Peace advisers resume their push for BBL

From The Standard (Jan 6): Peace advisers resume their push for BBL

THE Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process on Tuesday resumed its push for the passage of Malacañang’s proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law despite the uncertainties and challenges facing it.

“We should hit the ground running.  This last six months are going to move... fast [during which] we will face challenges,” Peace Process adviser Teresita Quintos Deles said.

“We are looking forward, working hard and praying hard that we will see the passage of [the] BBL when Congress resumes [sessions].”

Deles said the passage of the BBL would ease the talks during the coming ministerial meeting in January in Jeddah on the Tripartite Review Process on the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Government of the Philippines  and the Moro National Liberation Front.

“The House leadership is hopeful that they will be able to muster a quorum and finish the process,” Deles said.

“We should not give up hope and we need to keep pushing for the completion of the most important milestone on the peace table.”

As stipulated in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, two separate components will run through its implementation simultaneously.

The political process will lead to the establishment of the Bangsamoro political entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao through the enactment of an enabling law, which is the BBL, and the normalization process that seeks to restore the communities affected by the decades-long armed conflict in Mindanao.

Once all provisions in the CAB have been implemented, both sides will sign an exit agreement.

Government peace panel chairwoman Miriam Coronel Ferrer said the government and the MILF would remain steadfast in upholding the ceasefire in pursuit of lasting peace in the southern Philippines.

“The best thing about the peace process between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is that the two parties have not gone back to war,” Ferrer said.

“We are gradually transforming the lives of the people on the ground, nurturing their hopes and dreams for a better future.”

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