Malacañang: President wants peace pact with MILF with solid foundation

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 15): Malacañang: President wants peace pact with MILF with solid foundation

President Benigno S. Aquino III wants a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that would be doable and has solid foundation that will withstand scrutiny, a Palace official said on Monday.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda issued the statement during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Monday following the holding of the 37th GPH-MILF Formal Exploratory Talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last week.

"He (President) wants something that is doable and something that can be operationalized as soon as the Basic Law is drafted and passed by Congress; consistent with the framework agreement, consistent with the annexes," Lacierda said.

Lacierda said the government acknowledges its commitment to exert all efforts towards realizing the full implementation of the Framework Agreement.

"We are looking into the three annexes. The President also wants the annexes to be doable. We’re going through the language. We’re also going through the substance of the annexes. So, right now, we’re going to study the remaining annexes carefully." Lacierda said.

"We have the power sharing, the normalization, and also the wealth sharing. We’re going to go through each of these annexes. And then we have also expressed, and the [MILF] panel have also agreed with our concerns, and so there was a joint statement that was made," he added.

Government of the Philippines peace panel chair Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer Thursday said that the peace process with the MILF is taking on a “new phase” never reached before by both sides.

“We are where the process has never been before. Never before had the negotiations between the government and the MILF come to the stage of actually defining and listing down powers; of actually identifying sources of funds and revenues for the new political entity that we are creating. Never before has the transformation of an armed group been discussed let alone imagined in detail,” Ferrer said in her speech during the closing ceremony of the 37th GPH-MILF Formal Exploratory Talks in Kuala Lumpur.

The GPH and MILF panels concluded their three-day talks with the signing of the Terms of Reference for Sajahatra Bangsamoro, which is a development program jointly undertaken by the GPH and the MILF to deliver basic socio-economic services to target communities in the south.

In December last year, the President issued Executive Order No. 120 creating a Transition Commission that will draft the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law provided for in the Framework Agreement signed by the government and the MILF on October 15.

The EO will provide a mechanism for authentic democratic collaboration in the crafting of a proposed law where the affected people themselves are actively involved.

Among the commission’s major work is to coordinate with Congress and other government agencies to craft the basic law that will pave the way for a Bangsamoro region in Mindanao.

According to the Executive Order, the Transition Commission may also recommend to Congress and the people, when necessary, proposed amendments to the Constitution.

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