Package PNoy is bringing to Bangsamoro, part of framework agreement, says MILF

From the Business World (Feb 8): Package PNoy is bringing to Bangsamoro, part of framework agreement, says MILF

Without giving color on the visit of President Benigno S. C. Aquino III in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao on Monday, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said the economic package that the President will be bringing to the Bangsamoro is part of the negotiations and not a “unilateral” initiative of the government.

In its weekly editorial piece published on its website (luwaran.com), the MILF said both parties in the southern peace process are facing a huge challenge in overhauling and reforming Moro communities in Mindanao after more than four decades of armed hostilities.

 

“But why is the MILF agreeing to this socio-economic deal with the government? The answer is simple; it is part of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro. Besides, it is to convey to our people and combatants, after signing of the (framework agreement), that there is something that trickles to them as a way of peace dividends,” the MILF said.
“More importantly, the MILF believes this will redound to their greater benefits, which could also empower them economically and henceforth politically for more vigorous and sustained assertion of their right to self-determination,” it added.

 

President Aquino is expected to arrive in Cotabato City on Monday and will proceed to the Bangsamoro Leadership Management Institute in Barangay Simuay, Sultan Kudarat — a few kilometers from Camp Darapanan — to meet leaders of the MILF including its chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.

Among the highlights of the meeting is a symbolic gesture of the President giving PhilHealth cards to rebel leaders, the Office of the Presidential Peace Adviser on the Peace Process said. The presidential peace adviser’s office, which is preparing the visit, said President Aquino is bringing a social welfare program dubbed “Sajahatra Bangsamoro.”

This will be the third time that President Aquino will meet leaders of the MILF. The first came in 2011, where they met in Japan prior to the resumption of the peace talks, and in October last year, when Mr. Aquino invited leaders of the MILF to witness their signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

The social welfare program that will be launched on Monday is part of the deal between the two parties in uplifting the quality of life of the Moro communities.

“It is a necessary component of conflict resolutions tried and tested in various parts of the world. It is part of the whole deal. The Aquino administration is not doing it unilaterally but in partnership with the MILF after it was discussed in the negotiating table with facilitation.

 

“Moreover, the MILF believes it is the right thing to do, after it bitterly engaged the government both in the battlefields and in negotiation, which did not end with the MILF at the losing side. This is the reason why the two parties are now facing each other in the battle of the hearts and minds.”

“Finally, we believe President Benigno S.C. Aquino III has no hidden agenda when he causes the implementation of these projects. Besides, our people, who have been ravaged and marginalized by 40 years of continuous war, need them to jumpstart their long journey to recovery,” the Front said in its statement.

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=Package-PNoy-is-bringing-to-Bangsamoro,-part-of-framework-agreement,-says-MILF&id=65588