Peace Adviser: Help Make Peace Efforts Succeed

Presidential peace process adviser Teresita Deles on Sunday has appealed for the success of the peace efforts between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), asking doubters to help make the Bangsamoro law succeed. Deles made the statement following the signing of the last four annexes that paves the way for a peace agreement with secessionist MILF.

Deles calls those who doubts the success of the peace agreement to help. “Doon sa mga sinasabing mahirap, baka ‘di makaya, tumulong kayo,” Deles said in an interview.

The government and the MILF on Saturday signed in Kuala Lumpur the last annex of the framework agreement on the Bangsamoro. The peace talks, which was hosted by Malaysia, hopes to end the four decades of Muslim insurgency in western Mindanao.

Amnesty

Under the new agreement, the government will grant amnesty to Muslim guerrillas who are facing or who have been convicted of rebellion charges. However, peace officials said that only rebellion-related offenses can be covered by the said amnesty, which means that those other crimes like rape are not included. Authorities added that only MILF fighters are included in the amnesty and does not include guerrilla fighters who broke off from the group and continued to endanger the peace of the region.

Reports said the new peace pact also calls for the deactivation of the 11,000 rebels of the secessionist group, adding that the deactivation process will be led by an independent decommissioning body. This body, according to the report, will oversee the deactivation of the rebel forces and will be the ones to collect their weapons.

Deles said the amnesty is still subject to congressional approval.

Palace

Meanwhile, Malacañang on Sunday said they are hopeful that Congress will quickly pass the basic law that will create the Bangsamoro political entity.

Presidential Communications Chief Herminio Coloma, Jr. said the President lauded the panels of both the government and the MILF for the signing of the normalization annex, which is the last of annex of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

Coloma added that the next step is to create the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law that will be submitted to Congress by the 15-man transition Commission.

“We hope that the basic law will be taken up by the current Congress so that it will be approved and a plebiscite will be held,” Coloma said.

Coloma added that the government is confident both houses of Congress will act on the Bangsamoro law soon.

Deles, together with members of the government peace panel led by Miriam Ferrer arrived in Manila from Kuala Lumpur on Sunday night.

The conclusion of the talks between the government and the MILF in Malaysia is a significant progress after 13 year of negotiations to quell the stubborn insurgency that has left over 120,000 people dead and halted progress in Muslim-populated southern region of the Philippines.