Peace pact with MILF still unclear

From the Manila Standard Today (Jun 17): Peace pact with MILF still unclear

Malacañang has been going over with due diligence certain provisions of the peace pact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and it was unclear if the two sides can sign an agreement before the State of the Nation Address of President Aquino on July 22, a presidential spokesman said on Sunday.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Malacanang was looking closely at annexes on wealth-sharing and power-sharing and the government will commit to “an agreement that will be acceptable to all.”

“The last remaining annexes contain some heavy issues, so to speak, and the government is really taking a close look at these,” Valte said.

Government negotiators and the leaders of the MILF initialed in February a draft of the annexes on wealth sharing of 75-25 for the Bangsamoro. But the government wanted a compromise of 50-50.

The peace agreement will serve as “source document” for the Transition Commission that was formed to recommend a new law to implement the Bangsamoro political entity in Mindanao. But the MILF said the negotiations with the government has reached a deadlock.

Valte said the government was careful because of its experience with the aborted  Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain with the MILF in 2008, which the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional.

The decision angered the MILF, which launched attacks in which 60 people were killed and more than 600,000 people were displaced from their homes.

“We do not want a repeat of that. We want that the contents of the annexes will pass muster,” Valte said.

Government negotiator Miriam Ferrer said the administration was looking for compromises and the goal “is to sign an agreement before the president’s State of the Nation address on July 22.

“But if it is hard to agree on certain provisions, certainly, the signing will take longer,” Ferrer said.

MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said formal talks could not resume because the government has flip-flopped on its initial commitment on the annexes.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/06/17/peace-pact-with-milf-still-unclear/