The ongoing peace process between the Government of the
Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is among the
measures being pursued to substantially reduce threat to security and peace and
order in Mindanao from armed groups that foment
lawlessness and instability in the South, Presidential Adviser on the Peace
Process Teresita Quintos Deles said on Saturday.
“Peace between government and MILF means peace with the
largest, most organized armed group which has been fighting government for
decades. Ending this armed conflict means that this organized armed body ceases
to fight the government and instead becomes a partner in addressing the
problems facing the country, including problems of lawlessness in the South,”
she said.
“It enables the effective exercise of the rule of law over
areas previously outside its reach and ungovernable. Certainly, that must have
some value in achieving our national aspiration for shared security and shared
prosperity,” she added.
Her statement came after a published news report quoted a
study funded by the World Bank which noted that political violence related to
rebellion and insurgency inflicts the “largest human cost” that affect the
Philippine development.
Deles said the government had early in the Administration
concluded that negotiating with the MILF, which concluded with a peace
agreement and its legal iteration, the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), would make
efforts to address the root causes of the conflict in Mindanao more effective.
Deles said despite efforts by critics to paint the
Mamasapano incident as proof that the BBL won’t address the threat from armed
groups in Mindanao, the peace agreement with the MILF and the establishment of
the proposed Bangsamoro in the BBL would be an indispensable big step towards
disarming not just the MILF but other threat groups in Mindanao .
“The decommissioning process will cover not only the MILF
but also other armed groups. Hence, the BBL will have a multiplier effect,” she
said.
Under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro which
the government and MILF signed in March last year, the MILF agreed to
decommission its firearms and weaponry and its 11,000-strong Bangsamoro Islamic
Armed Forces (BIAF) in exchange for the establishment of a political entity
with genuine autonomy to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Its
fighters would undergo a normalization process so they could resume lives as
ordinary citizens, and not as combatants anymore.
The CAB -- a product of more than 17 years of peace
negotiations between the Philippine government and the MILF -- has also made
the MILF, the biggest armed group in Mindanao ,
to undergo a transformation from a secessionist movement to a political group
with intentions to participate and field candidates in the coming elections.
“The challenge is tough but unavoidable and doable through a
combination of MILF cooperation and government law enforcement,” Deles said.
“Rule of law begets trust and vice versa. Together both will encourage people
to choose lawful ways to resolve conflict or to sustain life,” she added.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=752262
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