IF YOU WANT PEACE, PREPARE FOR PEACE

Delivered during the Ceremonial Decommissioning Ceremony

at Old Capitol Building in Simuay Junction, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao
By Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chief Negotiator Mohagher Iqbal
16 June 2015
His Excellency President Benigno Simeon Aquino III; MILF Chair Brother Al Haj Murad Ebrahim;
and other members of the MILF Central Committee especially the Second Vice Chairman Ali
Solaiman and Chief of Staff of the Military Organization of the MILF Brother Sammy Al-Mansoor;
Cabinet Secretaries who are with us this morning: Secretary Teresita 'Ging' Deles, Secretary Mar
Roxas, Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Secretary Corazon 'Dinky' Soliman, and Secretary Luwalhati
Antonino; His Excellency the Malaysian facilitator Datu Tengku Abdul Ghafar Tengku bin
Mohamed; Ambassador Neil Reeder of Canada; and Ambassador Erik Frner of Norway; Ambassador
Haydar Berk, Chair of the Independent Decommissioning Body; members of the House of
Representatives who are with us this morning: Representative Bai Sandra Sema, Representative
Oaminal, Representative Sacdalan, and Representative Del Rosario; the Chief of Staff of the Armed
Forces of the Philippines General Gregorio 'Pio' Catapang Jr; OIC PNP Chief Leonardo Espina;
Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman; Governor Lala Talino-Mendoza; Governor Ismael 'Toto'
Mangudadatu; His Eminence Cardinal Orlando Quevedo; Grand Mufti Abu Huraira Udasan; members
of the GPH and MILF peace panels and peace mechanism bodies; other local government officials
present; officials and staff of the Independent Decommissioning Body led by Ambassador Haydar
Berk; former EU ambassador Alister McDonald, head of the Third Party Monitoring Team; members
of the international contact group; and of course Major General Sheik of the International
Monitoring Team; ladies and gentlemen: assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh and a very,
very pleasant morning.
We are at a crossroad. After over 17 years of hard and long negotiations - and now bound by strong
partnership - we are confronted with the reality of two situations.
The first road leads us to a dark and fearful Bangsamoro area - without hope, without peace, and
without justice. It leads to a Bangsamoro where people's lives are shorter, where children do not have
good education, where young men and women have no jobs, where natural resources are exploited to
the detriment of the Bangsamoro people. It leads to a Bangsamoro where fear and insecurity reigns
and tyranny continues. It is a sad and terrible wasteland. This is the preferred scenario painted by
those who do not want a good BBL or Bangsamoro Basic Law to pass into law.
The second road leads to a Bangsamoro that is prosperous and free. It is a Bangsamoro where children
can dream to be whoever they want to be and are given the opportunity to reach their dreams. It is a
Bangsamoro where people are healthy and live their lives in accordance with their deepest values and

religion. It is a Bangsamoro that is at peace and one with their brother and sister Filipinos. It is a
Bangsamoro with a bright future. This is the hope and aspiration of the Philippine government under
His Excellency President Benigno Simeon Aquino III and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front led by
Brother Chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim. This is also the hope and sincere expectation of the
Government of Malaysia, as third country facilitator, under His Excellency Prime Minister Dato' Sri
Haji Mohamman Najin bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak.
Now the question: Which Bangsamoro do we choose: a dark and insecure Bangsamoro? Or a
Bangsamoro that is happy and peaceful?
We, in the MILF, have made a choice. We choose a Bangsamoro that is happy and peaceful. We
choose security over insecurity. We choose freedom over tyranny. We choose development over
poverty. That is our choice. We choose it freely. We choose it for the Bangsamoro. We choose it as
well for all Filipinos who seek peace. And that choice is concretized by deeds and not simply words.
Today's ceremony is about that deliberate and serious choice of the MILF to be true to our
agreements.
Frankly speaking, this decision is one of the most difficult decisions we have made so far in more than
four decades of harsh struggle. Whereas throughout the course of history, we have always armed
ourselves in defense of our homeland, people, and Islam; but today, we have reversed the natural
flow of that long narrative. We have agreed to undertake this symbolic decommissioning of our
weapons and put them beyond use. We want to show the world that the MILF will and will always
comply with obligations set forth in signed peace agreements.
Today, we say to the whole world: "If you want peace, prepare for peace."
This is the start of our preparation for peacetime in the Bangsamoro by taking this serious move for
decommissioning. It is the first of the many steps towards the achievement of peace.
People sometimes commit the mistake that firearms are our main strength. They are wrong. Firearms
are not the source of our main strength. We are a minority in a small nation. We do not have armies.
We do not have navies. We almost have nothing. And yet, our main strength is the love, affection,
and faith of the Bangsamoro people. As long as the Bangsamoro pepole support us, we shall persevere
and we shall struggle. It is for the Bangsamoro people that we do everything. The Bangsamoro people
is the beginning and the end of our struggle. In so doing, we beseech the Almighty to reward us in
the day hereafter.
Once again, we say with more vigor: If we want peace, prepare for peace. Thank you and good day to
all!