Mindanao Peoples Caucus
Media Statement
January 15, 2008


The Mindanao Peoples Caucus considers the Ancestral Domain agenda in the
GRP-MILF peace talks as an opportunity for us Mindanawons to revisit our
colonial past and correct the historical injustices committed against the
indigenous and Bangsamoro peoples in Mindanao. This, for us, is the very
essence of the negotiation on Ancestral Domain; to address and resolve the
root causes of the armed conflict.

Recognizing the complexity of the issue at hand, the progress that the
peace panels have achieved up to the supposedly 15th Exploratory Talks
last December 2007 can be considered phenomenal and deserves to be
seriously regarded as a viable peace formula. We call upon our leaders
and stakeholders to seriously evaluate what has already been agreed upon
under the Consensus Points on Ancestral Domain, this being a product of a
tedious, scholarly and an honest-to-goodness process of negotiation under
the auspices of the Government of Malaysia as third party facilitator.

The MPC supports the rule of law and the Constitution but we do not regard
the Constitution to be cast in stone, rigid and unshakeable. In fact, the
whole challenge is how to make the Constitution more relevant, dynamic and
adaptive to changing times; one that mirrors the aspirations of its
citizens and our shared vision of peace.

We take pride in saying that the Philippines, like the rest of the
international community of nations, recognizes the right to self
determination of indigenous peoples and "by virtue of that right they
freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic,
social and cultural development. (Article 3, UN Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples).

We call on both the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front to summon the necessary push that will give birth to an era of
peace, unity and development in Mindanao. A milestone towards that goal
will be the successful conclusion of the Ancestral Domain agenda. We
appeal to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to give the fullest mandate
and authority to the government peace panel to realize what has already
been agreed upon as consensus points in the Ancestral Domain agenda.

Finally, we call upon our leaders in the country to refrain from issuing
provocative statements that will only fan further animosity and trigger
the guns of war. We also call upon the Bangsamoro leaders to set aside
personal, political and economic interests and unite in advancing the
right to self-determination of the Bangsamoro people through the
negotiations.

Let the last words of the late Dr. Mahid Mutilan, co-convenor of the
Mindanao Bishops-Ulama Conference, spoken in a peace conference in Davao
City four days before he died in a vehicular accident in Cagayan de Oro
City in early December 2007, reverberate in all corners of Mindanao and
the country: "The Mindanao problem is a problem that can be solved… that
must be solved in our time rather than passed on to the next generation
and on and on."

Let us not pass this on to the next generation.

Let us do it Now!

-Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC)


For inquiries please contact:

Atty. Mary Ann M. Arnado
Secretary General, MPC
Email: mpc@... <mailto:mpc@...>
Mobile 09209031769