2 separate peace panels for MILF, MNLF-Nur

MANILA, Philippines – Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari will not work with rival group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to draft a law that will create a new Bangsamoro region.

Instead, Misuari, who is facing rebellion charges over the 2013 Zamboanga siege to protest the peace process with the MILF, will draft his own proposal to amend the powers and territory of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Presidential Jesus Dureza said another panel will be formed to engage Misuari’s faction of the MNLF.

This means there will be 2 separate draft bills, one that will replace ARMM and the other that will only amend the ARMM law. Congress will then consolidate the 2 to be able to enact a law that will hopefully satisfy all parties. 

“The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process will set up another panel to engage Nur-MNLF. The convergence will take place in Congress when it receives the proposed provisions to formulate new Bangsamoro government to replace ARMM,” Dureza told Rappler.

MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said they are not going to oppose it. “It’s a big leap forward,” Iqbal told Rappler.

Iqbal said he said he’s confident that the government is aware of the need to ensure that the new law would “follow the letter and spirit” of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) that the MILF signed in 2014 with the previous Aquino administration. 

“It’s a welcome development. It’s a strong indication that everybody is pushing for peace in Mindanao. Hindi na gaya noon (It’s not like before) that they (MNLF) are sending mixed signals,” said Iqbal. 

Iqbal said he doesn’t think the creation of 2 panels will create a “major problem,” provided that the government will honor the CAB.

Signing of EO on BTC

At 3 pm on Monday, November 7, President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to sign an executive order expanding the Bangsamoro Transition Council (BTC). The panel that drafted the failed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will now have the task of revising it to address concerns raised in the previous Congress. 

Duterte vowed to support the passage of a law creating a Bangsamoro region, but he said the process should not be limited to the MILF.

The BTC is expected to to have 21 members from the original 15. 

Various sectors had hoped that Duterte could persuade Misuari to send representatives to the BTC and propose his amendments there. This was the plan of the previous Aquino admninistration, too.

But it did not happen. “Misuari is not joining the BTC because it is an MILF mechanism. But MNLF Sema group will join the BTC,” Dureza said, referring to the MNLF faction led by former Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema.

When Misuari resurfaced in Malacañang last week, he also hurled allegations against the third party facilitator of the peace process with MILF, Malaysia.

“Malaysia is involved in this kidnapping for ransom. Probably one day, I will drag their leaders to the ICC. I have all the evidence in my hands,” Misuari said. 

Misuari said he refused Malaysia’s repeated requests for a meeting.

Bangsamoro vs ARMM

The envisioned Bangsamoro region will replace ARMM that was created after the 1976 Tripoli Agreement between the government and the Misuari’s MNLF. (READ: The MNLF, MILF and 2 peace agreements)

The peace deal with the MNLF did not end the war in Mindanao. Members who did not support the peace deal created the breakaway MILF. Misuari’s MNLF would suffer bitter divisions through the years while the MILF grew to become the country’s dominant Muslim rebel group. (READ: Misuari, myths, and the MNLF)

ARMM was declared “a failed experiment.” 

Misuari’s group maintained that the problem was the peace deal they signed was not fully implemented and several issues still needed to be resolved.

 

Zamboanga siege

In 2013, Misuari’s chief lieutenant Ustadz Habier Malik attacked coastal villages of Zamboanga City to protest the peace process with the MILF, protesting what they said was government’s abandonment of the peace process with the MNLF. 

The 3-week siege killed over 200 people, mostly rebels, and displaced about 24,000 families, based on military statistics. 

The military then declared the MNLF a diminished force. The government filed rebellion charges against Misuari, but failed to execute arrest warrants against him. 

In October 2016, a local court suspended the warrants of arrest for a period of 6 months, allowing him to meet Duterte in Malacañang last week. – Rappler.com