Among the many achievements he scored during his six-year term as president, the late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s “immense contributions to the peace process” in Muslim Mindanao will be emblazoned in the chapters of Philippine history as far as leaders of the region are concerned.

Deputy Speaker and Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman noted that concerns on Mindanao peace and development have always been important portions in all of Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) during his six years term as chief executive.

“Mula sa kanyang unang SONA noong 2010 hanggang sa kanyang huli noong 2015, hindi pinapalagpas ni PNoy ang pagkakataon na ipaabot sa mga tao kung gaano kahalaga sa kanya ang kapayapaan at kaunlaran sa Bangsamoro (Since his first SONA in 2010 until the last in 2015, Pnoy never allowed to let past the chance of telling the people how important peace and progress in Bangsamoro were to him)” Hataman said in a press statement.

Appointed by Aquino as governor of the then Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the incumbent deputy speaker announced Monday, June 28, the launch of a special tribute to Aquino that will also feature the late president's significant contributions to the peace currently prevailing in Muslim Mindanao.

“In his first SONA, PNoy made it a point to pursue peace in Mindanao, highlighting the need to pursue a peace process that is inclusive of all stakeholders, especially the people,” said Hataman.

Hataman vowed to come out with a series of posts on his Facebook page entitled, “A Tribute to PNoy’s Legacy of Peace and Progress in Muslim Mindanao.”

Hataman, who was elected twice as ARMM governor following his OIC appointment, stated that Aquino’s sincerity in pursuing peace in Mindanao could be gleaned from the way he rallied his political allies in supporting the peace process.

“Naaalala ko pa ang sinabi nya sa kanyang unang SONA ( I could still remember what he said in his first SONA): ‘It is difficult to begin discussions in earnest if the smell of gun powder still hangs in the air,’” the veteran administration solon reminisced.

“By his second, third, fourth and fifth SONA, Aquino was reporting year after year the progress made both in the peace process with the MILF and the institutional reforms implemented to correct the wrongs – some of them reprehensible – plaguing ARMM,” he said.

It will be recalled that it was during Aquino’s presidency that the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and, subsequently, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) were signed, paving the way for Congress to pass and enact what is now known as the Bangsamoro Organic Law in 2018 under President Duterte’s term.

“PNoy was instrumental in ending more than 40 years of armed conflict in the region. Trust in government was very high, and the atmosphere of fear that pervaded Muslim Mindanao finally came to an end,” Hataman said.