Behind the Veil of Conflict
Mapping the areas affected by conflict
including some areas in Palawan. Residual tensions are now localized in MNLF strongholds in the island of Sulu.
With the peace process still inconclusive, divisions, displacements, and missed opportunities continue to envelop Mindanao. Conflict has been so pervasive that it is possible to officially map the areas affected by the allout war declared by Estrada in 2000 and the
Aside from the Moro conflict, certain highlands of Caraga region and the Davao region are the site of communist insurgency and military conflict between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the New People’s Army. Indigenous communities are most vulnerable to this conflict. Peace talks between the
Figure 1.1 Conflict-affected areas in Mindanao Conflict-affected areas
Source: Department of Social Welfare and Development 2003.
military build-up under President MacapagalArroyo in succeeding years. According to a list of conflict-affected municipalities drawn up by a government–MILF peace panel in 2004 to help plan rehabilitation and reconstruction, there are officially 150 conflict-affected municipalities spread over 15 of Mindanao’s 25 provinces (figure 1.1). The areas affected by the earlier governmentMNLF peace process used to be extensive, 12
Government of the Philippines and the Communist Party of the Philippines/National Democratic Front have been cancelled, and further negotiations are hindered by the wide incompatibility in the demands of the two parties. In the meantime, the conflict is being fueled by the poor living conditions, weak governance, and physical isolation of affected communities, as well as by the growing exploitation of natural resources in areas such as Placer and Claver along the northern coastline of the Caraga region in Surigao del Norte.7