COTABATO CITY, Philippines – There could be more works and challenges now lying ahead of the peace panels of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front than there were before.

 

 

Peace activists said both sides now need to educate the public extensively on the intricacies and advantages of putting up a “Bangsomoro” region, in lieu of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, based on the framework agreement both sides signed October 15 in Malacañang.

 

“It is along that context that we need to support the two panels even more, at this point in time, to hasten the crafting of a final peace agreement that can catalyze the attainment of peace in Moro areas in Mindanao,” said lawyer Anwar Malang of the Mindanao Think Tank, or MTT.

 

The MTT, which is being assisted by the Europe-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, is an influential volunteer cross-section block supporting activities meant to empower Mindanao’s Moro and non-Moro indigenous sectors.

 

Members of the MTT agreed, during a meeting Friday night, to embark on massive information campaigns, under the guidance of the GPH and MILF panels, to educate the public on the deeper ramifications of the framework agreement.

 

“We can help explain to the public, to clear out speculations and prejudices, by embarking on various projects that will enable both panels good to talk to people for them to appreciate the dividends that can be gained out of a final peace agreement between the government and the MILF,” Malang said.

 

The euphoria on the signing the framework deal has started to wane and the government and MILF are now confronted with the issue of how to make stakeholders understand that the compact was only a blueprint for a final peace accord that it is a long way to go.

 

“We need to patiently wait for the government and the MILF to answer questions on provisions of that agreement some camps are yet to fully comprehend. We should avoid making wrong interpretations,” said Mujiv Hataman, the acting governor of ARMM.

 

Hataman was apparently reacting to insinuations that non-Bangsamoro settlers in the autonomous region are now contemplating on relocating outside, owing to the possibility of the government and MILF working out the return of their lands to Moro folks, on the basis of ancestral, or tribal domain claims.

 

“That’s not correct. The government and the MILF created that framework agreement to foster peace and not escalate the trouble in Mindanao,” Hataman said.

 

Hataman said the framework deal is not the “final peace agreement” yet.

 

“Let’s give that framework deal a chance to take off,” Hataman said.

 

Even officials of the most active peace advocacy outfit in Central Mindanao, the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG), said sectors that have questions on the framework agreement should ask for clarifications.

 

Oblate priest Eliseo Mercado, Jr., the figurehead of IAG, which is being assisted by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung of Germany and the European Union, urged the GPH and MILF panels to be patient and resilient in moving on as they try to forge a final peace deal based on the newly crafted framework agreement.

 

“We all need to buckle up for the hard work of translating the framework agreement into some concrete formula. The task ahead is to complete (the) four annexes, `power-sharing; wealth-sharing; governance of the Bangsamoro; and the normalization and decommissioning (of combatants),” Mercado said.

 

Mercado said the two panels hope to complete the “annexes” to the framework agreement before yearend.