MILF to translate framework deal into several dialects

MANILA, Philippines - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is planning to have the Bangsamoro framework agreement translated into several dialects to enable local stakeholders to understand it.

Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF peace panel secretariat, said it is important for local stakeholders to read the peace document in their own dialects.

“The MILF had already translated the agreement into Arabic and Maguindanaon, and very soon, the Tausog, Maranao, and Tagalog translations will follow,” Mantawil said in a statement.

They promised to use their own funds to pay for the printing of the information materials. He said the translation is part of their effort to inform the people in Mindanao about the agreement, which was signed last month by MILF and government negotiators.

Mantawil, however, admitted that mass producing the translations poses a challenge. “The main problem in this initiative is still the logistical side not the technical requirements, especially the need to mass produce these translations in order for every individual or at least every household to have a copy,” he said.

The government and the MILF signed the historic Bangsamoro framework agreement last Oct. 15 in Malacañang.

The deal would form a new political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which President Aquino had called “a failed experiment.” 

The Bangsamoro region will cover Isabela City in Basilan, Cotabato City, six towns in Lanao del Norte, and some areas in North Cotabato, in addition to the ARMM provinces of Basilan, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The proposed entity will have to be created through legislation and will have to be subjected to a plebiscite.

The government and the MILF are now crafting the annexes of the framework agreement.

Among the issues being tackled by the negotiators are the issues of wealth sharing, power-sharing and normalization, including the disarmament and decommissioning of rebel forces.

The MILF formed this month six groups to undertake a massive information drive to explain the agreement. The groups were sent to Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, the Zamboanga peninsula, the Lanao area, Davao, Maguindanao-Cotabato area, and South Cotabato.