FVR blames Erap's all-out war for delaying peace efforts with MILF

The peace pact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).would have come much sooner had former President Joseph Estrada not declared an all-out war on Muslim rebels in Mindanao, according to Estrada's predecessor Fidel V. Ramos, who had forged a ceasefire agreement with the guerrilla army during his term. Scores died in skirmishes even in the years after MILF camps were overrun by the Philippine Army a decade ago, scattering rebels throughout western Mindanao. Ramos said the offensive, declared by Estrada in April 2000, broke the government's ceasefire  with the MILF. The agreement was signed a few months after the government forged a peace pact with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Ramos' statement reflects the two past presidents' vastly different approaches to dealing with Muslim rebels, with Ramos supportive of the new peace deal with the MILF while Estrada has been skeptical. Asked if he thinks the government would have entered into a peace agreement with the MILF at a much earlier time if not for the all-out war, Ramos said: “Oo, kasi meron na ngang ceasefire agreement with the MILF.” “Umiiral ‘yung dalawang agreement, ‘yung isa final peace agreement [with the MNLF], ‘yung isa ceasefire with the MILF,” he told News to Go anchor and GMA News Online editor-in-chief Howie Severino in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. A year after the Philippine government and the MNLF signed the Tripoli Agreement in 1976, rebel leader Hashim Salamat broke away from the MNLF and formed the splinter group MILF, which refused to negotiate with the Marcos government.   In 1997, or shortly after the government and the MNLF signed a peace agreement, the Ramos administration and the MILF signed the Agreement for General Cessation of Hostilities, in which both sides committed to a ceasefire and to continue formal peace talks. Proud moment

Ceasefire During the ceasefire period, several major development projects were completed in Mindanao, including the airport and fishport in General Santos City, which has become the gateway for tuna exports to Japan and Hong Kong, Ramos said. Other projects for sports, business, and culture were also implemented, Ramos said. "During the ceasefire with the MILF, marami kang magagawa like education of the kids, the livelihood of poor people, and then you're networking with the youth Christian communities nearby because you have to work with them," Ramos said. All these, he said, were affected when Estrada, vice president during the Ramos administration, suspended the talks with the MILF and instead declared an all-out war on them after Estrada assumed the presidency in 1998. “Napurnada raw dahil sa pagdedeklara ng all-out war sa Mindanao,” Ramos said in the interview. During the all-out offensive, many MILF camps -- including Camp Abubakar, a fortified camp that was the largest among the rebel bases -- fell into government hands. However, the conflict also left hundreds of soldiers and MILF fighters dead and displaced thousands of civilians in Central Mindanao. End of conflict? Despite the recorded casualties and festering rebellion, Salcedo maintained that when Estrada raised the Philippine flag in Camp Abubakar, it marked the end of the conflict and the beginning of peace in Mindanao. To this day, Estrada maintains that an all-out war against Muslim insurgents is the only solution to the armed conflict in Muslim-majority settlements in Mindanao. In a Philippine Star report last Oct. 19, 2012, Estrada was quoted as saying: “Even my administration engaged the MILF in a ceasefire, peace talks, ceasefire, peace talks, ceasefire, peace talks. For the past several decades we have done this. But nothing happened. That is why I was prompted to launch an all-out war against the MILF and managed to overrun 46 of its camps, including its biggest camp, Camp Abubakar.” The popularly elected Estrada was ousted in a "people power" revolt in 2001 that cut short his six-year term, following allegations of corruption. He was subsequently detained on plunder charges but was granted a presidential pardon several years later. Estrada ran in the presidential polls in 2010, placing second to President Benigno Aquino III. Bangsamoro deal a “breakthrough” Meanwhile, Ramos expressed optimism about the Framework Agreement reached by the Aquino administration with the MILF, but warned that it may fail if it is not properly implemented on the ground. The agreement will pave the way for the creation of Bangsamoro territory, which will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). "I hope this (Framework Agreement) will succeed for the good of the people of Mindanao and especially all of the people of the Philippines, because who wants war anyway? Ang kawawa diyan yung mga innocent civilians, ang mga rebelde, lalo na ang mga sundalo, kawawa rin yung mga 'yan. It is the soldiers who do not like war," said Ramos, a former military general. But he stressed that no matter how good the Framework Agreement is, it will not be successful if local government officials and heads of national departments fall short in  implementation. "Kung merong mga nangungurakot mula ngayon doon, kahit maganda yung Bangsamoro-MILF agreement eh baka masira rin yan," he said. Communist rebels Ramos also expressed hope that the Aquino administration will set as one of its priorities a peace agreement with the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People's Army, and the National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF). "Tayo na lang ang naiwang communist insurgency sa buong mundo. Tayo na lang, wala na ‘yung iba. Cuba, tapos na ‘yun, matagal na. ‘Yung Vietnamese, tapos na ‘yung gyera nila. We're the only one. Let's put it together peacefully, the same way as the one in Mindanao," he said. Communist insurgents won in Cuba and Vietnam, but they are far from victory in the Philippines, where the rebellion has dragged on for more than 40 years. Aquino has said he is "pessimistic" about ongoing peace talks with communist rebels, and government negotiators have said this view may be due to the difficulties they have faced in their previous meetings with insurgent leaders. — By Carmela G. Lapeña/ KBK/YA/HS, GMA News