MILF wants Sulu Sea, Moro Gulf part of Bangsamoro

From the Daily Tribune (Dec 5): MILF wants Sulu Sea, Moro Gulf part of Bangsamoro

Despite the signing between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) of the annex on power sharing in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) last December 8, the MILF said yesterday the document remains incomplete and that an “addendum” is needed to demarcate the Bangsamoro waters that strengthens suspicion that a new substate is being created out of the forming of the so-called new autonomous political entity (NPE) in the FAB.

The MILF, through its luwaran web site, said both panels crafting the peace agreement failed to agree during their last meeting to seal an agreement pertaining to Bangsamoro waters and considered it as an addendum alongside completing the annex on normalization which will be next on the negotiation agenda. The MILF described the proposed concept as going beyond the current definition of municipal waters which under the Philippine Fisheries Code are “marine waters 15 kilometers from the coastline, including streams, rivers, public forest, timberland, forest reserve or fishery reserve within the municipality,” except those subject to the provisions of the law on protected areas.

The MILF said that its proposed maritime territory involves parts of Yllana Bay, the Moro Gulf and the Sulu Sea.

“At a meeting scheduled this month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, both panels must hurdle the issue on territorial waters, agree and sign it together with the annex on normalization should there be no hassles or hitches along the way,” the MILF said.

The power sharing annex in itself had raised questions among Constitutional experts since it seeks to create a different a parliamentary system of government within the Bangsamoro substate.

The government panel said the Bangsamoro Transition Commission will use the power sharing annex as a guide in the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

In their joint statement issued after the signing of the annex on power-sharing, the government and MILF panels said “an addendum on the matter of Bangsamoro waters” will be worked out alongside completing the annex on normalization to pave the way for a comprehensive peace agreement (CPA).

The CPA will consist of the FAB plus the four annexes on transitional modalities signed in February last year, wealth sharing signed in July last year, power sharing signed last December 8 and the normalization annex that would discuss disarmament of the rebels.

The MILF insisted on creating a separate boundary for Bangsamoro waters “to provide political connectivity to the future autonomous entity’s territories, which are in mainland Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago.”

MILF peace panel member Maulana Alonto said such political connectivity would be important in developing further the concept of the Moro “nationhood.”

“Delineating Bangsamoro waters and defining jurisdiction over these will definitely have an implication on sharing the wealth that will eventually be found therein,” the MILF stated.

The Moro Gulf and Sulu Sea are endowed with a rich diversity of fishery resources that command high economic value.

The Sulu Sea also hosts several known blocks of oil and gas deposits. The MILF said in 2011, the Philippine Energy Contracting Round 4 offered interested investors 15 blocks throughout the country covering a total of some 100,339 square kilometers that are “mainly located in frontier regions” within the proposed Bangsamoro territorial sea.

One of the energy exploration block offered was onshore, in the Cotabato Basin or Liguasan Marsh covering around 456,000 hectares straddling the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat.

Native fishes like mudfish, cat fish, carps, and numerous bird species are found in these marshy areas which also happened to have rich mineral deposits likely including oil.

The Department of Energy (DOE) had estimated volume of the total recoverable resources to be around 202 million barrels of oil and 821 billion cubic feet of gas within the area.

Another energy block offered is offshore in the Sulu Sea covering around 432,000 has, with water depths ranging from 1,500 to 5,000 meters, according to the DOE.

Of the eight wells drilled within the Sulu Sea block, “five of these have significant oil and gas shows.” This block, the DOE said, holds around 209 million barrels of oil and 716 billion cubic feet of gas.

The DOE also said that three of four additional wells drilled adjacent to the block “have been declared as gas discoveries” with an estimated deposit of some 775 billion cubic feet.

Prior to their 42nd exploratory meeting last Dec. 4 to 8 in Malaysia, the parties held executive sessions in November in Kuala Lumpur to thresh out issues on power-sharing.

During the meetings, MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said that a resolution on the question of Bangsamoro waters would be a “deal breaker” on the FAB.

“That a power-sharing annex was clinched even as the issue of Bangsamoro waters was still unresolved showed the creativity of the government and MILF peace panels; they refused to be stuck on the issue of waters, pushing the peace process closer to conclusion,” according to the MILF.

A separate document would be signed to contain the consensus on Bangsamoro waters, the MILF added.

The signed power-sharing annex is considered the “heart of the peace process” and the MILF panel described it as “hard-earned” victory in more than a decade of peace negotiations.

An executive session is currently being held in Kuala Lumpur between heads and selected members of the government and MILF peace panels.

Government peace panel chairman Miriam Coronel-Ferrer earlier said both the GPH and MILF peace panels have expressed optimism to wrap up the negotiations this month but the exact date has yet to be discussed.

Ferrer declined when asked how many firearms the MILF has in their arsenal that would be the subject of the normalization annex adding “this will be up for discussion during the negotiation.”

Earlier, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles said the normalization process with the MILF will involve not just the disarmament of the Moro group but also of other private armed groups in Mindanao.

“You don’t just talk about the arms of the MILF, but also of everyone else. That is part of normalization. How can you ask the MILF to completely disarm if other groups or some families are armed? We are looking for a real partnership among the government, the MILF, and other governance constituencies to look at this matter on how to make a life more secure, to trust in the state forces to make them secure, and be engaged in other productive activities,” Deles said

She said both parties would also work in partnership on the reduction and control of firearms in the area as well as the disbandment of private armies and other armed groups.

“As put in the FAB, decommissioning is phased and calibrated and will start once political commitments are delivered…We agreed that substantial decommissioning happens when the basic law is delivered,” she said.

As contained in the FAB, “the MILF shall undertake a graduated program for decommissioning of its forces so that they are put beyond use.”

Deles also disclosed that a joint normalization committee will be formed for the coordination between the parties towards full decommissioning, which will be overseen by a third-party monitor composed of domestic and international partners of the peace process.

Deles said it was understandable that for a movement like the MILF, which had been fighting for so long, its members would have a different perspective on decommissioning. “On our part, it is also being able to assure fighters that there is life beyond fighting,” she said. “That is also part of the discussion, that is, what alternatives do you offer?” she said.

“As the fighters see this on the ground – that the peace is real, the land can be cultivated, there is livelihood coming in, my children can go to school, health centers will be set up— then it will be a matter of not just me giving up something, but I will also get a better life for my children.”

Deles said that decommissioning could be successful because peace processes in other parts of the world had undergone the same successfully.

“If the bulk of the fighters are committed to this, then this is something we should pray for, hope for, and work on,” she said.

The peace adviser also said that the government stands ready to deliver the political commitments embodied in the FAB, first of which had been the issuance of Executive Order 120 that provided the legal basis for the creation of the Transition Commission (TC).

The TC, which will be composed of 15 members of which eight are selected by the MILF and seven by the government, will be tasked to draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law that will replace the Organic Act that created the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

According to Deles, candidates for the TC are currently being shortlisted and their appointment is expected this month.

“A lot of work has been done in drafting the annexes, but there are remaining issues that need to be worked out that needs consultations with experts.” Details of the decommissioning process are under the discussions on the annex on Normalization.
The other annexes include power-sharing, wealth-sharing, and transitional arrangement and modalities.

“All of government is behind this (crafting the comprehensive agreement). That is why the details in the annexes are more hard work because the more you go into that, the President’s instructions remain the same. We cannot commit anything that is not within our power. The government will deliver politically, economically, culturally, and legally. We work by that and we are confident that the FAB, as carefully crafted as it had been, will be able to pass the test and deliver on this,” Deles concluded.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/milf-wants-sulu-sea-moro-gulf-part-of-bangsamoro