MILF: “Congress should show its leadership in promoting peace by passing the BBL”: TPMT

Posted to the MILF Website (Nov 3): “Congress should show its leadership in promoting peace by passing the BBL”: TPMT

 

“Congress should show its leadership in promoting peace by passing the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL)”, the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) said in a statement issued yesterday, November 2 as reported by Philstar. 

“Peace is within the reach of Filipinos”, the TPMT statement also said.

The TMPT created by the GPH-MILF Peace panels is tasked to monitor, review and assess the implementation of the agreements between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF. 

“We believe that the political will and vision of Congress can indeed allow to seize this historic moment”, TPMT Chairman Alistair Macdonald, who is also the spokesman of the monitoring team said.

The TPMT has five members — Rahib Kudto (United Youth for Peace and Development, Philippines), Huseyin Oruç (Turkey), Steven Rood (The Asia Foundation, USA), Karen Tañada (Gaston Z Ortigas Peace Institute, Philippines) and MacDonald.   

“By adopting now a basic law giving legal expression to the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) and providing for the real autonomy foreseen under the 1987 Constitution, Congress will have shown its leadership in promoting peace, security and prosperity for the benefit of the nation as a whole,” Macdonald also said.

MacDonald said their group has been monitoring the implementation of the agreements signed between the Philippine government and the MILF since July 2013 and met with the widest possible range of stakeholders.  

“Those who have lived with more than four decades of armed conflict in Muslim Mindanao have understood the tremendous benefits which peace can unlock, allowing the region to achieve its full potential and to contribute more effectively to the prosperity and security of the nation as a whole,” Macdonald said in the statement as quoted by Philstar. 

He said the international community has watched with admiration how the Philippines worked to push the peace process.

“We are now at a critical juncture in the peace process, when a successful conclusion to 18 years of negotiations is almost within reach. Expectations are running high, though fears of failure are also growing,” he said.

MacDonald said deliberations in Congress and the wide-ranging consultations have allowed all stakeholders to express themselves on the substance and the detail of the agreements and the draft law. (Source: Philstar)

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