Speech of Sec. Teresita Quintos-Deles on the GPH-CBA/CPLA Closure Agreement signing, July 4, 2011

OPENING REMARKS
By Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles, PAPP
On the Occasion of the Signing of the GPH-CBA/CPLA Closure Agreement
Malacañang Palace, 4 July 2011
 
 
Sa wakas, dumating din ang pinakahihintay na araw nating lahat. Today, we sign a Closure Agreement that will embody six elements:
 
i) Community projects for identified communities;
 
ii) Livelihood and employment support for CPLA members;
 
iii) Sub-regional  development projects;
 
iv) Legacy documentation.
 
 
Please allow me to say a few words on this particular component:
The CPLA has asked that we allow and support them in writing their story so that their history will not be forgotten, so that their role will not disappear from the landscape of the Cordillera. Government is happy to accede and we applaud this as a wonderful element of this closure process;
 
 
v) Final disposition of arms and forces.
 
We are looking forward to the registration if not the surrendering of all arms. The CPLA is acknowledging there is one sole legitimate armed force – the Armed Forces of the Philippines;
 
 
vi) and finally, the Transformation of the CBA-CPLA into a potent, unarmed socio-economic organization, which will be duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
 
Some of you may be wondering why we call this a “closure agreement.” Of the six peace tables which government is currently attending to, three – this one with the CPLA and two tables with the RPMP-RPA-ABB – are a follow-through to earlier general ceasefire agreements, the one with the CBA-CPLA signed in 1986, and with the RPMP-RPA-ABB in 2000.  While the respective ceasefire of these groups with government forces have generally held, with some members of the CPLA having been integrated into the AFP regular force and some into the CAFGU,   the reality is that these organizations continue to regard themselves as armed parties, with operational “zone commands,” and their members continuing to carry arms.  The government now seeks a full and peaceful closure of these peace tracks, with a clear timetable not just for a ceasefire but for a final end of hostilities and the disposition of arms and forces.
 
 
We have looked forward to this day with much hope and anticipation.  This peace track with the CPLA began some time in July last year.  It has been a year of patient dialogue, community consultations, and diligent advocacy with national government agencies and LGUs.  I am sure that there were times of intense worry and doubt as to whether we would ever get to signing the agreement.   Pero  nandito ho tayo ngayon, kasama ang ating mahal na Pangulo na siyang nagpapatunay na hindi ito isang panaginip lamang.
 
 
As we have repeatedly said, the Philippine Government under the leadership of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III has committed to the objective of bringing all Philippine internal armed conflict to a peaceful closure. We take this commitment very seriously; we want to sign peace agreements, but we can’t just sign for the sake of signing.  For the peace track with the CPLA and for all the other peace tracks that government is pursuing, we are intent to have something that is really going to hold.  In every case, we have to do more rigorous homework, we need to think through the implications of the provisions we are drafting and negotiating, because this administration is committed to implement any peace agreement it will sign and our President intends to make sure that all peace agreements will translate into felt benefits for the conflict-affected communities.
 
 
To ensure a durable outcome on this peace track, we are keen to forge an effective partnership between government and the CBA-CPLA. We know that in pursuing the projects they have identified under this agreement, it cannot be business-as-usual.  We need to learn to do things differently to make sure that what we sign today will truly make a difference in the lives of the membership of the CBA-CPLA and the welfare of their families and the communities under their watch, sooner rather than later.  We look forward to this partnership with the CPLA in doing development differently; in ensuring that the development that we bring into their communities will not bring about new sources of conflict, inequity and grievance but would instead bring about healing not just of the wounds that are visible to the eye but also of the layers of hidden wounds that a whole generation in the Cordillera has continued to carry.
 
 
We know, in the midst of today’s celebratory mood, that the path ahead will not be easy, given the challenges that hounded us during our search for a common path and solution.  Hindi naging madali ang ating pinagdaanan.  Alam din natin na marami pa tayong hamon na haharapin.
 
 
On the part of the CPLA, it entails an essential shift in the way the CPLA views itself: no longer as an armed group with a command structure that has commanders as leaders and combatants as members, but as a potent, socio-economic unarmed force that can directly improve the lives of their families and communities, and influence the pace and direction of development in the Cordillera, a region that, despite its apparent, positive development indicators, continues to hold pockets of extreme poverty, constituting areas of difficult and dangerous access.  With this agreement, our partners in CPLA commit to replace their weapons of war with instruments for development and peace.
 
 
On the part of government, we see this effort as government finally demonstrating its fidelity to promises it has made in the past and its capacity to honor lives and futures lost in past struggles.  We hope it will spur increased confidence among all stakeholders in government’s serious intent and capacity not only in concluding peace agreements but, as important, in fully implementing whatever it signs.
 
 
In forging this path, we ask for the support and faithful accompaniment of our partners on the ground; namely, the local government, civil society, the churches, the academe, the private sector.  We ask for the support of our international partners.  By faithful accompaniment, I mean and hope that they will be with us not only in times of success, but also and most especially, in times of greatest difficulty and challenge. Let me say, too, that my hope is that the relationship that we have built with the CBA-CPLA based on dignity, mutual trust and respect will continue to hold ground, and will carry us through the pitfalls and landmines that will surely meet us along the way.
 
 
Before closing, I would like to acknowledge the work of the joint panels that finalized the terms of this closure agreement: for the CPLA, Mr. Arsenio Humiding, Mr. Fernando Bahatan Jr., and Mayor Gabino Ganggangan; for government, Undersecretary Luisito Montalbo of OPAPP, Undersecretary Austere Panadero of DILG, and Col. Dixon Hermoso of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.  The AFP provided essential technical and security support to our OPAPP staff through this difficult undertaking.  We wish to thank our security forces and all concerned national government agencies for their support and continuing partnership as we pursue this peace process to a peaceful and fruitful conclusion.
 
 
Indeed, today is another day that peace has won. Congratulations ho sa ating lahat!