PH-MILF talks: Failure not on agenda

Angela Casauay

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Both parties are expected to complete the annex on transitional arrangements and modalities in this round of talks

PEACE TALKS. GPH chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer leads a caucus of the TWG on Normalization. Photo from the Google+ account of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process

MANILA, Philippines – We are not thinking of failure. 

The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) resumed their 35th round of exploratory peace talks on Monday, January 21, Kuala Lumpur. Expected to end on Friday, January 25, the talks are aimed at drafting the 4 annexes on power-sharing, wealth-sharing, normalization, transitional arrangements and modalities that will complete the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. 

For this round of talks, both parties are expected to settle the “technical impasse” on who will lead the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the only unresolved issue in the annex on transitional arrangements and modalities. 

Both panels will also try to complete the annex on power-sharing, MILF peace panel secretariat Jun Mantawil said in a statement posted on luwaran.net, the official MILF website

The ongoing second phase of the talks follows the historic signing in October 2012 of the Framework Agreement that sets the direction for the creation of the Bangsamoro region.

Government peace panel head Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said she’s confident that both parties will be able to finish discussions on all annexes in this round of talks. She added however that there might be issues in this phase which would need the approval of both groups’ principals.

Ahead of the peace talks, MILF peace panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal also expressed confidence that both parties will be able to hurdle the pending contentious issues. 

“On the part of the MILF, we are not thinking of failure,” Iqbal said on the sidelines of a Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines forum last week. 

Both parties are also set to discuss whether or not to extend the mandate of the International Monitoring Team, which will end in March, Mantawil said.  

The IMT is in charge of monitoring the ceasefire, humanitarian, rehabilitation and socio-economic agreements between the government and the MILF. 

Remaining issues

By MILF’s estimates, discussions on the annexes are 97% complete in the annex on power-sharing; 60% on wealth-sharing; 99% on modalities and arranements; and 30% on normalization. 

Aside from the issues on who should lead the BTA, Iqbal said the other contentious issues are: 

  • Areas within 15 km of municipal waters (annex on power-sharing)
  • Decommissioning; redeployment of government police forces (annex on normalization)
  • Taxation — with MILF saying that they want taxes to be devolved to the Bangsamoro (annex on wealth-sharing) 

President Benigno Aquino III is expected to identify the 15-member Transition Commission which will draft the Basic Law. 

Led by Iqbal, the MILF’s 24-member delegation to the peace talks includes Abhoud Syed Lingga, Maulana Bobby Alonto, Abdulla Camlian, Datu Antonio Kinoc, and Mantawil.

The government panel includes former Agriculture Secretary Senen Bacani, Yasmin Busran-Lao, and former Commission on Elections Commissioner Mehol Sadain. – Rappler.com

 

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!