GRP,MILF Sign Wealth-Sharing Annex

The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panel have reached an agreement on the wealth-sharing annex of their peace pact.

Reports said in the agreement, parties have agreed that 75 percent of taxes collected in the Bangsamoro, as well as 75 percent of income from metallic minerals, would go to the self-rule area.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) revealed such breakthrough in their latest round of talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia late Saturday evening. In its tweet on its official Twitter account, the OPAPP said the annex was signed early Sunday.

A joint statement of chief negotiators on Sunday said it extended the original schedule of four days to six days to be able to overcome concerns and reached an agreement on the annex. This, as stated, is a gesture to show its true commitment.

The statement went further stated that the annex “will provide sufficient guidance for the crafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law’s provisions on wealth sharing and revenue generation for the Bangsamoro as envisioned by the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.”

A statement posted in the OPAPP’s website said the eight-page wealth-sharing annex dealt with matters such as taxation, other sources of revenue, fees and charges, grants and donations, fund transfers from the Central Government, contracting of loans and overseas development assistance, natural resources, and additional fiscal powers, among others.

The website also said particular attention to the sharing formula on taxing powers, in which 25 percent of the “Central Government taxes, fees and charges collected in the Bangsamoro, other than tariff and custom duties” will go to the Central Government.

The remaining 75 percent, including the shares of the local government units, will go to the Bangsamoro Government. As to “other sources of revenue,” the peace panels has agreed that “government income derived from the operations of Bangsamoro government-owned and -controlled corporations, financial institutions, economic zones, and freeports operating therein, shall go to the Bangsamoro Government.”

Further, the “Bangsamoro shall have authority and control over existing government-owned and -controlled corporations and financial institutions operating exclusively in the Bangsamoro territory, after determination by the intergovernmental fiscal policy board of its feasibility.”

Source: Gma news Tv