GPH, MILF sign AnnexTransitional Arrangements and Modalities at 36th exploratory talks

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 28): GPH, MILF sign AnnexTransitional Arrangements and Modalities at 36th exploratory talks

The Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) panels signed late night Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur the first of four Annexes to the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

The Annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities (TAM), signed at the end of the 36th round Formal Exploratory Talks, “details the road map towards the creation of the Bangsamoro” region.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said the GPH and MILF also signed the Terms of Reference for the Independent Commission on Policing (ICP) prepared by the Transitional Working Group (TWG) on Normalization.

The ICP will submit recommendations to the peace panels on the appropriate form, structures and relationships of the police force for the Bangsamoro.

Signing for the government was Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, GPH panel chair, while Mohagher Iqbal MILF panel chair, signed for the MILF.  Tengku Dato’ Ab Ghafar Tengku Mohamed, the Malaysian facilitator for the talks, witnessed the signing.

The GPH and MILF will continue their discussions on the Annexes on Wealth Sharing and Power Sharing to resolve the remaining issues. In their joint statement, the two parties likewise discussed the composition of the Third Party Monitoring Team, the body that will review, assess, evaluate and monitor the implementation of the FAB and its Annexes.

The Parties welcomed the appointment of all the members of the Transition Commission as envisioned by the FAB and provided for by Executive Order 120. They acknowledged the important role of the Transition Commission and look forward to its success.

The parties expressed their appreciation to President Benigno Simeon Aquino III for his unwavering commitment to a just and lasting peace in Mindanao and to Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak for his continued support in the facilitation of the GPH-MILF Peace Talks, and to the members of the MILF Central Committee headed by Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim for their untiring commitment to the peaceful resolution of the Bangsamoro Question.

They also extended their gratitude to the members of the International Contact Group (ICG), namely Japan, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Republic of Turkey, the United Kingdom, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD), Conciliation Resources (CR), Muhammadiyah, and The Asia Foundation (TAF).

The GPH and MILF expressed profound gratitude to CHD’s Mr. David Gorman for his active participation since the inception of the ICG in 2009, and his valuable contributions to the GPH-MILF peace process.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=502359