MNLF vs GRP

State rushing to move peace process with Moro rebel groups

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The government has moved to forge final commitments to pursue the peace process in Mindanao with the two major Moro rebel groups less than three months into its term.

Representatives from the administration and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed a memorandum of understanding in Tripoli, Libya on Tuesday that would legally strengthen the 1996 peace agreement.

In Kuala Lumpur, a new peace framework that could lead to a political settlement of the Bangsamoro issue has been proposed by the government panel in a two-day meeting with counterparts at the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Tuesday.

"The panels from the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) and MNLF, with the able facilitation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference-Peace Committee for the Southern Philippines (OIC-PCSP), worked on the review of the implementation of 1996 Final Peace Agreement," a statement posted on the Web site of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said.

It added that all parties would continue to work "on the contentious issues and the result of which shall be transmitted to the President of the Philippines for referral to the Congress of the Philippines as a certified administration bill."

An offshoot of last year’s tripartite meeting between the OIC, the government and the MNLF, the memorandum was signed by Assistant Secretary Camilo Miguel M. Montesa of the OPAPP; Nur Misuari, representing the MNLF; and Rezlan I. Jenie, chairman of the OIC-PCSP.

The parties agreed "to undertake a GRP-OIC-MNLF tripartite process structure to monitor the implementation of the 1996 Peace Agreement and the security, governance, economic activities, including the delivery of social services, in the conflict-affected areas."

The MNLF and OIC, which brokered the peace talks, have previously criticized the government for failure to fulfill the 1996 peace pact. In particular, the autonomous Muslim region -- created by the agreement -- remains mired in poverty that has spawned armed hostilities and banditry.

Comprehensive and substantial

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis, chairman of the negotiating panel, described the proposal submitted to the MILF as "comprehensive and substantial and seeks to proactively address the concerns and aspirations of the two sides."

The new draft, he added, would "avoid the pitfalls that resulted in the declaration of the previous Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD) as unconstitutional."

The botched signing of the MoA-AD two years ago resurrected hostilities between the military and MILF after disgruntled Moro rebels attacked and killed scores of civilians in Central Mindanao. The ceasefire was reimposed middle of last year.

"The GRP’s proposal for a framework agreement... is comprehensive and substantial, and we trust that the other side properly appreciates the intention and context of the draft," Mr. Seguis said in a statement.

The framework, he added, would respond to the MILF’s proposal to create a substate in Mindanao, replacing the government’s initial offer of "enhancing" the existing autonomous Muslim region. The rebels said the proposal lacked substantial independence, and that financial resources are still hugely dependent on the central government.

The MILF has no immediate reaction on the new government proposal as of press time.

Also taken up at the meeting were the International Monitoring Team’s civilian protection component, the state of internally displaced persons, administrative support to the MILF’s Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute, coordinating committee on cessation of hostilities and ad hoc joint action group; and implementing guidelines to clear mines and unexploded ordnance.

The government and MILF parties were asked to have an interim agreement for the new government to pursue the talks before the Arroyo administration steps down from office in end-June.

Belated reaction

In a related development, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed the Justice department to study the revocation of MNLF founding chairman Misuari’s bail order after the latter criticized the government for failure to fully implement the 1996 peace pact.

The directive was made during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the same day when Mr. Misuari wrote to the OIC that told of how the government mishandled the peace pact.

This, acting Executive Secretary Leandro R. Mendoza said, violated the bail order extended to Mr. Misuari in 2008.

"The President has instructed the Department of Justice to study the possible revocation of Misuari’s bail," he told a Palace briefing yesterday.

"The recommendation of the National Security Council-Cabinet cluster is to sanction Misuari," said Mr. Mendoza, who was the Philippine National Police chief when Malaysian authorities turned over Mr. Misuari to the government in 2002.

Mr. Misuari sought refuge in Malaysia after he was charged with rebellion for allegedly calling on troops to overthrow the Arroyo administration.

The National Security Council-Cabinet cluster, an OIC appeal to Mrs. Arroyo, has recommended the bail order in 2008 even if rebellion is a non-bailable offense.

The bail order barred Mr. Misuari from putting down the state abroad. Mr. Misuari’s letter to the OIC, which was reported to have angered the President, was forwarded before the signing of memorandum of agreement between the government and the MNLF in Tripoli.

The MILF broke away from the MNLF shortly after the 1996 peace pact was signed. Besides rejecting the agreement, the former opposed the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao which, according to the group, remains subservient to the central government. --Darwin T. Wee and Gerard S. dela Peña