Why Daang Matuwid is not enough for Mindanao?

MRT - Luzon

Mamasapano Bridge - Mindanao

Like many, I have never been interested in a Philippine presidential election until now. As a Muslim from Mindanao - I am all too weary of the way the Philippine government handled the Bangsamoro issue - both the recent and the bygone. As far as I can remember, there had been no good solution to satisfy both the Bangsamoro people and the rest of the Philippines. Frankly, I didn't believe that there will be any in the future. I say this because even with the best effort of current Gov. Hataman, the poorest areas in the Philippines are still located in ARMM.

However, all these changed when Duterte finally decided to run for the presidency. I know he has many shortcomings both as a person, a statesman and as a leader, but deep in my heart I believe that he can make changes in the country more than any of his running mates. So for a Muslim Mindanaoan like me, this is the most logical and reasonable decision to make. However, I wanted to understand why a Mindanaoan or a Muslim in the Philippines clamoring for change wouldn't vote for Duterte? Hence, I am writing this piece as a mental exercise in trying to know the 'other' as I attempt to 'climb inside their skin and walk around therein'.

The way the campaigning has been done is to present a dichotomy of ideas. The candidate is either good or bad, angel or devil, clean or corrupt, black and white and no gray areas between. For the voter, this is the easier cognitive task, rather than having to choose a harder mental choice that all candidates have something to offer, though some of them are better or worse than the other. For the voting mind or the naturally lazy brain for that matter, a black and white choice is much easier. This is termed as 'cognitive ease' in the sciences of the mind and the politicians and their campaign managers knew this all too well.

After watching the first and second presidential debate, it dawned on me that these presidentiables do have something to offer to the country. Unlike many, I do not want to preoccupy myself in the negative images that each candidate wants to project upon the other - although I believe they are necessary at one point - because these can cloud my judgment regarding their merits.

Daang Matuwid is ok but not enough. I remember feeling some kind of relief when the word 'Bangsamoro' came out from the mouth of President Pnoy himself repeatedly last year. It sounded like music to my ears, that the highest government official of the land is acknowledging the Bangsamoro narrative. At last, I said to myself, I can already feel that there is a chance that the Filipino people could now understand and perhaps even empathize with the Bangsamoro. It was when the BBL was conceived in the Philippines' aging womb - a sort of late pregnancy - after forty years of courtship, off again - on again relationship between the Bangsamoro and the Philippine government.  It was somehow too good to be true until the Mamasapano incident reopened old wounds. Just few days before the BBL's formal deliberation in the congress, it has already died a tragic death that broke the hearts of peace advocates from all over Philippines. Whether Mamasapano was deliberately done for the abortion of BBL is subject to another investigation and as people say - when you are an investigating detective you don't have the right to believe in coincidence.

For the Luzon's intellectual elite and thriving middle class, Daang Matuwid seems to be really the right path to traverse. The economy is on the rise and graft and corruption is improving, we even have sent our own satellite to space to monitor weather patterns to be more prepared for super typhoons - to those outside of the Mindanao's grinding poverty and cycles of violence - this could only mean that Daang Matuwid is a road worthy of being continued to be tread upon.

However, the people of Mindanao cannot wait anymore. Because while the people of Luzon is complaining about the MRT, the people of Mindanao doesn't even have a coal-powered train to complain about, how much more of an electrically powered urban train! While the people of Luzon complain about a loss of wallet from the pickpockets, the people of Mindanao, specifically the evacuees don't even have a home to return to. 

For the people of Mindanao, Daang Matuwid might be the right way - pero matraffic parang EDSA, the birth place of Daang Matuwid! We are clamoring for a radical change in the way the Philippine government has been treating us for a century. Yes a Century! We have been treated like this since the last stand of our ancestors in the Battle of Bud Bagsak in 1913 and being annexed to the Philippines, until the brutal dictatorship of Marcos during the martial law. How many peace talks do we have to take? How many agreements do we have to make? Marcos had the Tripoli agreement; Cory had the Jeddah Accord; Ramos had the SPCPD; Erap was bullshit with his all-out-war; GMA had the MOA-AD; Pnoy had the BBL! For the proponents of Daang Matuwid, what can Mar Roxas offer this time after 40 years, six presidents and more than 120000 killed? The people of Mindanao are exhausted and desperate; and looking for a paradigm shift in approaching the problem.

The way the campaigning is being done - character assassination, negative ads and dehumanization of the candidates clouds the minds of the people including the intellectuals. It is easy to lose track of what the candidates want to do and what values they represent. Arguably, apart from his Yolanda's performance and Zamboanga Siege, I don't have anything against Mar. I honestly think he can be a good president. Will Mar's supporters do the same for Duterte? Is it possible for them to recognize his merits? Will they empathize with the people of Mindanao?

However, in my opinion, it is nothing less than a constitutional amendment that can bring peace, order and prosperity not only in Mindanao but for the rest of the Philippines. There might not be a utopic solution but federalism brings the best promise. Will the guardians of Daang Matuwid call for constitutional amendment when they cannot even pass the BBL?

Another lesson I learned from the debates is that the discussions are confined to a certain spectrum - all skewed to the Right. The issue of climate change, divorce, FOI are important but the debate is missing a lot of issues that beset the Philippine society today. If we are to grow together as a country we need to include the positions of the Left and find common grounds along the way. Even the issue of China is being predicated from a pro-western liberal democracy point of view.

All the other candidates are just somehow a shadow of Daang Matuwid: Poe would be Daang Deretso and Binay could be Daang... I still honestly don't know what Binay represents! :) It was just an increase of budget here and there; reallocating resources here and there, etc. etc. Except from a change in strategy all of then don't have anything new to offer. The Philippines need a change from a fundamental level.

A nation that truly celebrates diversity provides opportunities to all to prosper, offer avenues for grievances to be heard and delivers justice to the oppressed minorities. Unless the Filipino people - specifically the elite intellectuals and thriving middle class of Luzon - will empathize with the downtrodden people of war torn Mindanao, there will never be a lasting peace in the Philippines. That is a condition that only benefits a few billionaires and families. And this is why Daang Matuwid is not enough for Mindanao - and for that matter the whole Philippines.

Photo credits:

http://mrt3.com/index.php/news-page.html
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/676012/tukanalipao-bridge-and-its-symbols