WELCOME REMARKS At AIPR Symposium on Peace and Reconciliation Processes and Initiatives at the Manila Peninsula Hotel, Makati

City By Sec. Teresita Quintos Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process 07 April 2014

Since the end of the last world war, the nations that are now gathered under the flag of ASEAN have been through the painful experience of conflict, internal strife and wars of national liberation. For all those years, our peoples have yearned for nothing more than peace. The many that have died and perished, the families rended, the homes blown to piecesare a foreboding lesson to all succeeding generations that the price of peace is never too high to pay with our collective sacrifices. And today, as we prepare ourselves to come together as one economic community, we thank Providence for the gift of peace that has brought us together in this hallto say to one and all: We have left war behind, we are ready for community, we are ready to open opportunities to each other, we are ready for the new world of friendship, understanding and companionship. We must continue to strengthen the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation as a strategic force not only for peace, but for human freedom, common prosperity and collective security throughout our region. This task extends beyond our mandate to undertake research, engage in capacity building and networking activities on peace, and assist in conflict management and conflict resolution initiatives. It also entails gathering and consolidating all the narratives of peace in the region over the decades, extracting the lessons learned and best practices, and finally, forging a consensus of how to move forward on future challenges.

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The documentation of conflict resolution and preventive diplomacy in ASEAN could be a vital resource not only for the region but for the whole world. Lessons learned across our organization could guide governments and civil society in several parts of the world where strife has reared its head, where workers for peace are on constant search for ways to silence guns and tempers that flare in the heat of anger and misunderstanding. Here in our own turf, the AIPR needs to explore ways for the ASEAN and its member states to strengthen their capacity in early warning, good offices, mediation, and conciliation. We must not only wage peace by stopping hostilities, but by making sure that the gains of peace processes benefit those who need it most. The agenda of this meeting will have something for every peace worker, peace builder, peace advocate and crusader who will be listening in and beyond this hall. I am glad that the organizers have come up with a broad institutional overview and real-life experiences to enable us to gain both the logical and intuitive capacity to look beyond today and anticipate the challenges of tomorrow. The Philippines is also honored that later this afternoon, we shall be given the chance to talk about our agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on a roadmap for a united, progressive, and peaceful Mindanao. The signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) recently is a major victory for the Philippines and the whole of the ASEAN, given the far-reaching benefits that will resonate throughout the regionin terms of shared prosperity and shared security. It was also a special triumph for women worldwide with the agreement signed during Womens Month with many Filipino women prominently in the frontline of the peace negotiations.

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But more than that, it paves the way for families to be reunited and rebuild homes, for children to go back to school, for farms to be sowed and communities to be liberated from fear and want. We have many people to thank for the CAB, most of all the leadership of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III under his overarching vision of tuwid na daan, or the straight and noble path. He has the Filipino people behind him and I am confident that he has the region and world behind him. We are thankful for the crucial role played by fellow member-states of ASEAN in bringing us to this momentous crossroad for peace, particularly of Malaysia as fair and honest third-party facilitator, and of Brunei and Indonesia, as members of the International Monitoring Team. And we thank ASEAN for its recent statement of support for our Mindanao peace process. Peace is now fortified by a strong Constitutional democracy through the restoration of checks and balances in our countrys governance. And peace shall be come hand in hand with inclusive growth and social justice. But we are only in the starting line of a broad work plan that will involve the legislature, perhaps at some point the judiciary, civil society and the international community. As we traverse the roadmap of this political process over the next two years, we bear ardent hopes that the Bangsamoro will be finally entrenched in the Philippine Constitutional firmament by the middle of 2016. Concurrently, we expect to start the process of normalization which will help in the inception of broader security and usher in socio-economic development in the communities. This process includes the putting arms beyond use and the decommissioning of the MILFs military units and command structure. We also expect the inception of more socio-economic and development programs designed to help former rebels and community members affected by armed conflict. We look forward to the day when the Bangsamoro will emerge in full play as part of the Philippines participation in the ASEAN community, given its strategic location in Southern Philippines.
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We must never let go of the dream of peace. ASEAN must embrace the dream even as the world seems to be breaking in several places. Let us strive to make our region a tranquil sea amid the pockets of strife that tend to drive fear, complacency and skepticism. Our organization is a vital cusp in the peace agenda. Our peoples look up to us to be the vanguards of their deepest aspirations. Let us hold banner high and forge ahead. Thank you and good morning.

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