2014 Philippine peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
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(
February 2023
)
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The
Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro
(
CAB
) is a final peace agreement signed between the
Government of the Philippines
and the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
on March 27, 2014 at the
Malacanang Palace
in
Manila
.
[1]
Under the agreement, the Islamic separatists would turn over their firearms to a third party, which would be selected by the rebels and the Philippine government. The MILF agreed to decommission its armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF). In return, the government would establish an autonomous
Bangsamoro
. Power sharing was a central point to the autonomy redesign.
The current ARMM charter lists 14 areas that are outside the powers of the regional legislature. In this comprehensive peace agreement, the parties lists 81 powers categorized into reserved for the central government, exclusive to the Bangsamoro, and concurrent with or shared by the two sides for power sharing. Of the 81 powers, 58 are devolved to the Bangsamoro, nine are reserved to the central government, and 14 are shared.
[2]
The
Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro
and Four annexes, namely on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities, Revenue Generation and Wealth Sharing, Power Sharing and Normalization, together with the Addendum on Bangsamoro Waters, will be included in the comprehensive agreement.
[3]
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has raised red alert status on March 24 in preparation for the event. Philippine President
Benigno Aquino III
,
MILF
chair
Hadji Murad Ibrahim
, and Malaysian Prime Minister
Najib Razak
are among the key people expected to be present at the signing of the agreement.
[4]
Background
[
edit
]
In pursuit of their goal of liberating
Bangsamoro
, the MNLF engaged the
government forces
in extensive armed collisions,
[5]
peaking in the early 70s when the rebels’ blitz-like operations brought them control of a substantial number of municipalities surrounding
Cotabato City
and its airport complex. This prompted the
Marcos
regime to beef up military presence by deploying almost three-fourths of the army
[6]
in most Muslim parts of
Mindanao
. Things took a different turn in 1976 when
Libyan
leader
Muammar Gaddafi
brokered an agreement
[7]
that led to the signing of the Tripoli Agreement
[8]
introducing the concept of an autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao. On August 1, 1989, under the mandate of the new 1987 Constitution,
[9]
Congress
enacted Republic Act 6734
[10]
authorizing the creation of the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM). However, out of the 13 provinces and 9 cities that participated in the plebiscite,
[11]
only the provinces of
Lanao del Sur
,
Maguindanao
,
Sulu
, and
Tawi-Tawi
opted to become part of the ARMM. The ARMM was formally established on November 6, 1990.
[12]
Instead of bringing the Muslim leaders together, this agreement further fragmented the MNLF,
[13]
because some factions within the group preferred independence over autonomy. Thus, a group of officers led by
Hashim Salamat
broke away
[14]
and formed the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) to continue their armed struggle for an independent Bangsamoro (Moro nation) in Mindanao.
Though the combined strength of these two rebel forces has not reached a point of posing any real threat to the
government
in
Manila
, their existence?and the reasons for their resilience?certainly brings many headaches for the government. For nearly five decades, five
presidents
have tried to completely end these two rebellions, utilizing both
force
and
diplomacy
. So far, no combination has succeeded. Perhaps the most remarkable effort to bring closure to these movements was that of the
Ramos
Administration, which tried to reach out to both the communist and Muslim rebels through peaceful means. There were many
efforts to reach peace with Islamist separatists
.
Framework Agreement
[
edit
]
On October 15, 2012, the Philippine government signed a much-hyped document touted as the
Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro
, which culminated the Aquino Administration's effort to end the deadlock in the peace process. This new document, while merely providing for a general framework for the actual peace negotiations, announced that "the status quo is unacceptable and that the Bangsamoro shall be established to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The Bangsamoro was the new autonomous political entity (NPE) referred to in the Decision Points of Principles as of April 2012."
According to President
Aquino
, this was the agreement that could "finally seal genuine, lasting peace in Mindanao."
[15]
with
Bangsamoro
replacing ARMM which was described by
President
Benigno Aquino III
as "a failed experiment".
[16]
Reaching the agreement
[
edit
]
The peace talks between the MILF and the
Philippine government
had been brokered by
Malaysia
since 1997. After 2009, the negotiations were also supported by an International Contact Group (the ICG).
[17]
The ICG represented an innovation in peace process support, in that it was a hybrid body composed of both states and international non-governmental organisations (INGOs). The members were
Turkey
,
Saudi Arabia
, the
United Kingdom
, and
Japan
,
The Asia Foundation
, the
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
,
Muhammadiyah
, and
Conciliation Resources
. When the Asia Foundation became an official member of the Third Party Monitoring Team in 2012, the Community of
San’Egidio
from Italy replaced the Asia Foundation in the ICG.
On January 24, 2014, Philippine government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferer and MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal signed a peace agreement in
Kuala Lumpur
. The agreement would pave the way for the creation of the new Muslim autonomous entity called "Bangsamoro" under a law to be approved by the Philippine Congress.
The government aims to set up the region by 2016. The agreement calls for Muslim self-rule in parts of the southern Philippines in exchange for a deactivation of rebel forces by the MILF. MILF forces would turn over their firearms to a third party to be selected by the MILF and the Philippine government. A regional police force would be established, and the Philippine military would reduce the presence of troops and help disband private armies in the area.
[18]
In the Agreement, the government committed to change a 37-year autonomy experiment whose current version, the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM), has failed to live up to the Moro people's aspiration for freedom from a highly centralized government.
[2]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"500 MILF members to attend Bangsamoro accord signing at Palace"
.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
. March 25, 2014
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"Power-sharing central to Moro self-rule"
.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
. March 27, 2014
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
Rodel, Jose (February 12, 2014).
"Bangsamoro deal signed by March | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star"
.
The Philippine Star
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
Romero, Alexis (March 25, 2014).
"AFP on red alert vs. peace deal spoilers | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star"
.
The Philippine Star
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
"Muslim Rulers and Rebels"
. Publishing.cdlib.org
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
"The Origins of the Muslim Separatist Movement in the Philippines"
. Asia Society
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
Abuza, Zachary (2003).
Militant Islam in Southeast Asia: Crucible of Terror ? Zachary Abuza ? Google Books
. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
ISBN
9781588262370
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
"MNLF Home Page"
. Mnlfnet.com. Archived from
the original
on July 12, 2012
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
,
- ^
"1987 Constitution"
. Archived from
the original
on October 28, 2012
. Retrieved
March 27,
2014
.
- ^
"R.A. 6734"
.
The LawPhil Project
. August 1, 1989
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
,
- ^
"Fast Facts on the ARMM Elections"
.
ABS-CBN News
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
"Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao"
.
Unterm.un.org
. Archived from
the original
on October 15, 2013
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
"Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)"
. Fas.org
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
https://web.archive.org/web/20120909040310/http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/moro.cfm
. Archived from
the original
on September 9, 2012
. Retrieved
March 27,
2014
.
- ^
"Speech of President Aquino during the signing of the GPH-MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, October 15, 2012"
.
Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines
. Gov.ph. October 15, 2012. Archived from
the original
on December 7, 2018
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
"Govt, MILF agree to create 'Bangsamoro' to replace ARMM"
.
GMA News
. October 7, 2012
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
"Innovation in mediation support: The International Contact Group in Mindanao"
(PDF)
. C-r.org
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
- ^
"Bangkok Post article"
.
Bangkok Post
. Bangkok Post article. January 25, 2014
. Retrieved
February 27,
2015
.
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