Saturday, March 22, 2014

MILF: Alliance of Peace Advocates sponsors forum on understanding FAB and BBL

Posted to the MILF Website (Mar 20): Alliance of Peace Advocates sponsors forum on understanding FAB and BBL



The Alliance of Peace Advocates, Inc. (ALPA) organized and sponsored a Forum on “Understanding the Framework Agreement (FAB), its Four Annexes and the on-going drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in coordination with the MILF Committee on Information, Upi Municipal Committee on Information.
  
It was held on March 16 at the town of Upi, Maguindanao. Participants were   leaders and members of MILF political committees and its multi-sector representatives.

The chair of the Secretariat of MILF Central Committee on Information discussed the history of the peace negotiations between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and MILF that resulted in the signing of the FAB in Malacañang Palace, Manila last October 15, 2012 after 17 years of formal talks.  Recently, both panels have also signed the 4 annexes with the latest on Normalization last January 25 at Kuala Lumpur, Manila.  The drafting of the BBL by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission is underway and trying to catch up with the deadline imposed by the government to submit it to President Benigno Aquino III on the 31st of March.

The FAB also include the four annexes; transitional arrangements and modalities, revenue Generation and Wealth Sharing, Power sharing, and normalization that will form the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB). Upon promulgation and enactment of the law by Congress it will be signed by President Aquino and a plebiscite shall be held in the proposed areas of the envisioned Bangsamoro Region that shall replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Upon ratification of the Basic Law, Republic Act. 9054 that created the ARMM is repealed.

The chair of the secretariat further explained that an MILF-led transition government called Bangsamoro Transition Authority BTA) will take over the helm of government in the ARMM, thus Bangsamoro new political entity shall take-off under a ministerial form of government until the May 2016 elections is held where MILF shall participate.

He also explained that the GPH and MILF will build structures that will oversee normalization activities, which includes a phase by phase decommissioning of members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the gradual redeployment of government armed forces within the Bangsamoro, and the implementation of an interim security setup while a Bangsamoro police force for the Bangsamoro is yet to be established.

Such interim security setup will be very relevant in containing threats such as that currently posed by the BIFF as well as planning and carrying out steps to disband private armed groups within the Bangsamoro which is a key aspect of the agreed normalization process.

During the open forum, several questions were raised such as, How to deal individual spoilers of peace? Where to keep the arms of the MILF?  How to deal with the “settlers and IPs” who don’t accept the Bangsamoro identity?    Manny McKinley, a member of MILF Information committee advised that patience and understanding must always prevail and not emotions.  

Abdullah P.  Salik Jr. Al Haj, newly appointed Executive Director of ALPA assured the participants that the group will continue bridging the “social divides” among the  multi-ethnic beliefs and understanding of the on-going struggle of the Bangsamoro people.

Salik assured that a series of   dialogue in understanding social divides shall be a priority program of the group.

APA is accredited by the CSO, the Local Government Unit of Upi and member of the civil society organizations of the municipality.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/889-alliance-of-peace-advocates-sponsors-forum-on-understanding-fab-and-bbl

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