Business group lauds peace deal

MANILA, Philippines - The Makati Business Club on Thursday lauded the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), saying the process leading to the final peace accord was done with fairness, transparency, and inclusivity.

“We greatly commend the government’s peace panel led by Sec. Teresita Deles and chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, and the MILF panel led by Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and head of the MILF peace panel Mohagher Iqbal, who have seen this process through, amidst all the challenges during the entire stretch of the negotiations,” the MBC said in a statement.

“We also extend our warmest thanks and congratulations to the various local and international organizations, and foreign governments, particularly the government of Malaysia, who have all been instrumental in the forging of the agreement,” the MBC added.

Meanwhile, the MBC again called on legislators to pursue the path to peace as they craft the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

“With the journey towards lasting peace now entering the halls of Congress as it crafts the Bangsamoro Basic Law, we reiterate our call to our legislators and other stakeholders to continue to ardently pursue this path to peace. We repeat our shared aspiration that the Basic Law, which the government has committed to certify as urgent legislation, will truly embody the aspirations of the Bangsamoro and usher the region towards greater economic, social, and cultural activity,” the MBC said.

The MBC added that the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro could help bring back together the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

“Furthermore, we continue to believe that this milestone is a testament to the strength of cooperation and dialogue in bridging seemingly irreconcilable differences. Thus, as we have previously stated, “it may be high time for the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the MILF to come together and identify points of consensus between the 1996 Final Peace Agreement and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro on which a more sustainable and lasting peace in Mindanao can be built,” the MBC said.

The MBC also expressed confidence that with the signing of the comprehensive agreement on the Bangsamoro, the region’s vast potentials in the areas of agriculture, agribusiness, tourism and natural resource development will be unleashed.

“We believe that the success of the peace deal hinges largely on genuine economic development, and the improvement in the quality of the lives of the people, both in the Bangsamoro and in Mindanao as a whole. We are hopeful that the effective implementation of the Agreement will unleash the region’s vast potentials for agriculture and agribusiness investments, tourism, and natural resource development, among others. With this achieved, Mindanao will take its deserving place as a truly vibrant and essential part of the Philippine economic engine,” it said.

The MBC also called on the members of the country’s business community to take active participation in the economic development of Mindanao by providing greater livelihood opportunities for the people of the region.

“Indeed, it is only through coming together as a people that the greatest of challenges can be confidently faced and surpassed. Let us build upon this landmark achievement to bring forth a generation of peace and inclusive development in Mindanao and in the other troubled areas of our country,” it said.  - Mike Frialde