Having failed to agree on a mutually-accepted version of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) during their workshops in Kuala Lumpur and Manila, the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels will resume their workshops in Davao City from August 1 to 10.
The draft BBL submitted to Malacañang Palace early May this year took two months for the palace legal team to review and came out with “heavily diluted version”, according to BTC Chairman and MILF Chief Negotiator Mohagher Iqbal.
The 10-day meeting is one of the longest working sessions in the peace process, stressing the necessity to complete the task as soon as possible. The panels met the weekend before President Aquino’s penultimate State of the Nation Address (Sona) last Monday, July 28 and declared a break for the MILF to observe Eid al-Fitr Tuesday that marked the end of Ramadan, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported (PDI).
“What is important is there is a movement forward but the task is really very tough,” MILF chief negotiator Iqbal told the Inquirer after the President’s SONA on Monday.
After putting together an agreed version of the draft bill, the panels will go to Kuala Lumpur “to formalize the decision,” Iqbal said.
Malaysia is acting as 3rd party facilitator in the peace process.
Negotiating peace in Mindanao is among the cornerstones of the Aquino administration, as the long-drawn-out war with the Moro secessionist group has left a high death toll, thousands of displaced families, and stunted economic and human development, PDI also said.
In the same report, PDI quoted President Benigno Aquino III or PNoy saying during his EidFitr message to the Filipino Muslims onTuesday, that“The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed between the government and the MILF showed that both parties were bound by the desire to have peace”.
“We continue to build a more harmonious, more just country as we begin to ease the disquiet that has long shaken our lands… Let us sustain the gains of positive reform and be steadfast stewards of unity and development in our society,” President Aquino said.
Earlier, Chairman Iqbal was quoted saying that he is attending the SONA to hear what the president will say about the BBL. After the SONA, Iqbal said he was happy with the President’s mention of the Bangsamoro in his SONA. “What is good, on the positive note, is that we saw that the peace process is still on the optic lens of the President and the administration,” Iqbal said. (Source: PDI, July 30, 2014)
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/1118-gph-milf-peace-panels-to-resume-“workshops”-on-heavily-diluted-bbl-draft-in-davao-city
The 10-day meeting is one of the longest working sessions in the peace process, stressing the necessity to complete the task as soon as possible. The panels met the weekend before President Aquino’s penultimate State of the Nation Address (Sona) last Monday, July 28 and declared a break for the MILF to observe Eid al-Fitr Tuesday that marked the end of Ramadan, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported (PDI).
“What is important is there is a movement forward but the task is really very tough,” MILF chief negotiator Iqbal told the Inquirer after the President’s SONA on Monday.
After putting together an agreed version of the draft bill, the panels will go to Kuala Lumpur “to formalize the decision,” Iqbal said.
Malaysia is acting as 3rd party facilitator in the peace process.
Negotiating peace in Mindanao is among the cornerstones of the Aquino administration, as the long-drawn-out war with the Moro secessionist group has left a high death toll, thousands of displaced families, and stunted economic and human development, PDI also said.
In the same report, PDI quoted President Benigno Aquino III or PNoy saying during his EidFitr message to the Filipino Muslims onTuesday, that“The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed between the government and the MILF showed that both parties were bound by the desire to have peace”.
“We continue to build a more harmonious, more just country as we begin to ease the disquiet that has long shaken our lands… Let us sustain the gains of positive reform and be steadfast stewards of unity and development in our society,” President Aquino said.
Earlier, Chairman Iqbal was quoted saying that he is attending the SONA to hear what the president will say about the BBL. After the SONA, Iqbal said he was happy with the President’s mention of the Bangsamoro in his SONA. “What is good, on the positive note, is that we saw that the peace process is still on the optic lens of the President and the administration,” Iqbal said. (Source: PDI, July 30, 2014)
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/1118-gph-milf-peace-panels-to-resume-“workshops”-on-heavily-diluted-bbl-draft-in-davao-city
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