PEACE IN THE PHILIPPINES, WHEN WILL WE ACHIEVE?

This piece means a lot to me since this is my winning piece when I joined the Mini Press Conference held in Concepcion Elementary School. I was the representative of my school, Our Lady of Perpetual Succor College, for the English Editorial category way back then


Nowadays, we cannot assure our safety because of the war caused by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, also known as MILF. We do know that what they are doing is drastic. But admit it or not, we do not know the real cause of this crisis in the South.
If we would look around, we will find families grieving and blaming the MILF because of the lost lives and damaged properties. Many would say that the MILF are out of their minds. While some would blame the government. But others really do not know why this war has to come along.
Before, when the Spaniards, Japanese and Americans tried to conquer our land, the only place that they unsuccessfully ruled was Mindanao. That is why the Muslims are the only people uninfluenced by these invaders. So up to this day, they are trying to own pieces of land in our country. And with this, they want the government to approve the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain. But the president’s messages only goes to show that she is having second thoughts on signing the agreement, causing the MILF to start a war.
Now if we would take the side of the government, we already know why they refused to sign. They rejected that agreement because they want to protect us from the possible effects if they would give the MILF what they want.
As for now, we still do not know when this war would end and when we could finally have peace in our country especially in Mindanao. And still, no one knows if the President would sign the MOA-AD or not. Now, knowing all of these, which side are we in? But always remember that whichever side we may believe in, we should always keep in mind the saying, “Man must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind”.