Gov’t, MILF urged to renew peace pact commitment
GENERAL SANTOS CITY—The independent Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) on Monday urged the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to recommit to the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), as the “overall Bangsamoro peace process is at a very sensitive juncture as a result of continuing delays and obstacles.”
The foreign-led TPMT—which is mandated to monitor, review and assess the implementation of the CAB—made the call four days before the peace accord marks its 12th anniversary. The parties signed the CAB on March 27, 2014, after 17 years of peace negotiations.
Chaired by European Union diplomat Heino Marius, the TPMT pointed out that while the government and the MILF have made “tremendous progress” since the signing of the CAB in 2014, its implementation remains incomplete.
“In order to succeed in realizing the full potential of the CAB, both parties will need to recommit to the principles which underpin this shared journey,” the TPMT said in a statement.
Key among those principles is the recognition that the path can only be traveled together and requires both parties to commit equally to the responsibilities enshrined in the agreement, it added.
The CAB specifically includes reference to “parity of esteem” as a way to encapsulate the mutual respect necessary in this shared journey, the TPMT stressed.
‘Deep respect’
“Neither party can truly succeed on this path to peace without walking together. That requires deep respect for each other and a commitment to continuously invest in meaningful dialogue and joint implementation,” it said.
Last week, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. appealed to the MILF to continue “doing its share” in the implementation of the Bangsamoro peace process, saying the gains achieved by the parties “are too precious to be stalled.”
Galvez made the appeal in response to the announcement of MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim temporarily suspending engagement on several aspects of the peace process.
Ebrahim pointed out that the MILF Peace Implementing Panel, chaired by Mohagher Iqbal, does not have a counterpart following the reported resignation of Government Peace Implementing Panel chair Cesar Yano.
Pause
However, Ebrahim reiterated the front’s “steadfast commitment” to the full and faithful implementation of the CAB, even as the MILF declared a “temporary pause in several aspects of engagement under the peace implementation mechanisms until a full-fledged chairperson of the GPH Peace Implementing Panel is appointed.”
In July last year, the 40,000-strong MILF also suspended the final phase of the decommissioning process, which involves 14,000 combatants and 2,450 weapons.
Last month, a Cotabato City-based think tank, the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, and peace watchdog Climate Conflict Action issued a joint statement warning that the Bangsamoro peace process “is on the brink of collapse.”
“Trust is rapidly eroding between and among the parties. Hope is under siege from betrayal on both sides,” they said.
The two nongovernment organizations noted that cracks are appearing at the GPH-MILF peace implementation table.
In its statement issued Monday, the TPMT also urged the government and the MILF to commit to holding the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections in September 2026.
“There have been postponements of the election for a variety of reasons, but ultimately the citizens of the BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) need to choose their representatives,” it said.
The TPMT assured the government, the MILF, and all other stakeholders that it will remain engaged until the full implementation of the CAB.
