By Darryl John Esguerra | Philippine News Agency
The Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are stepping up joint efforts to complete remaining commitments under their peace agreement as the Bangsamoro region prepares for its first parliamentary elections on Sept. 14.
GPH Peace Implementing Panel Chair and Presidential Peace Adviser Mel Senen Sarmiento said the two sides have resumed substantive engagements under both the political and normalization tracks of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
While the first regular Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections on Sept. 14 will advance the political track, Sarmiento said the normalization track will continue beyond the polls.
The normalization track covers security, decommissioning, socioeconomic development, camp transformation and transitional justice.
“Since my appointment as GPH Panel Chair in July, we have actively reached out to our partners in the MILF to demonstrate the national government’s utmost sincerity and commitment to accelerate the implementation of the CAB’s political and normalization Tracks,” Sarmiento said in a statement Saturday.
He said MILF leadership has likewise demonstrated its commitment to fulfilling its obligations under the agreement following his recent meeting with MILF Chair Ahod Balawag Ebrahim.
The GPH and MILF panels resumed formal joint engagements during their Aug. 4 meeting, where they signed a declaration reaffirming their partnership and agreed to continue implementing the CAB’s remaining commitments.
Since then, joint mechanisms have resumed work on key normalization activities.
The Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities and the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group, for instance, signed guidelines on Aug. 31 governing ceasefire-related functions during the Sept. 14 elections.
Other joint bodies have also convened to discuss peace and security, small arms and light weapons, international monitoring, support for decommissioned combatants and their communities, camp transformation, and transitional justice.
Sarmiento said the government has also established an Information Operations Coordinating Center to monitor developments before, during and after the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) elections and help ensure that the polls are safe, orderly and credible.
The normalization track remains a major unfinished component of the CAB as the political transition approaches its next milestone.
The Third Party Monitoring Team has previously cautioned against assuming that the peace process is nearing completion, noting that substantial normalization commitments remain to be fulfilled.
Sarmiento said the renewed GPH-MILF engagement demonstrates the parties’ determination to sustain the gains of the peace process and complete their remaining obligations under the agreement. (PNA)
