Peace monitors encourage Congress to continue work on BBL

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul 30): Peace monitors encourage Congress to continue work on BBL

Third party monitors of the peace deal between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which seeks to end decades of conflict in Mindanao appealed to both houses of Congress to solidify measures already undertaken to seal the peace between the two parties by passing the law that creates the new Bangsamoro autonomous region.

The Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) said that while the government and the MILF have achieved much in pushing the peace deal between them, “time is short, however, and much remains to be done.”

The TPMT is the independent body established by the Parties to monitor and scrutinize the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the negotiated peace settlement signed by the GPH and MILF in March, 2014.

“Decades of violent conflict have wracked Mindanao, blighted the lives of generations of civilians, and led to the deaths of so many combatants (whether on the side of the MILF or of the government forces),” said the TPMT in an official statement released in time for President Benigno S. Aquino III’s last State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“The adoption of a BBL which will help ensure that the Philippines can bring an end to the conflict will be a truly historic achievement,”the statement continued.

The statement was signed by TPMT Chair Alistair MacDonald and members Rahib Kudto, Huseyin Oruç, Steven Rood and Karen Tañada. The group was formally established in 2013 as the GPH and the MILF were in the middle of forging elements of the comprehensive peace accord.

The TPMT also highlighted the work being done on the normalization process despite the seeming delays in the legislative process of the BBL. “Deliberations on the BBL continue in Congress, though it remains uncertain when this work will be completed, and how far the law to be adopted will hew to the agreements painstakingly negotiated since 1997.”

“Nevertheless, the first stage of MILF decommissioning was successfully completed on 16 June, with the ceremonial turnover to the IDB (Independent Decommissioning Body) of 75 crew-serve and high-powered firearms, and the return to civilian life of 145 former MILF combatants.”

With the aid of several government agencies such as the Department of Social Work and Development (DSWD) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the decommissioned combatants will  be giving socio-economic packages to ease their transition into productive, civilian lives.

The TPMT also discussed how “[w]ork has begun to help convert the former MILF camps into peaceful and prosperous farming communities; and preparations for the transition from the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) have commenced.”

According to the CAB and the BBL, BTA members will be appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines. Its primary function is to re-organize the political setup of the autonomous region into a parliamentary system. Members of the BTA will only be appointed once the BBL has been ratified.

Furthermore, the independent group mentioned that “local governments, the business sector, civil society groups and religious leaders have all confirmed the importance they attach to achieving a sustainable peace, and to allowing all inhabitants of the future Bangsamoro autonomous region to reap the benefits of this peace…”

“For the region, for Mindanao, and for the Philippines as a whole, the prize of peace is within reach… The TPMT wishes the Congress well in carrying forward these responsibilities,” concluded the statement.

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1781438141417/peace-monitors-encourage-congress-to-continue-work-on-bbl