Key Philippine Military and Insurgency-Related Events: MILF: IP Community in Sarangani oriented on Bangsamoro Framework Agreement

Friday, November 30, 2012

MILF: IP Community in Sarangani oriented on Bangsamoro Framework Agreement

From the MILF Website (Nov 30): IP Community in Sarangani oriented on Bangsamoro Framework Agreement

More than a hundred members of Indigenous People belonging to Blaan tribe were given orientation on the GPH-MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro on November 27, 2012 at Barangay Banahaw, Malungon, Sarangani. The activity was a joint effort of the MILF- Political Committee in Malungon, Kalinaw Sarangani Unit (KSU) under the Office of the Governor of Sarangani, Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society-Rajah Buayan Chapter. The orientation was facilitated by Ayessa Tin from KSU, Osmeña Salisipan, Secretary of the Provincial Political Committee-Sugoda Buayan Province and Langcap Quraish, a peace advocate and local historian.

The audience was briefed on the history of Bangsamoro struggle and the progress of the GPH-MILF peace process. The salient points of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement were also explained. Salisipan highlighted the connection between the non-Islamized IPs and the Moro people through the siblings Mamalo and Tabunaway. The Malaysian-led GPH-MILF International Monitoring from Team Sites 4 and 5 also graced the activity. They shared to the audience their role in the peace process and accomplishments. Representatives from 1002nd Infantry Brigade, MILF-Ad Hoc Joint Action Group, Barangay Council of Banahaw, also supported the information drive.

During the open forum, the audience asked if the National Commission on Indigenous People can exercise its power inside the Bangsamoro territory. The organizers look forward for continuous collaboration to reach more communities of the province on the information dissemination activities about BAF. KSU has been active in the information drive on BAF since October 28, 2012 as per instruction of the governor. Jocelyn Lambac-Kanda, Peace Program Officer and Kalinaw Sarangani Program Manager, stressed the importance of educating the public on the FAB to gain their support. She believes that with massive information drive, the debacle brought by the failure of MOA-AD signing in 2008 will not be repeated.