Duterte greenlights GPH-MILF 'peace corridor' for Marawi aid

President Rodrigo Duterte has given the go signal for the implementing panels of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to set up a “peace corridor” to fast track rescue and humanitarian operations for civilians affected by the armed conflict in Marawi City.

In a briefing in Malacañang on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Duterte designated GPH implementing panel chair Irene Santiago to oversee the establishment of a peace corridor.

He said this was agreed upon following Duterte’s meeting with the GPH-MILF implementing panels including MILF chair Murad Ebrahim on Monday.

“[The peace corridor] is a secure space for humanitarian groups [to] evacuate wounded and trapped civilians and retrieve dead bodies for burial. It is a safe space for goods to reach hungry people in the rural areas whose access to Marawi’s markets have been cut off,” Abella quoted Santiago as saying.

“Both the Government and the MILF implementing panels are strongly committed to work as partners in finding creative ways to address the root causes of violent conflict in Mindanao at the soonest possible time starting with the passage of the Bangsamoro enabling law,” Santiago added.

The peace corridor includes 11 areas from Malabang, Lanao del Sur, to Marawi City. 

Santiago was also quoted as saying that the members of both implementing panels would meet within the week to formalize the modalities and parameters of the peace corridor, which would utilize existing peace mechanisms such as the Joint Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of Hostilities.

Clashes in Marawi City between government security forces and members of the ISIS-inspired Maute group have prompted Duterte to put the entire Mindanao under martial rule. —KBK, GMA News