It is almost a cliché that the many and differing Filipino ethnic groups, clans and tribes are very contentious peoples. They would debate endlessly on about every issue with no result or fruit insight. The discourse worsens to monologue if you add ideologues both of the political or religious types. And further add pseudo-historians in the pack and you have an explosive group.

This early in the PNoy administration (less than a hundred days in office) the peace process is hotly contested and riddled with landmines and competing policies.

In the GRP and the NDF peace process, ideological perceptions, stereo-typing and hardening of positional stance increase by the day.

There are several conflicting strands that need to be addressed both in the GRP and the rebel fronts. Often, what began as strands become policy statements.

The more prominent strand comes from the so-called ‘hawks’ who continue to believe that only military victory and total disarmament of the ‘insurgents’ can lead to ‘real’ peace.

The oft-repeated government position of total defeat for the NDF-CPP-NPA is but a result of the above peace paradigm that is rooted in the decisive victory over the ‘enemy’.

A similar voice is heard when confronting the Moro ‘insurgents’, though it is not a publicly articulated policy.

The so-called ‘hawk’ positioning is not a monopoly of the AFP. The NDF and the Moro insurgency do have their own brand of ‘militants’ who believe that military victory or at least military stalemate is also within their reach.

This particular military ‘positioning’ makes the peace process a much contested issue. The ‘militants’ engage in the peace talks to enhance, ultimately, the desired goal which is military victory.

The more common ‘peace’ policy that is proving popular among governments and uniformed men and women is the ‘counter-insurgency operations or COIN. COIN is the more popular US approach in fighting the insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This strategy is not actually new. Scholars claim that the American colonizers actually invented the word in their battle for the hearts and minds of the Filipinos during the Philippine-American War from 1898-1903. The policy was, then, called as pacification campaign against the Filipino insurgents.

The pacification campaign was actually very successful in putting an end to both the Filipino and Moro insurgency. A beautiful calibration of the hard and soft powers brought down the Filipino and the Moro insurgents in record time.

The COIN Peace Policy is deeply ingrained in many peace talks. This is the reason why governments continue to fine tune the use of both hard and soft powers in confronting internal conflicts. After all, it is winning the hearts and minds of the populace that matters most in pacification operations. It is no accident that government troops and police undergo security sector reforms to equip them in their mission to isolate and hit the hard-core insurgents from their civilian constituency.

In military parlance, hard power refers to military intelligence and all military arsenal use for combats to neutralize the enemy. Soft power refers to both military and government ‘development’ operations aimed to deliver good governance, basic services to the populace and eradication of poverty.

The first and second peace approaches are actually complimentary. While the former puts emphasis on military victory and physical ‘eradication’ of insurgents, the latter focuses on securing the environment and the community to deprive the insurgents of their needed civilian constituency.

The real and yet NOT easily understood peace policy was the one articulated in the Executive Order 125 during the Presidency of Fidel V. Ramos. It is the Comprehensive Peace Process built on three basic principles and undertakes the six paths to peace. This Executive Order No. 125 metamorphosed into Administrative Order 3 during the Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

It is precisely the lack of understanding of the said Comprehensive Peace Policy that is responsible for the lack of coherence among the players, particularly national government agencies and LGU’s, in the many fragmented and often contradictory approaches to the realities of unpeace in the country.

At the heart of the Comprehensive Peace Process is the ‘reframing’ of the ‘jurassic’ understanding of peace and security. Victory or the so-called pacification is NOT sustainable for the long term. Both policies give no guarantee for a conflict-free community. In fact, majority of peace built on the so-called victory or pacification lasts only for a generation and in some instances even less.

The Policy of Comprehensive Peace aims to achieve a peaceful and principled POLITICAL SETTLEMENT. It is based on the following three principles:

1st, It must be community-based, defined not by government alone, nor by the armed rebels, nor any single sector, but by Filipinos as a community.

2nd, It must lead to a new social compact for a just, equitable, humane and pluralistic society, and insure free and fair political “competition”,

3rd, It must seek a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflicts, with dignity for all concerned.

To achieve the above goals, government with all stakeholders must consciously and resolutely walk the six paths to peace. These are the following:

- Implementation of social, economic and political reforms to address the root causes of rebellion and social unrest;

- Consensus-building and empowerment thru mobilization and facilitation of people's participation and support for community peace initiatives;

- Peaceful, negotiated settlements with rebel groups;

- Reconciliation with and re integration of former combatants and civilian victims;

- Continued protection of civilians caught in the midst of armed conflict, reduction of violence in conflict areas and prevention and management of conflict; and

- Building and nurturing a climate for peace including peace advocacy and education.

In the continuing journey to peace, more than ever, PNoy needs to articulate anew the government’s commitment to the policy of comprehensive peace process be they NDF, MNLF or MILF. We cannot continue to talk of peace when the unarticulated agenda is the complete neutralization of the enemy and when strategies to peace are simply a reframed COIN.

The journey to peace is no easy walk. The land mines are aplenty and old paradigms and habits do not easily die! It is such a difficult task and a painstaking work, that to work for peace in NOT an option but a duty as Pope John Paul II said. This also explains why the New Testament has a special portion for them. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons and daughters of God’ (Matthew 5: 9).

With the sighting of the new moon, the 9th lunar month of Ramadhan in the Islamic calendar begins. The month of Ramadhan is very significant to the entire Muslim ummah (community). It is during this month that the Qur’an is revealed, particularly during the night of power. This belief makes the month holy and special.

Fasting during the month of Ramadhan is viewed not in the sense of PENANCE but in the sense of joyful expectation of the big event – God’s revelation of the path of righteousness.

This fasting is akin to the Christian celebration of the four weeks of Advent. During the whole month of Ramadhan, all Muslims, from post puberty to old age, fast during daytime. The physical description is a strict ‘Nothing per oral’ or NPO from dawn to sundown.

In a more spiritual sense, during the month, Believers consciously and intentionally refrain from uttering evil words and deeds. It is the month devoted to God’s words (the study of the Qur’an, the recitation of the Qur’an, and above all the remembrance of God).

During Ramadhan, pious Muslims focus on self-reformation and prayers. But it is also the month for good deeds. Since the month is a month-long FESTIVAL, Muslims prepare special foods and buy gifts for their family and friends, and for giving to the poor and needy who cannot afford food at the breaking of the fast. Ramadhan is also a social tradition involving the preparing of special foods and inviting people for the daily iftar (breaking of the fast) meal.

In the early 80’s, I was in Cairo, and the experience of the celebration of Ramadhan was one of my moving experiences in the Muslim world. The fasting in daytime is matched by the feasting during a good part of the night.

Tents of many sizes were erected in public places for all people, especially the poor, to eat the iftar meal. The food was aplenty for the whole night until the big meal just before the dawn prayer. Rich people would also have tents in their neighborhood for the festival – a sort of sharing of God’s blessings with those who have less in life.

Markets stay open practically the whole evening and all sorts of people walk around, shop, eat, and enjoy the night feasting with their friends and families during the evening hours.

Among the politically ‘progressive’ Muslims, the fast of Ramadhan has become a powerful expression of their solidarity with the poor. It is the actual experiencing what it means to be hungry.

The experience of being hungry urges believers to be compassionate with the hungry. It is a compassion that moves them to share their blessings – food, clothing and shelter - with the poor.

In time, fasting during the month of Ramadhan has evolved into a powerful physical expression of belonging to the Muslim community (ummah). Young and old, men and women fast regardless of location in the four corners of the globe. While there are exceptions to the fast (the sick and the elderly), the ‘exempted’ seldom exclude themselves from the imperative of fasting. It is during the month that Muslims, physically and spiritually, feel that strong bond and solidarity within the ummah.

Many people do not understand this fasting, simply because they compare it with their own fasting tradition. Most fasting traditions are related to PENANCE. The Muslim fast is related to FESTIVAL. This is the reason why food consumption is always greater during the month of Ramadhan. During the month of Ramadhan, the Muslims celebrate the coming down or ‘birthing’ of the Holy Qur’an – something akin to the Christian Christmas.

The Pope and other Christian leaders worldwide greet Muslims, either at the beginning of the Ramadhan (sighting of the 9th lunar moon) or at the end of Ramadhan (the sighting of the tenth lunar moon) when the whole ummah celebrates the Eid-ul-Fitr (the Feast of the Breaking of the Fast). It is usually a message of solidarity and friendship as Muslims begin/end the journey.

In a very special way, PNoy has paid attention to the Muslim fasting of Ramadhan. The President in his message speaks of Ramadhan as a time of great hope. It is, definitely, a season that ‘brings the community closer to one another and to the Almighty’. And in a similar vein, the collective prayers and good deeds bring to fulfilment the promise of grace and abundance.

PNoy’s message is hopefully a prelude to a meaningful and friendly relationship between the 2nd Aquino administration and the Bangsamoro peoples. There appears to be an ‘OMISSION’ of Muslims or IP’s or residents of Mindanao in his official cabinet. I often say that the list of ‘appointments’ is NOT complete yet. PNoy is barely a month and a half in the Presidency. But I dread the time when the omission becomes more PERMANENT. As articulated in my previous blog, the time is long over when Mindanawans, the Muslims and the IP’s are simply items on the agenda. They want to be seated at the table when their affairs are discussed and talked about!