LESSONS FROM ZAMBOANGA SEIGE

I am writing this article earlier this week but by the time this will come out in print on Sunday, I do hope that the Zamboanga incident is resolved peacefully.
I can see how MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari crossed the line and took the violent and armed option. There is so much repairing to do not only by government but by the stakeholders and civil society in removing the root causes that trigger such desperate moves. Peace initiatives must cover all and must not ignore others. It must be inclusive if we want durable and sustainable peace.
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The Zamboanga seige is unfortunate. It need not happen if earlier signs of things to happen were given some attention by those concerned. I remember a similar incident also in Zamboanga City in the so-called Cabatangan mass hostage taking incident also involving the same players and actors.
We have lessons learned from recent events. It is said that those who do not heed those lessons are liable to repeat those mistakes.
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The Napoles case will continue to hound us all for sometime from the way developments are taking place. It seems we have only seen the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
May I say again: we need some systemic changes that will radically recast our way of doing things. Prosecution, yes. Accountability yes. But that should not be enough. We should review our institutional arrangments as a nation if we want to overcome these challenges that keep recurring.