Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro initialed today

From the Manila Bulletin (Mar 21): Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro initialed today

The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) will be initialed today in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by chief negotiators of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), paving the way for the historic signing on March 27 of the agreement seen to end the conflict in Mindanao.

Chief negotiators of the GPH and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were scheduled to leave Manila for Kuala Lumpur to affix their initials on the CAB.

It mirrors the events surrounding the landmark Final Peace Agreement (FPA) forged by the GPH and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which they initialed in Cipanas, Indonesia, and signed in Manila on Sept. 2, 1996.

Last week the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) announced the CAB’s signing set for March 27.

A highly reliable source told the Manila Bulletin yesterday that the initialing of the CAB will be a low-key event in Malaysia.

The source said GPH peace panel Chairperson Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and her MILF counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal, will be putting their initials on the CAB to be witnessed by a Malaysian third-party facilitator.

He said the CAB’s text was already completed, paving the way for its initialing and, eventually, its signing next week. Dignitaries from the Islamic world, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and other nations are expected to witness the historic event in Manila.

“The chairpersons of both panels and a few others are leaving for Kuala Lumpur to initial the CAB,” said the source who asked not to be named.

He said a few minor issues are being finalized — but not with the CAB — by the GPH and MILF Technical Working Groups (TWGs) concerning bodies that will operate post-CAB signing.

•Spain Welcomes CAB Signing

Meanwhile, the signing of the CAB continued to generate goodwill, as Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines Jorge Domecq voiced optimism that it will spur economic and public work activities in the country.

When asked about the CAB signing, Domecq said his government welcomed the signing of the last annex (Normalization) of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).

He said he will represent his government at the CAB signing next week.

“Now with that agreement and development on the (Bangsamoro) Basic Law, a whole program of economic reforms and public works will take place that may favor not only Spanish businessmen, but also Filipino businessmen and our foreign partners to help in that endeavor,” said the ambassador.

“I hope to see Spanish investment picking up in the Philippines as we see the country as one of the emerging economies in Asia and we have to take account that Spain is 30th economy in the world and eighth exporter in the world, and 12th largest investor abroad in the world,” said Domecq.

He said he sees Spanish investors interested in sectors such as water, transportation, energy, and tourism.

In the case of Spain, he said it ranks third in the world in tourist arrivals with 60.7 million in 2013, the third most popular destination in the world, and second in revenue only to the United States.

He said bilateral commerce between his country and the Philippines registered US$500 million in 2013.

“Trade balance is very good to our side,” he added.

In terms of aid, the ambassador said his government had provided the Philippines around P1.8 billion in five years, stressing the two countries’ “special link…has been preserved…we share the same concerns.”

The Spanish diplomat met members of the news media yesterday at his official residence in Forbes Park, Makati City, to brief them on the coming visit on March 23-25 of Jose Manuel-Margallo, Spain’s foreign minister of foreign affairs and cooperation.

He said next week’s visit will be the first in the Philippines for the foreign minister, the first leg of his tour to Southeast Asian nations, including a day each to Vietnam and Malaysia.

Domecq said Spain and the Philippines signed in 2000 the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation which covers ministerial meetings every three years.

Garcia-Margallo’s visit will have 15-man strong official delegation, including 20 chief executive officers (CEOs) and presidents of Spanish companies looking for partners and investments in the Philippines and a contingent of 15 journalists.

The ambassador said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario invited his foreign minister.

Garcia-Margallo itinerary includes an audience with President Benigno S. Aquino III and a visit to Tacloban City to turn over Spanish donations of boats for fishermen in a project in cooperation with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

He will also inaugurate in Clark Field, Angeles, Pampanga, the Humanitarian Assistance Emergency Warehouse (HAEW) which was refurbished by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

The HAEW is equipped with humanitarian aid material to strengthen the preparedness and response capabilities of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

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