Group sends support as GPH, MILF panels work out Bangsamoro law

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are inspired with the continuous outpouring of support to the drafting of a Basic Bangsamoro Law (BBL) that is acceptable to both sides.

The latest to manifest support to the peace overture was the Mindanao Peaceweavers (MPW), whose officials on Monday handed over to GPH chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, and her MILF counterpart, Muhaquer Iqbal, a written statement supporting the peaceful resolution of misunderstandings on the contentious contents of the draft BBL. 

The document was turned over to Ferrer and Iqbal during a break in their on-going 10-day negotiations at a resort hotel in Davao City, where both panels aim to build consensus on the thorny provisions of the proposed BBL.

The draft BBL, once enacted into law by Congress and ratified via a plebiscite in selected areas in Mindanao, will pave the way for the replacement of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with an MILF-led Bangsamoro self-governing entity.

“We extend our goodwill to the members of the peace panels as they roll up their sleeves from August 1 to 10 to come up with a mutually acceptable text of the BBL,” said the MPW’s statement.

The MPW is Mindanao’s biggest bloc of various peace advocacy groups and non-government organizations involved in peace-building activities involving Moro stakeholders.

“We trust in the deep and strong commitment of these men and women to achieving peace in Mindanao, and we expect that commitment to drive their much-needed creativity, patience and resolve to muster the decisive consensus in this crucial exercise," the group said, referring to the members of the GPH and MILF panels.

Iqbal had told MPW officials that the MILF remain steadfast in its bid for a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the now decades-old Mindanao Moro issue. 

“For the MILF we are not thinking of any other option. The only option is peace so that’s why we are pouring everything here so that peace would be possible,” Iqbal said.

Ferrer said she was delighted with the gesture of the MPW.

Ferrer said they are inspired with the MPW’s show of support to the two panels, at a time when government and MILF negotiators are trying to come to terms on the content of the draft BBL. 

The MPW is just as optimistic both sides can reconcile each other’s position on the exact format of the BBL draft, which the MILF had wanted to submit to Congress, via the Office of the President, as early as May 2014.

“We pray for their continued personal strength and fortitude as they carry on a task that is made formidable by its historic significance and the weight of expectations from stakeholders within the country and those in the international community,” the MPW said.