HISTORICAL INJUSTICE. In this file photo, President Benigno Aquino III stands beside MILF Chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim during the Sajahatra Bangsamoro program at the MILF camp in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao province February 12. MCPA’s Amira Lidasan said that the GPH-MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro “does not include the entire span of issues faced by the people” following the Sabah crisis in Malaysia. “The violence inflicted by the Malaysian forces on troops of the Sultanate in Sabah, being condoned by the President, strikes at the heart of the deep-seated “historical injustice” felt by the Moro people leveled on them,” Lidasan said. (davaotoday.com photo by Ace R. Morandante)
TAGUM CITY— The Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels signed the Declaration of Continuity of the Partnership in the Bangsamoro peace process.
In a joint statement on Monday, May 30, the agreement seeks to ensure the full implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) in the next administration. The signing was held in a special meeting on May 29 and 30 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Apart from the continuity agreement, both the GPH and MILF also signed the Terms of Reference for the Establishment of the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund (BNTF), a multi-donor trust fund envisioned in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Annex on Normalization.
The parties have likewise signed the Terms of Reference for the Project Board of the Mindanao Trust Fund for the Six Previously Acknowledged MILF Camps (MTF-RDP Camps Project).
They expressed “optimism that the roadmap provided for in the CAB will be fully accomplished under his term.” The peace panels also lauded the statement issued by Presidential Peace Adviser-Nominee Jesus G. Dureza who welcomed the forging of a “declaration of continuity in the search for sustainable peace between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.”
Dureza, in his statement, also expressed intent “to continue with the gains and build on those already done and achieved.”
Both the GPH and MILF have expressed their appreciation to President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak for his continued support to the Bangsamoro Peace Process; Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles and to the members of the MILF Central Committee and Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.
The Parties also extend their gratitude to Tengku Dato’ Ab’ Ghafar Tengku Mohamed as the Third-Party Facilitator from Malaysia; the members of the International Contact Group, Third Party Monitoring Team and the Independent Decommissioning Body who attended the meeting; and the members of the other peace mechanisms for their invaluable contribution to the Bangsamoro peace process. (davaotoday.com)
