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MANILA, April 29, 2026 (SDN) — Hopes string eternal!

When people are desperate for something and they have nowhere and no one to turn to, desperation might led to something undesirable. But against desperation, one should cling to hope.

Apply this hope to the dormant, at least it’s not a dying, Bangsamoro peace process, and the complexion of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) changes to positivity, of being hopeful, that, arguably, every stakeholder of peace and security in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has been hoping and yearning for.

The Bangsamoro people, the myriad civil society and peoples’ organizations, individuals, and others can thank Moro Islamic Liberationn Front (MILF) First Vice Chairman Mohagher M. Iqbal and new Presidential Adviser on Peace Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento for the hopes their first formal meeting generated.

On learning of the appointment of Sarmiento, a former secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Iqbal, on behalf of the MILF, welcomed the new Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) head, as the Moro Front warms up to the appointment for being a civilian official.

“This is civilian work,” the MILF leader emphasized. “It requires the kind of governance experience that Secretary Sarmiento brings — his understanding of municipal administration, regional development coordination, and national government-BARMM intergovernmental work.”

On the other hand, he also made clear of the required hard work ahead, a kind of struggle towards peace that is less visible, which is the “completion of the normalization process, building  of fiscal governance capacity in the Bangsamoro region, safeguarding the integrity of the region’s first parliamentary elections on September 14, and delivering tangible development to communities long battered by decades of conflict.”

Iqbal further explained the importance of a peace partner who comes from the civilian sector. “The Bangsamoro needs a partner at the national level who understands how institutions actually work, not simply how security operations function.”

The MILF official, who is also the group’s chief negotiator, expressed the Moro Front’s readiness to work with Sarmiento on the completion of the peace process.

Bangsamoro peace process in good hands with new OPAPRU head

“We invite Secretary Sarmiento to engage the MILF leadership directly on these priorities. The work ahead requires partnership, not parallel processes. We have navigated decades of difficulty together. We can complete this final stretch with the same commitment to mutual respect and genuine problem-
solving,” Iqbal said.

In response, the new OPAPRU chief expressed appreciation for the MILF’s warm welcome.

“I deeply appreciate your kind words and the recognition of the work ahead as we move toward the full implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro,” Sarmiento said.

At the same time, he cited his priorities as he pledged to work in close partnership with the chairmen of the Peace Implementing Panel (PIP) of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MILF to move the normalization process forward, fast-track reconciliation efforts, and complete “this crucial phase with unity, mutual respect, and shared purpose.”

Sarmiento added: “Our shared end goal is a progressive Bangsamoro region, anchored on the aspirations of its people, guided by self-determination, and built on institutions that are responsive, inclusive, and enduring.”

Sarmiento, a former politician and local government unit (LGU) official, among other government posts, replaced former secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. at the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU). Galvez, a friend to the MILF, a former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and expectedly adept with military-related solutions, tendered his resignation on April 21.

“I wish to express my profound gratitude to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. for his unwavering trust and for the opportunity to serve the Filipino people…To our domestic and international peace partners: your steadfast support has been the bedrock of our progress in the Philippine Comprehensive Peace Process. The milestones we have achieved are a testament to our collective vision, and for this, I am eternally grateful,” the former OPAPRU head said.

Many issues have been hanging over the GPH-MILF peace process, like dark clouds threatening to rain on a parade.

Remember that on July 26, 2025, that, apparently, in exasperation, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) headed by Chairman Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim unexpectedly suspended the decommissioning of 14,000 combatants and their 2,450 weapons that would have “normalized” their lives in mainstream society.

Reason, as the former revolutionary group’s highest policy-making body, the Central Committee, said in a Resolution was what they described the GPH allegedly failing to comply substantially with some provisions of the CAB’s Annex on Normalization.  The MILF-CC issued their resolution on July 19 during their meeting at Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte.

The MILF-CC made plain in their suspension of the fourth stage of decommissioning was about the National Government allegedly implementing some aspects of the CAB without involving the Moro Front.

They said the decommissioning process will be activated only “upon the substantial compliance of the GPH in the other tracks of normalization, including the provision of socioeconomic package as agreed upon by the GPH and MILF Peace Implementing Panels (PIPs).”

Remember, too, that as the 12th anniversary of the CAB approached on March 27, the MILF once again made a move that paused many aspects of engagements with the GPH, adding to the gauntlet of hurdles besetting the landmark peace accord. These concerned a multi-faceted engagement with GPH on peace implementation mechanisms.

The move then of the MILF was in response to the resignation of the then-GPH PIP chairman and former military general Cesar Yano, whom the National Government did not replace immediately.

“Hence, in the exercise of prudence MILF deems it appropriate to declare a temporary pause in several aspects of engagement under the peace implementation mechanisms until a full-fledged Chairman of the GPH Peace Implementing Panel is appointed,” the MILF pointed out in its Official Statement re: Yano’s resignation.

Now, with a civilian head of the OPAPRU, and the meeting of Sarmiento and Iqbal generating a glimmer of hopes, the Bangsamoro people and all the stakeholders of the GPH-MILF peace process would surely be looking forward to the reactivation of the suspended deactivation of the 14,000 combatants. As well as the halting of the pause of many aspects of the peace mechanisms. — EDD K. USMAN (/)

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The author

EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, Manila Business Insights, Panorama Magazine, Agriculture Magazine, and others, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (®)

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Sources: Watana Inged / MILF / Luwaran.com