this victory with
you.
I
ask the entire nation, and the entire world, to join me in imagining: A
Mindanao finally free from strife, where people achieve their fullest
potential. A child in Lamitan will be offered the same education as a
child in Quezon City; the sick of Patikul will gain access to the same
healthcare as those in Pasig; tourists visiting Boracay will also have
Sulu in their itineraries; a businessman will earn a profit whether he
sets up shop in Marikina or Marawi. People will be empowered; they will
gain knowledge and marketable skills that will thrust the economy
forward. From constant displacement, there will be now a stable
employment. Children who have had to witness immeasurable suffering
will now get to witness a harvest; sons and daughters who have had to
sweep bullet casings from their yards will now get to pick fruit;
families who once cowered in fear of gunshots will now emerge from
their homes to a bright new dawn of equity, justice, and peace.
Together,
we move forward with a conviction to lift each other, so that in turn,
our nation may grow and reach greater heights. We implore God, or
Allah, to continue guiding all of us, so that our dreams may turn into
concrete, tangible realities.
Thank you and good afternoon.
GPH Website
http://www.gov.ph/2012/10/15/speech-of-president-aquino-during-the-signing-of-the-gph-milf-framework-agreement-october-15-2012/
PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
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