GPH, MILF create coordination body for Bangsamoro transition, undertake farmers' assistance program

From the Philippine Information Agency Nov 26): GPH, MILF create coordination body for Bangsamoro transition, undertake farmers' assistance program

While Congress deliberates on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), the peace panels of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) agreed to organize a body called the Coordination Team for the Transition (CT4T) to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority on Sunday, during a special meeting in the Malaysian capital.

According to the terms of reference (TOR) signed by the panels on November 23, the CT4T shall serve as the "primary mechanism for coordination between Parties and concerned agencies to ensure that the necessary steps are undertaken in preparation for the transition leading to the installation of the BTA."

"The preparations for the eventual establishment of the Bangsamoro are crucial to ensure that we hit the ground running once the Bangsamoro government is established," said Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, government panel chair.

According to the road map signed by the two parties, the ARMM shall be abolished once the BBL is ratified and the Bangsamoro Transition Authority is established. The BTA shall serve as the interim government in the Bangsamoro during the period between the ratification of the BBL and the assumption into office of the elected members of the Bangsamoro Parliament.‎

 CT4T composition and mandate

The CT4T will be comprised of five government representatives from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and the regional government of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and five representatives from the MILF.  

According to its TOR, the CT4T shall facilitate the generation and sharing of necessary information related to the transition to the BTA such as but not limited to the inventory of personnel, programs, properties, assets and receivables that would be turned over to the BTA. It shall prepare reports containing such information and data, including recommendations for the transition.

The CT4T may request GPH and ARMM officials and employees, and other resource persons, for information, data, reports, and advice as may be necessary; and propose mechanisms, guidelines, and processes necessary to help facilitate transfer of functions of the ARMM and other relevant national agencies to the BTA.

The CT4T shall also craft and oversee a communication plan that will address concerns of stakeholders both within ARMM and other observers of the GPH-MILF peace process.

Coronel-Ferrer said that “the work of the CT4T shall be vital in addressing the concerns of  ARMM employees." She added that the Civil Service Commission and other relevant agencies will be consulted to ensure that civil service rules will be followed, and civil service eligibilities and entitlements of ARMM employees will be respected.

 Confidence building for transformation of MILF camps

Also signed during the special meeting between the Parties was the terms of reference of the initial “confidence-building measure for the six acknowledged MILF camps through the Department of Agriculture (DA) farmers' assistance program.”

The program is in line with the implementation of the Annex on Normalization, which forms part of the CAB. The said annex provides for confidence-building measures that may be undertaken through the Joint Task Forces for the transformation of six acknowledged MILF camps into peaceful and productive communities.

To facilitate the implementation of the program, the DA shall provide a check list of assistance that may be given through the Joint Task Forces. The MILF Task Forces for the camps will select the appropriate forms of assistance and the beneficiaries.

The six previously-acknowledged MILF camps are located in the Maguindanao, Lanao and Cotabato provinces. They were acknowledged by the Philippine government in 1997 shortly after the ceasefire agreement between the two parties was signed. the GPH and MILF panels formed a task force for each of these camps with two members from each party. They are coordinated by a designated member of the the government and the MILF panels.

"We want the members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the armed wing of the MILF, to feel that the peace will enable them to have productive lives," said Senen Bacani, GPH panel member tasked to co-coordinate the Task Forces. "This way, we are making sure that the ceasefire will become permanent and development will be felt on the ground."

The Joint GPH-MILF Task Forces represented by Bacani and Abhoud Lingga, MILF panel member, will be meeting with DA Secretary Proceso Alcala to begin the immediate implementation of the farmers' assistance program. (OPAPP)

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2131416928641/gph-milf-create-coordination-body-for-bangsamoro-transition-undertake-farmers-assistance-program