MILF: MILF hopes Bangsamoro Peace process will ‘not be relegated’ in Duterte Administration

Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jun 12): MILF hopes Bangsamoro Peace process will ‘not be relegated’ in Duterte Administration



Expressing high regards to President-elect Rodrigo R. Duterte’s positive outlook on the importance of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) passage “to appease the Bangsamoro people,” the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is optimistic that the Bangsamoro peace process will not be relegated in the next administration.

In an official statement issued yesterday (June 11), MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said, “With the advent of a new administration on June 30, 2016, we are confident that the Bangsamoro peace process will not be relegated in status, as it has proven to be potentially the most viable solution to address conflict arising from historical injustices committed against our people.”

The MILF chief recalled Duterte’s statement during the campaign that the BBL could be a possible template for federalism and his declaration made during the last Presidential debate in April 2016 that “nothing can appease the Bangsamoro until the BBL is passed.”

“The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) remains committed in its continued pursuit to find long-lasting peace and development in Mindanao,” the statement said.

“We support the MILF Peace Panel with the signing of the Declaration of Continuity of the Partnership of the GPH and MILF in the Bangsamoro Peace Process, the Terms of Reference for the Establishment of the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund (BNTF), and the Terms of Reference of the Project Board of Mindanao Trust Fund for the Six Previously Acknowledged MILF Camps (MTF-RDP Camps Project) during the two-ay Special Meeting of the Panels in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on May 29-30, 2016,” said the statement.

According to the statement, “The MILF pledges to exert efforts in undertaking its obligations to fully implement the commitments under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), building upon all the gains and achievements secured in the Bangsamoro peace process through years of negotiations. It is important to sustain the traction that we have managed to develop toward the anticipated success of this political settlement.”

“The MILF maintains its position that the CAB-based Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) needs to be immediately passed into law, not only because it effectively addresses the peculiarities unique to the Bangsamoro that are not necessarily found in other prospective federal states,” pointed out in the statement.

“Notwithstanding the unpredictable political landscape that contributed to the stalling of the implementation of the CAB and the non-passage of the BBL, we acknowledge the efforts of President Aquino and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, and the GPH Peace Panel pertaining to the peace process.”

Chairman Murad also expressed in the statement the Front’s gratitude to the Government of Malaysia, the Malaysian Facilitator, and the individuals and countries comprising the various infrastructures and peace process mechanisms and partners in the international community.

The Philippine Congress failed to pass the BBL, the legal translation of the peace deal between the Philippine Government and the MILF that would have paved way for the establishment of the desired Bangsamoro autonomous government before the stint of outgoing President Aquino ends.

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