MILF: GPH, MILF urged not to appoint ‘warlords’ in Transition Commission

Posted to the MILF Website (Nov 17): GPH, MILF urged not to appoint ‘warlords’ in Transition Commission

The Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are urged not to appoint “traditional politicians who represent that abusive, warlord-led and already unacceptable status quo that the Framework Agreement seeks to replace” as members of the Transition Commission. The call was contained in the Media Statement of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) which it released to the press last November 16. Ms. Christine Sumog-oy, chair of its peace talks advocacy department, signed the declaration. The MPC, which is a grassroots network of indigenous, Bangsamoro and Christian settlers from the conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, has put up a “Six Point-Criteria for the Transition Commission,” as a guide in the constitution of the Transition Commission:

1) The transition commission must be composed of men and women with proven track record in human rights, peace building and support to the GPH-MILF Peace Talks.

2) It must consider individuals who have no conflict of interest in the desired roadmap of the transition period. Thus, it must avoid as much as possible appointing traditional politicians who represent that abusive, warlord-led and already unacceptable status quo that the Framework Agreement seeks to replace.

3) Consistent with the National Action Plan of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the Transition Commission must have at least 30% women members who directly come from conflict-affected areas and with clearly identified constituency to represent.

4) A representative from the indigenous peoples must also be appointed in the Transition Commission in order to ensure that their rights are heard and protected. This representative must be chosen on the basis of consensus building among the indigenous peoples leaders with special focus on those tribes that are directly affected e.g. Teduray, Dulangan Manobo, Arumanen, B’laan and Higaonon tribes.

5) With the Transition Commission to be composed of fifteen, all-Moro members, it must ensure that the geographic areas of the Bangsamoro must be represented especially those coming from the island-provinces.

6) A representative from the Moro National Liberation Front must also be appointed in order to promote unity and convergence of the MNLF and MILF peace processes with the Philippine government. It is vital that the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) will actively participate in TC and will have a say in the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

The statement also expressed “full trust in the wisdom and sound judgment” of President Benigno Aquino III and Chairman Al Hajj Murad, MPC in steering the transition period through to the end.

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