Is peace within reach?

What is enervating is the widespread expectation that peace is soon within reach. It's not so much that it is attainable within the past year or so but it is the sincere concern by all sectors, excluding a small minority that looks to peace that is the most formidable force to be reckoned with.

Only Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front had thrown a monkey wrench on the signing of the Peace Treaty between Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, and Marivic Leonen, of the Southern Philippines peace panel, that came up with this exaggerated picture of massive desertion by MILF fighters to the MNLF.

But that was something that only elicited smiles. Not that they discounted Misuari. But they know that the former MNLF top honcho had fallen into disrepute and his so-called armed force fallen into a semblance of what it used to be.

But, as it had pointed out, there are a lot of things that have to be settled in the days ahead. For example, the organic ACT that is the ARMM cannot just be brushed aside and replaced by the Bangsamoro region.

ARMM was approved by Congress and is clothed with the legal personality that makes it the governing body of the Muslim Mindanao.

In short, it will require an act of Congress to be able to flesh out what the Bangsamoro region will be and what form of government it will exercise.

And how many areas will it include? That requires a lot of hard work and education.

Then, again, there is the issue of how much local resources of the Bangsamoro region will be given to it as against the 25 percent stipulated for the national government?

That is a very difficult question. One that is fraught with dangers. One that will create a howl among the established local government units under the local autonomy.

Then there's the issue of the police force for the region. The document calls for the organization of a police force under the Bangsamoro government. Will it be independent of the national police? Easier said than done. It is something that is fraught with pitfalls and could lead to debates and furious details that will even interpose pitfalls into a possible compromise agreement.

But, as I had earlier said, the main point is that all sides of the issues are determined to make a go of it. And peace may just be on the threshold.

The most important was that so many had marched to Malacañang and stood up to the acclaimed peace agreement as something that is within reach. In short, just want war to end once and for all and for peace to reign once more in our benighted land.

Let's all help pray for peace to once more descend on our land. Especially in Mindanao.

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Why did it take such a long time for Pandanon in Don Salvador Benedicto to avail of the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. ram pump?

The funny thing is that Che Idzenga, AIDFI regional project manager for the Visayas, had first installed the ram pump in the province.

By now, the province should have been able to avail of this invention to have water over steep terrain to people of barangays.

But as reported in this paper Idzenga had to travel as far as Nepal to install his ram pump even as others hailed his invention as a sort of miracle for residents of hinterland barangays.

This time, the Pandanon residents have been relieved of the backbreaking need to haul water from the Pandanon River directly to some 291 household and to about 500 pupils of the Pandanon Elementary School.

Coca Cola and Earth Day Network Philippines installed the hydraulic ram pump for Pandanon, the reports said adding that Victor Manlapa, project officer of Coca Cola Foundation-Philippines – said they have installed two ran pumps in Moises Padilla and Silay City. They have another one in Negros Oriental.

Six, ram pumps will be installed in the province in La Carlota City, Kabankalan, Silay and Sagay City. Also they intend to put up another one in Oriental Negros, the report also said.

We hope to see more than the 100 envisioned by Coca Cola Foundation-Philippines in the province. We really need this invention by Idzenga.

To him, our hopes for more success in the futures.*

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