'Bangsamoro' Transition Commission resets 1st meeting to April

MANILA, Philippines - The 15-member Transition Commission, the panel mandated to draft the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law provided for  in the Framework Agreement signed by the Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, is set to hold its first en banc meeting in April.

In a statement, Sec. Teresita Quintos Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, said President Aquino has requested that the 37th round of formal exploratory talks that were originally scheduled today be reset to April.

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer with two other panel members - Yasmim Busran-Lao and Senen Bacani - are in Kuala Lumpur to convey the request and to set with their counterparts the new date for the talks.

The Commission, whose composition are nominees of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, will submit the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law to Congress.

The government and MILF panel chairs will likewise discuss the preparation being undertaken for the Transition Commission.

"As the president said today, it is important to finish all the annexes, which requires reaching a meeting of the minds on these annexes. This will, in turn, help in the process of crafting a new organic act so that the final outcome will be legislation all stakeholders agree to, and rally behind," Deles said.

The government and the MILF signed the framework agreement, seen to pave the way for peace in Mindanao, on October 15.