Despite delay in Bangsamoro Law, AFP confident of peace talks

MANILA, Philippines - The military is optimistic that the delay in the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) would not cause security problems.

Brig. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, chief of the Army’s 6th division, said they have maintained a good relationship with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“Our coordination with the MILF leadership is good. No one was openly saying they are disenchanted,” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan claimed that the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro has improved the situation in Central Mindanao.

“The flow of economic development has been good and investors are coming in. If the agreement is implemented as a law, things will be better,” he said.

Pangilinan said the situation in the region is okay even as he noted that bandits from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters are still engaging in skirmishes with security troops.

The MILF has earlier expressed optimism about the prospects of the BBL even if the endorsement of the measure to Congress has been delayed.

MILF said it would be better for the two sides to continue the path of peace rather than go back to where they started.

In March, the government and the MILF inked the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the document that will serve as the basis of the BBL.

The Bangsamoro Transition Commission submitted the draft of the BBL to Malacañang last April.  A legal team from the Office of the President was tasked to review the draft law before endorsing it to Congress.

The government originally planned to endorse the draft law to Congress in May but the deadline was not met.

The military has vowed to hold dialogues with Bangsamoro communities while the government and the MILF are finalizing the draft law. –  with Irene Bongcales