Gensanportal - Mindanao News Blog

June 4, 2010 - After a prolonged and at times heated discussion, the Philippine government and MILF Peace Panels ended nine years of peace negotiations under the Arroyo administration with the signing of a “Declaration of Continuity for Peace Negotiations” and the “Guidelines on the Humanitarian, Rehabilitation and Development Component of the International Monitoring Team” shortly this afternoon in Kuala Lumpur.

The MILF peace delegation was led by Mohagher Iqbal, with Atty. Datu Michael Mastura, Atty. Abdul Dataya, Abdullah Camlian, Dr. Habib Macaayong, Jun Mantawil, Mohajirin Ali, and Mike Pasigan, as members.

The GRP delegation, headed by Amb. Rafael Seguis, were Atty. Antonio La Viña, Dr. Ronald Adamat, Dr. Grace Rebollos, Atty. Mariano Sarmiento, Atty. Ruben Fondevilla, Atty. Jose Eduardo Malaya III and Director Mark Ryan Sullivan.
The lead lawyer in the government side was Antonio La Viña, Dean of Ateneo Institute for Governance, who at times strayed into interpretative personal opinion touching on controversial phraseology already resolved in past negotiations, like “non-derogating from prior agreements”.  

Making reference to the Supreme Court decision on the MOA-AD touched on sensitive nerves says Iqbal “because the MILF is not a party litigant.” Lawyer Mastura was quick to add that, “playing to the gallery sends wrong signals courting ‘agitprop’ (agitation propaganda) among Moro activists.”

Ateneo de Manila is one of the Jesuit-run universities in the Philippines that take interest in the Moro Question and the armed conflict in Mindanao. La Vina cited Jesuit constitutionalist Joaquin Bernas, S.J. to bolster the GRP Panel’s fear of another TRO (temporary restraining order) like the MOA-AD.  Bernas, who writes a column in one of the national dailies, opined at first that the MOA-AD was a “scrap of paper” but later found nothing wrong with the MOA but “would not sign it.”

The Jesuits have long historical presence in Mindanao but were expelled as a religious order from the Philippines.  Once the Society of Jesus (S.J.) returned in 1859, the Island of Mindanao was assigned to them for evangelization.  Founded in 1534 by Ignatius Loyola, an ex soldier, the S.J. were confirmed by the Pope as a Catholic religious order in 1540.

“The order has a military style organization that fascinates us” admits Iqbal “but it has taken a vow of direct obedience to the Pope.” It has only male members; they are called Jesuits, and sometimes known colloquially as "God's marines" — are engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations on six continents reflecting the Formula of the Institute (spiritual exercises) of the Society.

The Society’s founder St. Ignatius of Loyola, after being wounded in a battle, experienced a religious conversion and composed the Spiritual Exercises to closely follow Christ. In 1534, Ignatius gathered six young men to vow poverty, chastity, and then specific vow of obedience to the Pope. Rule 13 of Ignatius' Rules for Thinking with the Church said: "I will believe that the white that I see is black if the hierarchical Church so defines it." Ignatius' plan of the order's organization of 1539 was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540 by the Papal Bull containing the Formula.

In this anecdotal context, “a more important insight,” Mastura sums up, “that Society participated in the Counter-Reformation and later in modernizing the church.”  As a popular Islamic movement, “the MILF is today a track-able modernizing progressive element of the Bangsamoro people.”