MILF vows cooperation with new peace adviser

COTABATO CITY—The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) welcomed the appointment of former Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento as the new presidential adviser on peace, reconciliation and unity.

“We recognize an opportunity in his appointment for the substantial fulfillment of the CAB (Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro) and building the foundations of peace in the Bangsamoro,” Mohagher Iqbal, MILF vice chair, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Iqbal said the MILF also expressed its gratitude to the contributions of former presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. in the country’s peace efforts. Galvez took the post in 2018 after retiring from military service.

“General Galvez has not merely been an official, but a partner to the MILF in the critical years of [CAB] implementation,” he said.

Iqbal, who led the MILF in political negotiations with the government, noted that during the tenure of Galvez, the Mindanao peace process witnessed historic achievements like the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law and beginning the work on decommissioning.

‘Harder work’

“What remains is the harder, less visible work: completing normalization, building fiscal and governance capacity in the BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), ensuring that the Bangsamoro’s first parliamentary elections strengthen rather than fracture democratic legitimacy, and delivering development that reaches the communities most affected by decades of conflict,” he said.

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And for Iqbal and the MILF, this is where the new peace adviser fits in.

“This is civilian work. It requires the kind of governance experience that Secretary Sarmiento brings—his understanding of municipal administration, regional development coordination, and national government and BARMM intergovernmental work,” Iqbal said.