PH govt, MILF set to sign peace roadmap

MANILA, Philippines – The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are set to sign Monday, October 15, the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro that would hopefully pave the way for lasting peace in Muslim Mindanao.

President Benigno Aquino III and MILF chief Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim will sign the framework agreement, which outlines a roadmap for a final peace agreement by 2016, at Malacañang Palace.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu are scheduled to attend the signing. Najib and Ihsanoglu arrived in Manila over the weekend.

Malacañang said the signing will be kept simple and solemn.

“We will keep to the basics and we will keep it as solemn as possible,” Palace spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a press briefing on Sunday, October 14.

“We’re very hopeful for this particular agreement… we’re very hopeful and both sides are committed to giving peace a chance,” she said.

The presence of foreign dignitaries is important, the Palace said, especially since they also helped broker the deal.

“We want everybody who has helped in the agreement to witness the event,” Valte told Rappler on Saturday, October 13.

It will be Najib’s first official visit to the Philippines under Aquino’s watch, Valte added.

The signing will be held at the Rizal Hall at 1:30 pm. Immediately after the siginig, government chief negotiator Marvic Leonen and MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal will have a press briefing at the New Executive Building, according to Malacañang.

Peace caravan

In anticipation of the signing, a peace caravan, dubbed the “Lakbay Kalinaw,” has been traveling since Thursday, October 11, from Davao City to Manila, where they will hold a vigil Sunday until the signing on Monday.

An estimated 500 delegates from different parts of Mindanao joined the caravan, including representatives from civil society groups and officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), led by Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman.

The vigil will be held at Mendiola, just outside the Malacañang gates.

“Ito po… ‘young mga peace advocates… part po sila ng mga CSO (civil society groups) na nagbabantay po doon sa peace process,” Valte said. (These are the peace advocates who are part of the civil society groups that closely watched the peace process.)

From ARMM to Bangsamoro

The peace framework was first announced Sunday, October 7, after the latest round of talks held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“We have forged an agreement that seeks to correct… problems. It defines our parameters and our objectives, while upholding the integrity and sovereignty of our nation,” President Benigno Aquino III said in a speech aired live nationwide Sunday afternoon, announcing the milestone in the peace talks.

“This agreement creates a new political entity, and it deserves a name that symbolizes and honors the struggles of our forebears in Mindanao, and celebrates the history and character of that part of our nation. That name will be Bangsamoro,” he said.

With the framework now in place, Aquino said a basic law will be drafted by a transition commission, and will “go through the full process of legislation in Congress.”

Under the framework, the ARMM will be replaced by the Bangsamoro political entity, and the MILF will drop its bid for independence in exchange for autonomy covering several areas in Mindanao.

The autonomous government will manage its own taxes, as well as have a “just and equitable share” of revenues from natural resources.

Its forces would also be disarmed in stages, while the Philippine government will retain powers of defense, as well as foreign and monetary policies.

Muslim “Sharia” law will also apply in civil cases involving Muslims, but not criminal cases.

A transition panel made up of members from both sides is to draft a “basic law” covering the autonomous region to be passed by the nation’s parliament by 2015.

The people living in the proposed autonomous region would then need to ratify it in a plebiscite held before 2016 when Aquino is required by the constitution to stand down.

The peace negotiations, which gained momentum after Aquino and Ebrahim met for secret talks in Japan last year, have been held in Malaysia. – Rappler.com, with reports from the Agence France-Presse

Read the full text of President Noynoy Aquino’s speech: Agreement paves way for enduring peace in Mindanao

Read the full text of the Framework Agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on the establishment of the new autonomous political entity, Bangsamoro, that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

For related stories, read:

• BIFM insists on separate Bangsamoro state
• Leonen: Let’s debate the Bangsamoro deal
• Apl.de.ap to help Bangsamoro children
• MILF plans to form party
• Mixed feelings on the roadmap to peace