Malaysian RP-MILF monitors for peace process arrive

The third and last batch of delegates of the International Monitoring Team sent by the Malaysian government to monitor the ceasefire agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front arrived yesterday in Manila.

Rene Sarmiento, officer-in-charge and presidential adviser on the peace process, hailed the arrival of the last batch of monitors saying that it bolstered the government’s hope of forging lasting peace in Mindanao with the signing of an agreement with the MILF by the end of the year, or by the first quarter of next year. Sarmiento said that they expect the peace talks with the MILF to resume anytime this month.

Sarmiento welcomed the arrival of the Malaysian monitors yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal I via Malaysian Airlines flight MH 704 from Kuala Lumpur along with some counterparts from the MILF.

The first batch of the Malaysian IMT delegates arrived on Aug. 15 and the second batch arrived last Aug. 25. The arrival of the three batch of monitors came after Malaysia’s granting of the GRP and MILF request for an extension of the tour of duty of the IMT with both sides saying that it had played a major role in the success of the ceasefire.

The RP government has declared the ceasefire agreement between it and the MILF to be holding out very well in the past months.

Earlier, GRP Ceasefire Committee chairman Brig. Gen. Ramon Santos credited the presence of the Malaysian IMT personnel in Mindanao to the success of the GRP-MILF ceasefire with zero number of violations being recorded in the past 120 days.

"Before the IMT came here, there were about 500 plus skirmishes between MILF forces and the Armed Forces. When the IMT (was) put in place, for the last one year, there were only 58 reports of violations of the terms of reference. And I’m happy to report that in our annual evaluation and special discussions, we found out that there were no deliberate violations from our forces," Santos said.

Santos said that these "minor" incidents were caused by residual positioning of AFP troops and troops of the other side. "But all of these 50 plus reported violations, we found out in the end, (they were) not really violations but (results of) miscommunication, misunderstanding," he added.

"And I’m happy to report, together with chairman Von, for the last, I think 120 days, we have zero incident of violations," Santos said.

"They are indispensable. Their contribution is immeasurable. They serve as a solid communication link. Two things that we require in the peace process are the establishment of trust and this is where the IMT comes in," Santos said of the IMT from Malaysia.

The GRP peace panel, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, was the one that issued an official request to the Malaysian government for the extension of the IMT tour of duty on Aug. 3, it was learned. The MILF peace panel subsequently concurred to the said GRP request.

The GRP-MILF peace talks were suspended temporarily last July as requested by the Philippines to give way to the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao elections.

With the conclusion of the ARMM elections last month, Sarmiento said they expect the peace talks to resume this month or next month.