Babe's Eye View article

Today, Sunday, most Filipinos will dutifully go to Mass. In one portion, the priest echoes the words of Christ saying, “I leave you peace, my peace I give you…” and then tells everybody to offer the sign of peace. This is the part where everyone would turn to each other, nod their heads at those beside them and say, “Peace be with you.” But the question is, do most people really mean it? More often than not, Filipinos just go through the motion without realizing the essence and significance of saying those simple words.

“Peace” is something that has been very elusive in this country. For almost four decades now, the New People’s Army has been waging war against the government. Though it has been reported that their strength has been reduced by half, they continue to be a scourge particularly in outlying areas in the country, terrorizing people, blowing up key business installations and derailing efforts to bring economic progress in the countryside.

But how can peace and unity be achieved in this country when the leaders that Filipinos are supposed to look up to can’t even show peace with each other? Last Thursday at the memorial mass for Ninoy Aquino at the Don Bosco Church in Makati, Joseph Estrada was there as well as FVR. But they did not even offer the sign of peace—more so even look at each other.

During another occasion, at the recent birthday celebration of Brother Mike Velarde—a man of peace—he had requested both GMA and Erap Estrada to be there together as a personal birthday gift. But GMA refused to go until Joseph Estrada had left. Now tell me, if people can’t even do something as simple as offering the sign of peace with each other, then how can we expect peace to happen in Mindanao?

Today, we continue to be divided by politics, religious convictions and even family planning options. We seem to be unforgiving with each other, and yet we have forgiven the Japanese for their atrocities and the Spaniards who made us subservient for more than 300 years. We have even forgiven the Americans for killing 500,000 Filipinos during the Filipino-American War, and yet Filipinos cannot forgive each other.

The only time in recent history when there was real unity was during EDSA I. But after EDSA II, we once again became divided, and since then there had never been any peace and unity in this country. The baggage of the past continues to haunt us. Most Filipinos say they forgive, but unfortunately never forget. In Tagalog, “nagtatanim.” Erap was given full pardon by GMA, but he continues to have a grudge against her, accusing her of stealing the presidency from him.

The ongoing conflict in Mindanao is a clear manifestation that peace is still beyond our grasp. In the ensuing bloodbath, it is often the women and children who suffer from the carnage. According to a report by UNICEF, 80 percent of those displaced and affected most by the hostilities are women and children, with pregnant women even going through miscarriages and premature births.

Everyone has his own idea about peace, and how it can be achieved. Some groups say it’s time to stop the talking, calling for an all-out war against the MILF. Others believe talks should be continued while pursuit operations are carried out against Kato, Bravo and all those other “renegade” MILF commanders.

Some advocate “principled negotiations” to end the ongoing rebellion and perhaps even the decades-long Mindanao problem. GMA has obviously realized that the proposed Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domains was a mistake, and so the administration is taking on a new tack, saying it will no longer negotiate with armed groups but will instead directly talk to Muslim communities.

No one argues that peace is possible, but it cannot be achieved overnight. One clear example is Northern Ireland that went through several decades of armed struggle before the historic peace accord in April 1998—dubbed the Good Friday Agreement—was signed, giving Ulster Unionists and the Sinn Fein (the political arm of the Irish Republican Army) shared power. It was a moment of triumph for then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, but even then, it still took almost a decade—July 2007 to be exact—before the British Army formally ended their mission in Northern Ireland which began in 1969.

Costa Rican president and 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias Sanchez rightly pointed out that “Peace is a complex challenge…a never ending process, the work of many decisions by many people…It is an attitude, a way of life, a way of solving problems and resolving conflicts…It cannot ignore our differences or overlook our common interests. It requires us to work together and live together.”

In Mindanao, everyone is angry—and it’s understandable why. But we can’t continue to be hysterical and angry. Indeed, justice must be served, and perpetrators of the slaughter of innocent civilians must be punished. But if Filipinos want lasting peace, then people must not give in to vengeance and bloodthirstiness. As assassinated Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto said, “Pursuing peace means rising above one’s own wants, needs and emotions”—which we clearly lack today.

As a country, we have been blessed with so many things—rich natural resources, tropical weather, and most especially talented and beautiful people. Yet we continue to be cursed with that elusive peace. Until and unless we realize the real meaning of what we say at mass—“peace be with you”—and practice it in every facet of our lives—peace will never reign in our country.