MNLF welcomes Marcos’ Mindanao peace overtures

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Moro National Liberation Front is pleased with how President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is pushing forward the Mindanao peace process that was pioneered by his predecessors.

Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim and Regional Labor Minister Muslimin Sema separately said on Saturday that they are optimistic of more dividends soon of Malacañang’s separate peace overtures with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the MNLF with how Marcos is dealing with both groups that have separate peace accords with the national government.

Ebrahim, chairman of the MILF's central committee, led the delegation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to Monday's gathering in Malacañang of representatives of the Intergovernmental Relations Body, or IGRB, which is overseeing the implementation of the socio-economic agenda of the government’s peace compacts with the two Moro fronts, whose members are now part of the southern mainstream communities.

The IGRB is composed of representatives from different agencies of the national government and BARMM ministries.

Sema, who is chairman of the MNLF’s central committee, said on Saturday that they are happy with how the Marcos is keeping the government’s commitment to pursue the socio-economic goals of its Mindanao peace process, meant to put diplomatic closure to the nagging Moro issue hounding the country since the early 1970s.

Officials of the MNLF and the MILF are together managing the peace and development programs of BARMM's regional government.

BARMM was created via a plebiscite in 2019 and replaced the then 27-year less empowered Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, a result of 22 years of peace talks between the government and the MILF.

“We are also thankful to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity for being in the forefront of efforts to keep this peace process going,” Sema said.

Among the IGRB’s accomplishments in recent years are the admission of former MILF and MNLF combatants into the Philippine National Police and the setting up of a framework for the grant of amnesty to former Moro secessionist rebels.

The IGRB had also established an intergovernmental energy board that shall oversee exploration of fossil fuels and minerals in BARMM’s Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces.