The MILF is counting on President Benigno Aquino III to deliver on his promises, but the Muslim rebel group also recognizes the realities in Congress
STILL CONFIDENT. The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are aiming to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law before the 2016 elections
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim has presented a flexible timeline for the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity that will replace the failed Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), amid delays and opposition in Congress.
Murad said the
MILF is willing to wait for the new president, or after the 2016 elections, if
the 16th Congress cannot pass a Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that is compliant
with the signed agreements between the government and the MILF. (INFOGRAPHIC: The Bangsamoro peace deal at a glance)
"What we see
as a worst case scenario would be a BBL that is not compliant with the CAB (Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro) and the FAB (Frameowrk Agreement on the Bangsamoro). We will not
accept it unless it is compliant," Murad told reporters in Camp Darapan
in Maguindanao on Saturday, July 25.
He did not
elaborate on the actions the MILF will take if Congress would pass an
"unacceptable" BBL.
"We are
working very hard in order that an acceptable BBL will be passed within the
term of the President. Granting that it will not be passed during his term,
then we do hope that the next president will not be anti-peace," he said.
In this scenario,
Murad said they will continue to demand that the government implement the CAB
and the FAB.
Further delays,
however, are prompting fears of dissatisfaction on the ground that may prompt
some MILF members to return to violence.
BBL under
Aquino, elections in 2019?
In his final
State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 27, President Benigno Aquino
III told Congress the BBL is his foremost priority measure, and challenged its critics to
present an alternative.
The House of
Repsenatives passed in May a version that was unacceptable to the MILF. Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr,
chairman of the committee on local government, is expected to file a substitute
bill next week.
"Senator
Marcos may have his own version but what’s important is its compliance with the
CAB and the FAB. That is our bottomoline. We can no longer renegotiate the CAB
and FAB because it is a finished agreement," Murad said.
"It’s just a
matter of interpreting into law the agreement so that is why we will not allow
violations of the CAB and FAB. But we may allow improvements in some provisions
of the BBL which is not directly coming from the agreement. That is the
bottomline of the MILF," he added.
Chief
presidential adviser Teresita "Ging" Deles is confident that the BBL
wil be passed under Aquino's term.
"It will not
be a walk in the park but we are determined," she told Rappler.
The elections for
the leaders of the new Bangsamoro continues to be debated because the MILF
prefers a longer transition period.
One scenario
floated is to pass the BBL before the elections, but hold the elections
simultaneously with the 2019 midterm elections.
The
government's side of the bargain
The MILF, the
dominant Muslim rebel group that has waged decades-long violent wars with
government forces in Mindanao , agreed to lay
down its firearms and drop its bid for secession.
In exchange, the
government promised to give the new Bangsamoro entity wider political and
economic powers than the ARMM.
Decommissioning
is MILF's commitment. The BBL is the government's side of the bargain.
The already
delayed Bangsamoro timeline was derailed by public sentiment against the MILF,
over the death of the elite cops.
The MILF said it
was a "misencounter" resulting from the cops' failure to recognize
mechanisms put in place to make sure that the ceasefire is protected. The
police acknowledged tactical blunders.
The committment
to peace of the MILF leadership, Malacañang, and the military prevented the
situation from causing the collapse of the peace process.
Aquino will now
try to save a legacy that was bungled by his own friend, dismissed Philippune
National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima. On the ground, the MILF
needs to show its leadership and persuade the people that the President can
deliver.
The uncertainty
of the next elections has raised fears that this may be the best chance for
peace in Mindanao to be achieved.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/100630-milf-flexible-timeline-bangsamoro
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