BANGSAMORO PARTY? MILF chief Murad Ebrahim says they will start forming their own political party this year. Photo taken by Karlos Manlupig
In preparation for the planned transition to the new Bangsamoro region in 2016, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will start forming its own political party this year.
MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim told a local radio station Wednesday, May 22, they will launch their political organization on or before the year ends.
“Our political group will help [us] push for the interest of Bangsamoro people in Mindanao,” he said.
As indicated in the Framework Agreement signed in October 2012, the new Bangsamoro region is expected to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2016. This coincides with the presidential election.
Before the ARMM is deemed abolished, two stages of transition would first have to take place. First, the Transition Commission will draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law to be ratified by members of Congress. Once the basic law is in place, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, to be headed by the MILF, will lead the transition towards the Bangsamoro region.
Once the new Bangsamoro region is formally established, a new set of leaders for the region will be elected.
The MILF has repeatedly said that they want to complete the peace process before President Benigno Aquino III's term ends in 2016.
In an editorial published on its official website luwaran.com on March 24 highlighting the "urgency of the peace talks," the MILF said: "The truth is that if we cannot close this negotiation successfully during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, we do not know what lies ahead in 2016."
Current state of the peace process
The government and the MILF are in the final stages of talks for the comprehensive peace pact for the Bangsamoro political entity.
The negotiations suffered a delay when Aquino requested for more time to review the contents of the annexes. Out of the 4 annexes or supplementary documents for the peace agreement, only the Annex on Transition and Modalities has been signed. The annexes on wealth-sharing, power-sharing and normalization have yet to be completed.
But the transition process has already started. The Transition Commission -- the body tasked to draft the Basic Law that will serve as the legal basis for the new Bangsamoro region -- has started establishing its internal rules.
However, it can only begin drafting the Basic Law once a final peace pact is signed by both parties.
Despite the delays, MILF chief negotiatior and Transition Commission chairman Mohagher Iqbal is confident the Bangsamoro Basic Law will get enough political support for the new Bangsamoro region if the outcome of the recent polls, where majority of allies backed by Aquino emerged victorious, is to be considered.
“This is favorable to all of us especially to the on-going peace process because we know those elected officials will support the program of our President,” he said.
Sajahatra Bangsamoro
In a related development, leaders of the MILF proposed the inclusion of at least 10 provinces in Mindanao in the Sajahatra Bangsamoro, a social development program for Moro communities.
Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said in a statement Monday, May 20, that members of the government Task Force on Bangsamoro Development, MILF Task Force Sajahatra, and the MILF Project Management Team decided to include the provinces of Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Zamboanga Sibugay, South Cotabato, Davao Oriental, North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, and Maguindanao in their forthcoming caravans from June to November this year.
Almendras said that in each location site, medical missions, scholarship grants, and livelihood support will be provided.
In November 2012, Aquino made a historic visit to Camp Darapanan, the MILF stronghold in Maguindanao, to launch Sajahatra Bangsamoro, which is part of the normalization program under the Framework Agreement.
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