MILF’s path to peace to stay despite BBL passage failure

From the Mindanao Times (Mar 14): MILF’s path to peace to stay despite BBL passage failure

THE POLITICAL group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front guaranteed that peace gestures with the Philippine government will continue even with the delay in the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

In an interview last Friday, United Bangsamoro Justice Party secretary general Naguib Sinarimbo told reporters that the MILF is still pushing through with the other measures despite a year’s worth of delay in the passage of the law.

Sinarimbo, himself a member of the Joint Normalization Committee, said the symbolic phase was already achieved with the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

The group has already decommissioned 75 firearms and 145 combatants in the first phase of the decommissioning.

Phase 2, he reminded, has a precondition of the BBL being passed.

“But there are aspects that will continue,” he said.

The Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, he added, was closely monitoring any “potential for the recurrence of conflict.”

The UBJP was a participant at a training with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Philippines Office and the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, held at the Sapphire Room of the Pinnacle Hotel and Suites last week.

The agencies held the Democratic Party Development Project (DEPAdev) training with the group, among 20 to 23 trainings to be held in 18 months in Mindanao.

The project has a fund of €550,000.

Hendrik Mollenhauer, DEPAdev project manager, said the project will continue in its advocacy of informing various organizations on structural reforms, such as the proposed shift to parliamentary government advocated in the BBL despite the non-passage of the law.

“The DEPAdev project aims to contribute to the establishment of a pluralistic political landscape in southern Philippines. In particular through the formation of political parties, Muslim, Christian, Indigenous and other underrepresented groups shall be empowered for active political participation under a parliamentary system,” a statement from the organization said.

“For this non-partisan technical support, seminars and training activities will be conducted from February 2016 onwards, addressing existing political parties, members of civil society groups and members of both religious and non-religious groups inside the future Bangsamoro entity.”

http://mindanaotimes.net/milfs-path-to-peace-to-stay-despite-bbl-passage-failure/