ARMM, Maguindanao leaders welcome announcement of signing of GPH-MILF accord

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 15): ARMM, Maguindanao leaders welcome announcement of signing of GPH-MILF accord

Local leaders in Maguindanao will host a traditional Muslim "Kanduli" immediately after the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as thanksgiving, officials here said Saturday.

"Kanduli" is a centuries-old Muslim traditional gathering, either as thanksgiving or to celebrate an important event.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Toto Mangudadatu said local officials in the province have been elated by the announcement made by Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles that the agreement will be finally signed on March 27.

The venue is yet to be announced.

Mangudadatu said his province is more than willing and ideal place for the historic signing of the accord.

"We have been very supportive of the peace process, it is but fitting and proper to rejoice over this signing of the CAB,” Mangudadatu said in a statement.

Mangudadatu, who publicly expressed support to the peace process since he assumed office in 2010, said Maguindanao being the hotbed of Moro rebellion could be an ideal venue for the historic event.

"We are willing, we shall appreciate that, if ever," he said when asked if the province could be the host.

Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, who repeatedly said he is ready to step down once the new political leaders are ready to assume the post for the new political entity, said he is planning to declare March 27 a special non-working holiday in the region.

ARMM is composed of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

"This is very historic and unprecedented because it will end four decades of bloody uprising," Hataman said in a statement.

The Comprehensive accord is the result of 17 years of peace process interrupted by several hostilities, the bloodiest was in 2008 when both the MILF and the government were to sign a Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD).

The botched signing led to skirmishes in North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur. The botched signing led to the emergence of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) composed of former MILF rebels frustrated with the slow pace of the peace process.

Talks began in 1997 but gained headway when Malaysia came into the picture as third party facilitator and the entry of International Monitoring Team and International Contact Group.

On Friday, Deles said the agreement will not only benefit the Moro people but all Filipinos.

"It will benefit not only the Bangsamoro but the entire country, and will radiate beyond our borders to the regional community, and perhaps the whole world,” Deles said.

After the signing, both sides will focus on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law that will pass through Congress before it will be submitted for plebiscite in the proposed territory.

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