What could be the legacy of Ninoy Aquino to guarantee peace and prosperity for now
war-ravaged Mindanao? How did the peace vision evolve
during his pre-martyrdom days?
Similarly, like former
Vice-President Emmanuel Pelaez, who was assassinated
nearly to death by hired henchmen of Marcos Dictatorship
in the 1970s, and some Supreme Court Associate Justices
voting 'yes' in declaring the initialed GRP-MILF Peace
Agreement (MOA-Comprehensive Compact) 'unconstitutional'
last year, thus, forestalling total Mindanao peace
according to some learned conscious analysts, the
foremost Philippine national hero Ninoy Aquino was all
heart for the comprehensive solution to the
centuries-long Mindanao conflict.
While living in exile in the United
States, he tirelessly labored to seek dialogue with Bangsamoro leaders based in the Middle East. He
traveled to Damascus, Syria, to meet personally MNLF
Chairman Nur Misuari and other leaders to bridge the gap
of finding a positive solution to the raging
Filipino-Moro war in Mindanao. Further, he journeyed to
Saudi Arabia to arrange the reconciliation of Bangsamoro
revolutionary leaders in order to forge a united front
against Philippine colonialism under the Marcos regime.
Cognizant of the value of
freedom, Ninoy Aquino delivered a lecture at the Abdul
Aziz University in Jeddah on March 12, 1981, stating:
"I have come all the way from Boston
precisely to urge our brothers especially the Moro National
Liberation Front under Chairman Nur
Misuari and the Bangsamoro Liberation Organization most
probably to start their unify effort so that one Muslim
nation they will be able to present a more formidable
force with any negotiation with the present government.
This evening, I would like to announce to you that the
MNLF under Chairman Nur Misuari and BMLO under Sultan
Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman have finally joined forces and
together they will continue the struggle for freedom of
our Muslim brothers in the Southern Philippines."
In the same lecture, Ninoy
Aquino also recommended possible solutions to solve the
Mindanao war in order that the Bangsamoro people can
live in peace and harmony among themselves and with
their neighbors. Truly conscious of Filipino and
Bangsamoro history, his gentle heart was opened to the
national self-determination of the Bangsamoro people and
their ancestral homeland . This is stated in his
aide-memoire given to the MNLF Chairman and the
Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic
Conference (OIC) in the Middle East.
Aptly said, the vision of a lasting
and durable Mindanao peace could have been realized as a legacy of Ninoy Aquino to both the
Filipinos and Moros had he succeeded with his mission in
coming back to the Philippines to heal the wounds of
political hatred, vengeance and war perpetrated by
Marcos Dictatorship. But one assassin bullet ended it
all in the airport tarmac, thus, prolonging until now
the Filipino-Moro war in Mindanao.
Today, his son, Benigno 'Nonoy'
Aquino III or simply P-Noy, is given the opportunity to
realize the vision and legacy of Mindanao peace that his
father wanted to enshrine for the sake of total justice
and harmony. Given now the occasion to rectify the
injustice done by the elder Filipino politicians against
the colonised Bangsamoro people that his mother - former
President Corazon Aquino - failed to accomplish for
unknown reason, how can P-Noy translate to reality the
vision and legacy of his legendary heroic father to
ensure permanent peace in Mindanao.
Does P-Noy have his father's
heart to put closure to the Filipino-Moro war in
Mindanao? Does P-Noy share the vision and legacy of his
great father in visualizing permanent peace and harmony
for the Muslim and Highlander natives as well as the
Christian settlers of Mindanao?
What is the true color of his initial
cry for "all-out peace" that has transformed into "all-out
justice"? What can the stakeholders to Mindanao peace expect
from the present Aquino government? Is it true vision of
peace as characterized
by the national hero Ninoy Aquino? Is it a legacy of
continued war being the trademark of Spanish, American,
Japanese and Filipino colonialism that only brought
untold suffering to the oppressed Bangsamoro people of
Mindanao?
On this note, the Bangsamoro
youth can only wait and pray for peace and freedom as
they closely watch the unfolding events revolving around
the three revolutionary fronts - MNLF, MILF and BIFM -
spearheading the struggle for national
self-determination of the colonised Bangsamoro people! -rrr,bfs
