Gov't, MILF break impasse over ancestral domain

MANILA, Philippines – The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have finally broken their seven-month impasse over the thorny issue of ancestral domain, paving the way for the start of the last stage of the peace talks, officials said yesterday.

A ranking official privy to the negotiations disclosed arrangements are being made for the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Ancestral Domain.

The official said the formal signing of the agreement would be held once chief government negotiator Rodolfo Garcia returns to Manila from Kuala Lumpur in a three-day meeting with his MILF counterpart Mohaqer Iqbal.

The official revealed both sides have signed the minutes of their meeting in Kuala Lumpur last night that detailed their initial agreement over the ancestral domain issue.

The official said the negotiators will meet anew in Kuala Lumpur on July 24 to announce the date of the formal signing of the MOA.

The two sides have succeeded in threshing out the disagreements over the extent of the so-called Bangsamoro homeland where the MILF will exercise jurisdiction and self-rule.

Reports said about 600 to 700 barangays will be added to the proposed Bangsamoro homeland.

Officials from both sides explained the barangays would be “contiguous,” or adjacent to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

This will in effect be expanded once a final peace agreement is signed.

The MILF in December pulled out from the seven-year old negotiations after it accused the government of reneging on “consensus points” on the draft ancestral domain agreement that included the scope of the envisioned Bangsamoro homeland.

The government maintained it cannot compromise the Constitution in the draft agreement.

In May this year, hopes to resolve the stalemate further dimmed after Malaysia, which is brokering the talks, announced a gradual pullout of personnel in the International Monitoring Team (IMT) that is monitoring the five-year old ceasefire.

Back channel talks, however, continued between both sides. Last month, during a visit to Davao City, President Arroyo announced the National Security Council had approved a revised draft ancestral domain agreement to revive the stalled talks with the MILF.

What broke the impasse was the MILF’s agreeing to drop the word “freedom” from a critical provision of the proposed MOA that would have allowed them to continue its separatist goal in the future, the official revealed.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process Secretary Hermogenes Esperon revealed before reporters in a news briefing in Malacañang the good prospects for the signing of the MOA.

“They (negotiating panels) are close to arriving at an agreement… they seem to have overcome the hump. We hope they have resolution on wording of provision on satisfying aspiration of Bangsamoro people,” Ermita said. 

“I think we have good news but I cannot confirm it until Undersecretary Garcia comes home,” he said.

Esperon, for his part, read a portion of the original provision of the MILF on the proposed agreement.

“The recognition and peaceful resolution of the conflict must involve consultations with the Bangsamoro people free of any imposition in order to provide chances of success and open new formulas that permanently respond to the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people for freedom.”   

Esperon explained “there is no juridical definition of freedom, but freedom could go to self determination and independence.” – With Roel Pareño