SULTAN KUDARAT, Philippines — At a nondescript two-story building in the town of Sultan Kudarat, the future of the Philippines' strife-torn southern region of Mindanao is taking shape, one accountancy class at a time. Dozens of former fighters in Mindanao's decades-old insurgency are learning new skills – from book-keeping, to computer literacy and law – that are crucial to the long-term success of a landmark peace deal signed in Manila on Monday. “Every student comes out of this institute as a new person,” said Zamin Unti, a 55-year-old former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel who teaches three-day crash courses at the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute. Turning fighters into laptop-wielding administrators of the new autonomous Bangsamoro region is one of the challenges facing Mindanao as it moves beyond euphoria over the deal, which ends a four-decade Muslim insurgency that killed 120,000 people in Asia's biggest Catholic nation. Investors will also need to be convinced that governance will improve in an area scarred by corruption and poverty. Ravaged by conflict, the southernmost of the main Philippine islands has never been able to capitalize on an estimated $312 billion in mineral wealth or develop abundant agricultural land that already supplies two-fifths of the country's food. It lies near Malaysia and Indonesia and is flanked by the rich fishing grounds of the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea, with the Pacific Ocean to its east. Businesses are eager to enter Mindanao as the Philippines savors its biggest investment boom since the 1997 Asian financial crisis with President Benigno Aquino riding a strong economy and lofty popularity ratings. But many are holding back until prospects for a sustainable peace become clearer. What also makes investors cautious is a series of past agreements between the government in Manila and rebels from the Moro tribes that rapidly fell apart, including a 2008 deal struck down by the Supreme Court and which led to a surge in violence. A peace deal in 1996 looked good on paper but failed due to weak implementation. “I don't think they are going to rush in,” said Gregory Edwards, managing director of Australia's RED 5 Limited , which operates the Siana gold mine in Mindanao's Surigao del Norte province. “The security angle alone is not going to do it, there's going to be other elements, but it certainly helps,” he said, adding investors would look at issues such as regulation and corruption before committing to projects in Mindanao. Aside from a lack of competent administrators, the transition to a new autonomous government is likely to be threatened by “spoilers” ranging from reluctant politicians in Manila to breakaway groups of radical fighters. Much rests on Aquino's ability to control Congress, where his allies now dominate both houses, but mid-term elections next May could upset the favorable political balance. Posters and placards supporting the peace deal have sprouted all over Cotabato City, the region's economic hub where nearly half of the residents are non-Muslims, including ethnic Chinese Filipinos. Even skeptics here say they want to give the MILF a chance, but some are nervous. “Maybe in the beginning we will not have any trouble with them, but some could become unreasonable later,” a canteen operator who only gave his name as Ernesto said, saying he had heard rumors of Muslims trying to take back farmland they claim belonged to their ancestors. — Reuters “Some of my ethnic Chinese-Filipino friends have actually left town,” he added. The current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) - with a population of about 4 million – is a glaring example of how the region's hopes for peace have been dashed in the past. Around two-fifths of Mindanao's population lives on about a dollar a day and the ARMM is home to several of the country's poorest provinces. “We have learned enough lessons from the old ARMM government,” said Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs. “We are determined to change that by putting in leaders who are dedicated to serve the people and accountable to Allah.” A potential security risk comes from a 500-strong rogue MILF faction that opposed the deal and vowed to continue fighting for a separate Islamic state. Jaafar said the MILF is not worried about the group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement, and may persuade them to join the peace process once the agreement is implemented. Some leaders of the divided Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which signed the 1996 peace pact with the government, have rejected the new deal. The MNLF never gave up its weapons and could lure disaffected fighters from the MILF and return to war. The MILF is “signing its death sentence,” MNLF founder Nur Misuari told radio this week. — Reuters
