COTABATO CITY -- The peace panels of the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) at the weekend have vowed to maintain proactive negotiations in a bid to reach a final peace deal, but remained split in setting a time frame to end the process.
“The peace agreement should be one that is simple and meaningful and should be signed within the year,” said government chief negotiator Mario Victor F. Leonen on Saturday at the opening of the three-day Bangsamoro Leaders Assembly at the MILF administrative base in Camp Darapanan in Maguindanao province. The event was attended by close to half-a-million people, mostly Moros.
The government peace panel had failed to meet a March deadline for striking a peace agreement citing major issues that need to be addressed first.
MILF peace panel member Abhoud Syed M. Linga, however, told BusinessWorld it is “impractical” to put a time frame for the peace deal.
“It is okay to say that we want to fast-track the peace agreement, but for me, putting a deadline would [be risky].”
For his part, MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim noted that the recent signing of the 10 decision points “sends a flickering light” to the ongoing negotiations, since “it is the only and first concrete achievement as far as the GPH (government of the Philippines)-MILF negotiation” under the Aquino administration is concerned.
Mr. Ebrahim has noted that the group’s four-point program -- Islamization, strengthening of the organization, military buildup, and self reliance -- has made MILF “one of the biggest liberation organizations in the world today.”
“The MILF political committees exist in practically every village,” he said noting the group has organized 43 provincial committees in all parts of Bangsamoro region.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Q. Deles, who was at the assembly, cited the MILF’s effort in uniting the Bangsamoro people, while noting the government’s sincerity in ending the decades-old Mindanao conflict.
“Sinsero si PNoy, seryoso si PNoy [The President is sincere, the President is serious,” she said, referring to efforts of President Benigno S. C. Aquino III to push the peace agenda.
Consultations have been conducted with various sectors of society on the peace agreement, said Ms. Deles, noting that the Philippine Development Plan (2011-2016) puts a premium on peace and security.
Bai Sandra A. Sema, 1st district representative of Maguindanao in the Regional Legislative Assembly, called on both parties to fast-track the inking of a peace agreement so Congress could enact the necessary legislation to jack the deal.
Datu V. Dustin Mastura, Maguindanao vice-governor, cited local efforts in supporting the peace process, noting that Maguindanao is the only province that passed a resolution in 2010 that declared full support to the peace talks.
In his opening message, Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice-chairperson for political affairs, said that Bangsamoro self-rule is seen to end the dispute.
Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ehsanoglu of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, in a statement read by his representative, cited previous efforts of the organization in helping solve the Mindanao conflict.
For his part, Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chairman Muslimin G. Sema, in a statement read by his representative, said that the enabling law that supported the 1996 government-MNLF peace agreement was “crafted defectively,” claiming that the government’s reform agenda is “incongruent” with that of the MNLF’s.
Zainudin M. Malang, executive director of the Mindanao Human Rights Action Center, a member organization of the International Monitoring Team (IMT), told BusinessWorld it is important to monitor the people on the ground to ensure that parties would reach the negotiation before the year ends.
The IMT, led by Malaysia which is acting as facilitator in the talks, monitors the implementation of the truce deal with the MILF
The government has been negotiating with the MILF for 15 years now. Last year, the talks between the two parties almost collapsed due to the Oct. 18 incident in Al-Barka, Basilan that left 19 government soldiers dead.
In April, the government and MILF had agreed to create a new autonomous political entity that will replace the current autonomous Muslim region. -- Amilbahar S. Mawallil
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