Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 2) — The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have renewed their commitment to the Bangsamoro peace process and have agreed to fast-track its implementation with only two years left of the transition period.
Cesar Yano, chair of the government’s peace implementing panel, and Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF’s peace implementing panel, met in Davao City on Saturday—a first under the Marcos administration—to talk about four decision points to fast-track the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
“The Parties agreed to intensify resource mobilization to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro by engaging with international state and non-state donors who are willing to support the normalization process, subject to appropriate rules and regulations on the acceptance of grants, donation or any form of development assistance. The modalities for this shall be further discussed by the Parties,” the statement read.
The panels also agreed to further review proposals for the Armed Forces of the Philippines Redeployment Parameters and Areas for the Joint Security Assessment, Transition Plan for the Joint Peace and Security Teams, and the Intergrated Framework on the implementation of camps transformation program in the initial 33 villages of six MILF camps, the statement read.
Another agreement is the creation of a socioeconomic study committee to discuss and recommend for the panels’ approval the components, implementation framework, and funding strategies for the socioeconomic development packages for the decommissioned combatants and camps transformation.
Yano and Iqbal also said they discussed the law enforcement operations in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur on June 18, which killed seven alleged members of the MILF. The two leaders expressed their sympathies to the bereaved families.
They also thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for “swiftly directing” the Justice department to conduct investigations, but Iqbal reiterated the “indispensability of a separate inquiry by an independent body to bolster confidence in the findings.”
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“The Parties express their deepest appreciation to and continuing confidence in President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. for his full support to the Bangsamoro peace process and his commitment to fulfill the implementation of the peace agreements,” the statement read.
“The Parties, along with the entire peace mechanisms, re-affirm their commitment to the continued implementation of the CAB and the achievement of just and lasting peace in the Bangsamoro and in the entire country,” it added.
The CAB, which was signed in 2014, became the basis for the creation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which was passed in 2018. The law is the basis for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
READ: The Bangsamoro Organic Law: Everything you need to know
The creation of the BARMM—a new autonomous political entity with more power, including its own parliament—has raised hopes for the end of the decades-long armed conflict in Mindanao and for a chance at genuine self-governance.
According to the CAB, the Philippine government and the MILF will craft and sign an exit agreement “when all agreements have been fully implemented.”
In 2021, former President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the Republic Act No. 11593, which deferred the first regular elections of the BARMM from 2022 to May 2025 to synchronize with the Philippine midterm elections.
The law also stated that the Bangsamoro Transition Authority will continue to be the interim government in the region until 2025.
