“Peace process is important in terms of economic and social development of this land (Mindanao),” Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, Chairperson of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) Peace Panel, said in a peace forum at the Provincial Gymnasium of Sarangani on March 31, 2015.
The
government chief negotiator said President Aquino is serious in the peace
process and that the trust of business and international communities is already
gained. She also hopes the new autonomous government will “give way to the
participation of all.”
“We hope
normalcy returns in Mindanao and farmers can till their lands,” Coronel-Ferrer
told more than five hundred constituents of Sarangani Province
Coronel-Ferrer,
together with fellow GPH Panel Member, explained the GPH-MILF peace process
mechanism.
The
Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been
engaged in peace negotiation for 17 years.
One of the
major outputs of the talks was the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law which is now in
Congress for deliberation and hoped to be passed into law by June this
year.
The BBL
will pave way for the creation of new Bangsamoro political entity which
embodies the aspirations of the Moro people.
Coronel-Ferrer
noted that others fear that the basic law “will tear us apart.”
She
explained that should there will be fund, “it will not go to the MILF but to
the people who will be elected by the Bangsamoro constituents.”
“Very clear
the MILF will be transformed into civil society group,” Coronel Ferrer added.
Should the
Bangsamoro government be established, she said other groups like the Moro
National Liberation Front can participate and even form a political party.
Coronel-Ferrer
said the review process on the peace deal with the MNLF was delayed after the
Zamboanga siege.
“With talks
and understanding, we can find solutions and we have no choice but to be united
and be developed,” she pointed out.
“What is
important is we live peacefully,” she added.
Bacani said
there is no provision in the BBL for the integration of members of the
Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) to the Philippine National Police and
the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). “Those who qualify in the
requirements however, can apply,” he said.
The chief
government negotiator said the rights of the Indigenous Peoples and women is
guaranteed to be respected in the Bangsamoro. “We assure voices of the women be
heard,” she said.
She also
assured there will be reserved seats in the parliament for the IPs and women
sectors.
For the
audience to further understand the peace talks, a multi-media presentation was
shown highlighting significant and brief information on the peace process.
Coronel-Ferrer
thanked the provincial government of Sarangani for the efforts to make the
public understand the ongoing peace negotiation between the government and the
MILF.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/829-ferrer-peace-process-is-important-in-terms-of-economic-and-social-dev-t-of-mindanao
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