Rizal Hall, Malacañang Palace
9 June 2016
President Benigno S. Aquino III led the launching of a book that chronicled selected speeches and statements in the course of peace process between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The book entitled “Junctures: Selected Speeches and Statements” and published by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), contains speeches of the President, GPH Chief Negotiator Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, and MILF Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal. These speeches and statements were delivered in different discussions and forums concerning peace negotiations under the administration.
“The book we launch today tells of the journey we have taken these past six years. We launch it fully aware that the journey is still ongoing—that there are more challenges we must overcome, and triumphs that await all of us. It instills in us the awareness that we are, once more, at a juncture, where we must choose between reverting to the status quo of the past, or continuing our progress far into the future,” President Aquino said in his speech.
He recalled how his meeting with the leaders of MILF under Chairman Murad was criticized by some quarters but it yielded favorable results.
“The results speak for themselves. By October of 2012, we witnessed the signing of a Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro. By March of 2014, there was a Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. And now, we remain hopeful for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law in the incoming Congress,” he said.
President Aquino elucidated how the government provided critical support to the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) through infrastructure, ballooned number of 4Ps beneficiaries from 37,564 households as of June 2010 to 442,924, and improved education, healthcare, and electricity. His administration has also funded a total of 1,133 poverty-reduction projects in ARMM that include livelihood opportunities, potable water supplies, medicine and shelter assistance, among others.
“From 2011 to 2015, we have built 5,018 classrooms in ARMM, and we have seen a marked improvement in the region’s classroom-to-student ratio, which has gone from one classroom for 82 children in the 2010 to 2011 school year for high school, to one in 33 in the 2014 to 2015 school year. We have validated the licenses of public school teachers in the region to make sure they are providing quality education. Through the Technical Educations and Skills Development Authority, we’ve also provided skills training programs to around 25,000 beneficiaries in ARMM. We have likewise addressed the shortage of medical professionals in the rural areas by deploying 109 doctors, 3,855 nurses, 300 midwives, 22 dentists, and 78 public health associates from 2011 to 2015. On top of this, we also expanded access to electricity—electrifying 846 target sitios from July 2011 to March 2016,” the President said.
On the other hand, Iqbal read a message by MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim. He emphasized the significance of engaging the Bangsamoro people, especially the youth, to learn the intensity, acrimony, and triumphs of the peace talks, which took 17 years in the making.
“Realistically, it is the next generation that will most benefit from this undertaking, which all the more makes it imperative that we internalize the history of the Bangsamoro struggle and the political objectives that we are fighting for,” he added.
Ebhrahim also stressed that the book will be a powerful tool towards educating the readers and the observers of the Bangsamoro peace process.
“Education is the key. If people understand the context of this whole process, appreciate it and work for it, then I would like to believe that we have partially won the battle,” he reiterated in his message.
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