Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao– Representatives of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to the Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) signed on May 8 a Memorandum of Mutual Understanding on “ceasefire-related functions” for the upcoming May 13, 2019 national and local elections.
According to the report by OPAPP Media Bureau, the GPH and MILF were represented by their respective chairmen, Armed Forces of the Philippines Brigadier General Cirilo Thomas P. Donato Jr. and Butch P. Malang.
The memorandum was signed in the presence of Cotabato City Acting Election Officer Atty. Mark Chrystal Sorilla and International Monitoring Team (IMT) Mission 14 Head of Mission MGen Dato’ Ya’cob Bin Haji Samiran.
Also present during the signing were GPH CCCH Head Secretariat Col Joel Q Mamon; Chairman of GPH Ad Hoc Joint Action Group Police Brigadier General Madid M Paito; MILF Ad Hoc Joint Action Group OIC-Chairman Anwar Alamada; and 6th Infantry Division Assistant Division Commander Brigadier General Juvymax Uy, the report said.
Under the signed memorandum, guidelines were to be observed by the GPH and MILF CCCH, with concurrence of the IMT, as the body carries out heightened special ceasefire-related functions to safeguard the GPH-MILF ceasefire agreement and the Bangsamoro peace process during the election period.
It also identified specific coordinating and monitoring functions and responsibilities of the concerned parties. It covers conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, particularly in identified volatile and election hotspot within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and other adjacent areas.
The Memorandum will be implemented from May 7 to 19, 2019, which is considered the most critical period of the election.
Election Officer Sorilla in his message during the MMU signing noted the significance and timeliness of the memorandum signing, saying this move is expected to boost confidence in the conduct of a peaceful and credible election in the region.
“With the active involvement of various groups, we can now rest secure and are hopeful that the forthcoming elections will not only be peaceful but also credible wherein the true will of the people will be expressed,” he said.
“Their decision to whom they shall entrust the future of BARMM will be respected as this will be reflective of the political, cultural, and democratic ethos of the Bangsamoro People,” Sorilla added.
“Let us be conscious and conscientious of our constitutional duties to protect the sanctity of the ballots and safeguard the supreme will of the people. We will succeed together because we are working together,” Sorilla said as quoted by the OPAPP report.
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