‘Peace deal will create big difference for Bangsamoro communities’

MANILA, Philippines - Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles is hopeful that the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) will create a big difference in the lives of people, especially those in conflict communities.

“We’ve always said that signing a peace agreement is a big achievement, but it only marks another stage,” she said. “We hope that it will find its way not just into the law but also into the lives of people.”

Deles admitted that the bigger challenge is delivering the commitments on the ground.

She said the CAB should also translate into food on the table, better health, as well as market-related jobs, to enable people to lead better lives and determine their own future.

Deles reiterated the government’s commitment to deliver what it has signed.

“The commitment in the CAB stands for so much work that has already been done by the government and what it is still committed to do,” she said.

“Tuwid na daan (straight path). We don’t make false promises that we can’t deliver,” she said.

Peace model

The Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP), a Brussels-based group that was also involved in the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said the newly signed CAB is a peace model that can be adopted by other countries with internal armed conflict situation.

The CAB signing “is not only a resounding triumph for Mindanao and the nation of the Philippines, but it is also a great model that can help many other countries facing similar issues,” the NP said in a statement. “This is a real victory for peace.”

The group said the signing of the CAB reinforced the foundation for the Bangsamoro sub-state, which will provide the region greater political and governing autonomy, and preserve the vibrant history, tradition and culture of the Moro people.

“This epic achievement will bring an end to the decades of violence that have plagued Mindanao,” it said.

Guiamel Alim, who served as chairman of the NP Philippines Advisory Council, described the CAB signing as an initial victory in the long Bangsamoro struggle for self-determination, adding the political gain must be sustained to improve the socioeconomic life of the Bangsamoro.

Register as voters

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) asked the MILF to step further into the mainstream by registering as voters.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they hope the MILF will take advantage of the continuing voter’s registration for the 2016 elections that will resume on May 6.

“The Comelec is greatly heartened by the MILF’s thrust towards joining the political arena, moving from bullets to ballots. For this move to achieve its maximum potential, it is now necessary for the members of the MILF to register as voters,” he said.

The CAB paves the way for the establishment of a new autonomous Bangsamoro region in Mindanao and the eventual participation of its people in the 2016 local and national elections.

Quick impact projects

Meanwhile, Japan International Cooperation Agency president Akihiko Tanaka said he met with MILF leaders Al Haj Murad and Nur Jaafar on Friday and has expressed JICA’s readiness to undertake quick impact projects in Mindanao.

“We essentially agreed that there are necessities of implementing quick impact projects to show the people of Mindanao the dividends of peace,” Tanaka said in a press briefing at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel.

These projects include health and medical care and small-scale infrastructure like farm-to-market roads and water facilities.

Misuari now in ME?

In a related development, fugitive Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari has slipped through a police and military dragnet in Sulu and is believed to have returned to the Middle East.

A source said a “third party” helped Misuari evade government security forces who were tracking him to serve an arrest warrant issued by the Zamboanga City Regional Trial Court for his alleged involvement in the siege in Zamboanga last year.

The source added that an emissary of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has assured Misuari that the 57-nation member Islamic body still recognizes him as the only representative of the Bangsamoro people in the Philippines. – With Roel Pareño, Rainier Allan Ronda, Perseus Echeminada, Sheila Crisostomo