Government peace panel chair Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer believes the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has committed to renounce violence and terrorism by forging the peace agreement with the government.
“If the MILF were considered a terrorist organization, why does the international community, including the United Nations and the ASEAN, support the peace process on the Bangsamoro?” Coronel-Ferrer said before a forum organized by the Rotary Club of Manila Bay as reaction to statements made by some senators alleging MILF has terrorist links.
“The full implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) will ensure that the leaders and followers of the MILF will desist from going the way of the ISIS,” Coronel-Ferrer said.
The government chief negotiator recounted the statements of support issued by several countries and multilateral bodies when the CAB was signed on March 27 last year. These foreign states and institutions include Singapore, Cambodia, Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, United States of America, Japan, Brunei, Norway, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Nations, the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, among others.
Coronel-Ferrer also enumerated the national organizations who have pushed for the continuity of the peace process on the Bangsamoro, including the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, the Professors for Peace, and various business groups like the Makati Business Club, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Mindanao Business Council.
“You would not get this kind of national and international support for the peace process if we were dealing with a terrorist organization,” said Coronel-Ferrer.
