“But more importantly, we are on the cusp of fully realizing the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people for their right to self-determination.”
— Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal
Short link: https://wp.me/paaccn-h4G
By EDD K. USMAN
@edd1819 | @bluestar0910 | SDN — Science & Digital News
(SDN) — Don’t look now, but the peace process between the Philippine Government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is now a quarter of a century old.
To be exact it was in January 1997 when the MILF under its Al-Azhar University graduate Moro cleric Chairman Ustadhz Salamat Hashim agreed to talk peace with GPH in Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao. It was at the time of the regime of the then President Fidel V. Ramos.
It was only around four months after GPH inked its 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA) with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
If anybody doubted the resolve and commitment of the peace parties to end the strife in Southern Philippines, they may have been justified. After all, every peace negotiation anywhere on Planet Earth brings with it so many variables and factors that can break the back of anyone with weak resolve. Well, it was borne out none of them was of a weak resolve.
The MILF has its 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro with GPH which is being implemented by or through the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
MILF Chief Negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, now the minister of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) acknowledged today, March 11, 2022, the gauntlet of hurdles that GPH and the MILF had to overcome since that start of the negotiations 25 years ago.
Political and legal tracks moving ahead
The occasion is the 31st Meeting of the GPH and MILF Peace Implementing Panels now being held in Cagayan de Oro City, where the two parties’ search for peace started and took shape. Iqbal is the MILF chair for the Peace Implementing Panel, and his counterpart in GPH, Undersecretary David Diciano from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).
It was on March 21, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (the Third-Party Facilitator) when the Implementing Panels were created to oversee the various aspects of the peace process. Not to mention ironing out any obstacles, which abound.
“But through time, 25 years to be exact, the GPH and MILF were able to rise above the misunderstandings, defied naysayers, and developed and maintained a sincere and straightforward partnership to maintain and build on the gains of the peace process,” said Iqbal, who wears many hats in the peace process, including as chairman of the MILF Implementing Panel for the CAB.
“But, more importantly, we are on the cusp of fully realizing the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people for their right to self-determination.”
In two tracks of the CAB, he cited, among others, both parties’ compliance with the BOL, and the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Iqbal emphasized that this “meant the political and legal tracks are progressing steadily, despite many downs due to years of neglect and the Covid-19 pandemic.”
On the other hand, he cautioned that cutting corners in the implementation of the FAB and CAB for “haste makes waste.”
He also noted how peace is holding because of the ceasefire accords enshrined in the CAB.
MILF continues to trust Duterte, government peace partners
“On the other hand, the general agreement on the cessation of hostilities and the ceasefire mechanisms are generally holding while the Normalization Process is also moving forward, although in varying degrees of implementation,” Iqbal pointed out.
Meanwhile, the education minister indicated the need to continue to hard work that entails the success of the peace process.
“While we should be proud of our accomplishments, we shouldn’t be complacent since much work is to be done. As I often say, we should adopt or practice a “problem-solving” attitude, wherein we seek innovative ways to deliver on our promises, as stated in the signed peace agreements, without compromising our principles and our people’s well-being.
“And our obligation to acknowledge and adhere to the spirit and letter of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). Borrowing the words of the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT), in its recent official report, and I quote: ‘The peace agreements between the GPH, MILF remain the cornerstone of peace in BARMM” (and without saying, in entire Mindanao),” Iqbal said.
As he ended his address at the meeting, Iqbal assured that “we sincerely trust President Rodrigo Road Duterte and his government and our peace partners headed by Honorable Undersecretary David Diciano and his team. This is an assurance from the bottom of our hearts.” (✓)
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Featured image of the symbol of peace, dove, credit to Pixabay.