GRP, MILF craft communication roadmap

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 10): GRP, MILF craft communication roadmap

The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are working to come up with a single communication roadmap to ensure the public fully understands the Bangsamoro peace process.

In a statement, the chair of the implementing panels of the government and the MILF said they met, along with communications specialists in Davao City from June 7 to 8 “to work jointly on a common communication plan.”

Irene Santiago, government implementing panel chairperson, said it is important that the public support the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law in order to begin the full implementation of the peace agreement signed by the government and the MILF in 2014.

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF implementing panel, described the fresh effort as “complementation of the implementation” process of the peace agreement that the two parties have forged.

“There is a lot of opportunity here. The two parties have come together to work on a plan to convey their messages to the public effectively,” he pointed out.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella, who provided his insights on the programs of the Duterte administration to the joint panels during the meeting, said there is a need for a healthy public discourse on the Bangsamoro peace process.
Abella provided insights on the programs of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte to the joint panels during the meeting.

“The joint communications planning of the government and the MILF is very important so that our messages are aligned,” Abella said.

“There is a pressing need to provide accurate information about the draft law when it is submitted to Congress for the public to understand it and support it,” he added.

Abella said President Duterte, who is from Mindanao, is serious in advancing the Bangsamoro peace process.

President Duterte has vowed to honor all Bangsamoro peace agreements signed by previous administrations.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) has created a Peace and Development Roadmap to address the political clamor of the insurgent groups in the country.

Under the government peace roadmap for the Bangsamoro, it is planned that all peace agreements with the Bangsamoro will be harmonized into the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Once approved, the BBL would establish a new political entity, replacing the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/994514