MILF chief: Bangsamoro deal also for MNLF

MANILA, Philippines — Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim vowed to share the "victory" of the cause for autonomy with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), from which the rebel group separated.

"The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro is not only for the MILF, it is for the MNLF as well," Murad said in his speech in the signing of the 15-page document between the MILF and the government in Malacañang on Thursday.

"As much as it is for all the Muslim ethnic tribes, the Christian settlers and the indigenous settlers in the prospective Bangsamoro government territory," he continued.

Read full story: Bangsamoro deal sealed

The MILF leader said that the armed group will abandon fighting and would act as a "gatekeeper" during the transition period between Thursday's signing and the election for Bangsamoro government in 2016.

"After such period the keys to the gate will be willingly handed over to the democratic will of the Bangsamoro," Murad said.

He also allayed fears that the MILF will secure positions of leadership for itself in the new Bangsamoro region.

"I would like to impress on all of you that the MILF does not and would never claim sole ownership of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro," Murad said.

"It will not be a government of the MILF but a government of the Bangsamoro ... Its successes will inevitably reverberate beyond the Bangsamoro homeland," he added.

Murad said that the group's decision to negotiate with the government takes off from the 1996 Final Peace Agreement taken by the MNLF that established the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

"The MILF recognizes as a milestone the 1996 GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement but its inherent flaws, weaknesses and failure for the last 18 years but not hinder the MILF for securing for the Bangsamoro a far better negotiated political settlement," he said.

The signing of the agreement would pave the way for the creation of a new regional entity that would replace the ARMM. The Transition Commission has started drafting the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will be presented by the Palace to Congress for approval.