Saturday, April 4, 2015

MILF: Ferrer: Peace process is important in terms of economic and social dev’t of Mindanao

Posted to the MILF Website (Apr 4): Ferrer: Peace process is important in terms of economic and social dev’t of Mindanao

Ferrer: Peace process is important in terms of economic and social dev’t of Mindanao

“Peace process is important in terms of economic and social development of this land (Mindanao),” Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, Chairperson of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) Peace Panel, said in a peace forum at the Provincial Gymnasium of Sarangani on March 31, 2015.

The government chief negotiator said President Aquino is serious in the peace process and that the trust of business and international communities is already gained. She also hopes the new autonomous government will “give way to the participation of all.”

We hope normalcy returns in Mindanao and farmers can till their lands,” Coronel-Ferrer told more than five hundred constituents of Sarangani Province who attended the peace forum. She noted there are still armed groups who extort farmers.

Coronel-Ferrer, together with fellow GPH Panel Member, explained the GPH-MILF peace process mechanism.

The Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been engaged in peace negotiation for 17 years. 

One of the major outputs of the talks was the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law which is now in Congress for deliberation and hoped to be passed into law by June this year. 

The BBL will pave way for the creation of new Bangsamoro political entity which embodies the aspirations of the Moro people.

Coronel-Ferrer noted that others fear that the basic law “will tear us apart.” 

She explained that should there will be fund, “it will not go to the MILF but to the people who will be elected by the Bangsamoro constituents.”

“Very clear the MILF will be transformed into civil society group,” Coronel Ferrer added.

Should the Bangsamoro government be established, she said other groups like the Moro National Liberation Front can participate and even form a political party.

Coronel-Ferrer said the review process on the peace deal with the MNLF was delayed after the Zamboanga siege.

“With talks and understanding, we can find solutions and we have no choice but to be united and be developed,” she pointed out. 

“What is important is we live peacefully,” she added. 

Bacani said there is no provision in the BBL for the integration of members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) to the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). “Those who qualify in the requirements however, can apply,” he said. 

The chief government negotiator said the rights of the Indigenous Peoples and women is guaranteed to be respected in the Bangsamoro. “We assure voices of the women be heard,” she said.

She also assured there will be reserved seats in the parliament for the IPs and women sectors.

For the audience to further understand the peace talks, a multi-media presentation was shown highlighting significant and brief information on the peace process.

Coronel-Ferrer thanked the provincial government of Sarangani for the efforts to make the public understand the ongoing peace negotiation between the government and the MILF.

http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/829-ferrer-peace-process-is-important-in-terms-of-economic-and-social-dev-t-of-mindanao

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.