SENATOR Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has filed Senate Resolution No. 780 congratulating and commending Filipina peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer for being named one of this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awardees.
“She is an empowered Filipina and an inspiring figure in public service who embodies courage, tenacity, empathy, and compassion. Her storied career advocating harmony, unity, and the rejection of war, along with her lifelong commitment to the peace agenda, merit commendation from the Senate,” said Estrada, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security.
Coronel-Ferrer, who will be conferred with Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize in November, was recognized for her “deep, unwavering belief in the transformative power of non-violent strategies in peacebuilding, her cool intelligence and courage in surmounting difficulties to convey the truth that peace can be achieved and sustained through inclusion rather than division, and her unwavering commitment to harnessing the power of women in creating a just and peaceful world.”
She is best known for being the first woman to lead the government peace panel that negotiated with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2012, culminating in the signing of the historic peace deal known as the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) in 2014. The landmark pact concluded 17 years of negotiations across four administrations and ended decades of hostilities in Mindanao.
In recognition of her achievement as the world’s first female chief negotiator to sign a final peace accord with a rebel group, Coronel-Ferrer received the Hillary Clinton Award for Advancing Women in Peace and Security from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. in 2015.
In 2018, she became a member of the United Nations Standby Team of Senior Mediation Advisers and has since been actively engaged in mediation and diplomacy work in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq, and Southeast Asia.
“Her pioneering and exceptional accomplishments in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, both domestically and internationally, have immensely benefited the Filipino nation in attaining and preserving peace, which is an essential cornerstone of the country’s socio-economic development,” Estrada said.
“Her steadfast dedication to the cause of fostering peace and her skillful use of available instruments to promote peace have uplifted the lives of countless Filipinos and their communities, sparing them from fear, oppression, violence, and warfare,” the senator added.
Coronel-Ferrer now joins the elite roster of Ramon Magsaysay laureates, including notable figures like the Dalai Lama (1959) and Mother Teresa (1962), as well as fellow awardees from the Philippines such as former President Corazon Aquino (1998), former Senate President Jovito Salonga (2007), former Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago (1988), and her sister, investigative journalist Sheila Coronel (2003).
Pagkapanalo ng Pinay peace negotiator sa Ramon Magsaysay Award, pinapurihan ni Jinggoy
NAGHAIN sa Senado si Senador Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada ng isang resolusyo para papurihan at bigyan ng kaukulang pagkilala ang pagkakahirang kay Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, isang peace negotiator, bilang isa sa mga Ramon Magsaysay Awardees ng taong ito.
“Isa siyang inspirasyon sa larangan ng public service na nagpapakita ng katapangan, pagtitiyaga, pakikiramay at malasakit. Sa kanyang mahabang karera na nagtataguyod ng kalinangan, pagkakaisa at pagtutol sa digmaan, kasama ang kanyang lifelong commitment sa peace agenda ay nararapat na papurihan ng Senado,” ani Estrada sa Senate Resolution No. 780.
Si Coronel-Ferrer ay pararangalan sa Nobyembre ng award na siyang bersyon sa Asya ng Nobel Prize bilang pagkilala sa kanyang malalim at hindi natitinag na pananampalataya sa kapangyarihan ng hindi marahas na estratehiya sa pagpapalaganap at pagkamit ng kapayapaan.
Kilala si Coronel-Ferrer bilang pinakaunang babae na namuno sa government peace panel na nakipagnegosasyon sa Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) noong 2012, na nagtapos sa paglagda sa makasaysayang kasunduan na Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) noong 2014. Ang landmark pact ang tumapos sa 17 taon na negosasyon na sumaklaw sa apat na administrasyon at nagbigay daan para tuldukan ang ilang dekadang kaguluhan sa Mindanao.
Bilang pagkilala sa kanyang tagumpay bilang unang babaeng punong negosyador sa mundo na pumirma ng final peace accord sa isang rebeldeng grupo, tinanggap ni Coronel-Ferrer ang Hillary Clinton Award for Advancing Women in Peace and Security mula sa Georgetown University in Washington D.C. noong 2015.
Noong 2018, naging miyembro siya ng United Nations Standby Team ng Senior Mediation Advisers, at mula noon ay aktibo ng nakikibahagi sa mga gawaing pamamagitan at diplomsya sa Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq at Southeast Asia.
“Ang kanyang pangunguna at pambihirang mga nagawa sa paglutas ng alitan at pagpapalaganap ng kapayapaan, sa loob at labas ng bansa, ay lubos na pinakinabangan ng ating bansa sa pagkamit at pagpapanatili ng kapayapaan na isang mahalagang pundasyon ng socio-economic development ng bansa,” sabi ni Estrada.
“Ang kanyang matatag na dedikasyon sa layunin ng pagpapalaganap ng kapayapaan at mahusay na paggamit ng mga instrument upang itaguyod ang kapayapaan ay nagpaangat sa buhay ng hindi mabilang na mga Pilipino at kanilang mga komunidad,” dagdag pa ng senador.
Kahanay na ngayon ni Coronel-Ferrer ang elite roster ng mga Ramon Magsaysay laureates, kabilang ang mga kilalang personalidad gay ani Dalai Lama (1959), Mother Teresa (1962), pati na rin ang mga kapwa awardees mula sa Pilipinas na sila dating Pangulong Corazon Aquino (1998), dating Senate President Jovito Salonga (2007), dating Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago (1988), at ang kanyang kapatid na investigative journalist na si Sheila Coronel (2003).