Me being a daughter of leader and having been a testimony to the consequences of various actions that a leader takes, I am convinced that "Real leaders are those who can negotiate".
Negotiation is indeed an activity that requires certain skills and is an essential in itself in various aspects of life. So as it is the leader’s way, leaders ought to be a good negotiator.
I feel I have not mistaken taking up SNCM course. It helped me understand negotiation is a two-way communication deal wherein the interests of participating parties are neutralized for common good.
Reflecting unto the insurgency issue in the Mindanao region existing since 1969 till today, it makes me wonder if the leaders have done enough and would the situation have been different if our leaders got into sincere negotiation.
On the other hand, I see it no fault of any leaders for having failed to come to terms with the government because the traditional way of negotiation was a win-lose bargain of the parties at the negotiation table.
As much as government desired to include the Muslim community of Mindanao to the Philippines Commonwealth territory, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), an armed insurgent group was committed to establishing an independent entity composed of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan (MINSUPALA).
However, with the paradigm shift of negotiation from traditional win-lose to win-win today, even the situation of Muslim Mindanao region has begun to transition from ARMM to BARMM. This I believe is an indication that negotiation is ultimately making a progress.
As leaders, we either negotiate for the position or for our role. I assume that the transition from ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) to BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim in Mindanao) would be smoother and more progressive if the positions and roles of the stakeholders involved are better defined and specified.
It is important that that a leader is able to reach reasonable agreement, make sensible concessions and find a good deal without intimidating an opponent. We call this BATNA or Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement in Strategic Negotiations. Otherwise, if negotiation would fail like in case of MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) and MNLF’s (Moro National Liberation Front) commitment to peace to end 47-year-old insurgency problem impeded by continued offensive attacks against Abu Sayyaf and other splinter groups resulting to declaration of martial law by the State.
At the end of the course, it gave me hope that in longer run Mindanao would find peace as long as negotiators understand the importance of their BATNA. They should have a well-defined BATNA to empower them to navigate the VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex Ambiguous) world they operate and so as to maximize their leverage.