MANILA, Philippines – The United Kingdom on Tuesday, June 16, hailed the historic turnover of firearms of the southern Philippine rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). 

In a statement released by the British Embassy in the Philippines, British Charge d’ Affaires Trevor Lewis said the decommissioning of MILF weapons “is a significant and welcome step in the peace process.”

Lewis said, “With legislation still pending in Congress, this event underlines the continued commitment of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to pursue its objectives through political rather than violent means.”

He added, “As with any peace process, the process of normalization is linked to political milestones, the next of which will be the passage of legislation to make the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) a reality.”

The CAB, which was signed in March 2014, can only become “a reality” after the passage of a bill implementing the peace deal.

The proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), however, has almost been derailed by a botched police operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, that killed 67 Filipinos in January. 

UK’s own peace process

Still, Lewis commended the Philippine government, under President Benigno Aquino III’s leadership, “for its continued significant effort to bring peace and development to the peoples of Bangsamoro for the long term benefit of the Philippines as a whole.”

The UK – which dealt with its own peace process until 1998 – is one of the countries most supportive of the Bangsamoro peace deal.  

The UK’s statement came as the MILF turned over its first batch of weapons on Tuesday.

Aquino and MILF chairman Ebrahim Murad, among others, attended the turnover.

The MILF will deactivate more weapons once the BBL is passed in Congress then signed by the President. 

The BBL aims to create a more powerful Muslim region in the southern Philippines to end a 4-decade Muslim secessionist movement. – Rappler.com