GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Filtered By: Topstories
News
Government, MILF reach agreement on power sharing
(Updated 9:47 p.m.) Panels from the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have reached an agreement on the Annex on Power Sharing, a development that the presidential peace adviser said "ensures the achievement of a genuine and viable autonomy for the Bangsamoro."
In a statement, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said agreement on the annex came after a "very difficult round" of talks. She added the signing showed that both parties are committed to peace.
One of the thornier aspects of the peace talks between the government and the MILF has been how much power the national government will retain in the Bangsamoro that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The two sides kept talking even through the crisis created last September by a disgruntled Nur Misuari, the founder of the Muslim separatist movement in the 1970s, whose men led a bloody seige of Zamboanga City to protest their marginalization in the peace process.
All four annexes by end of 2013
"We consider the signing of the Annex on Power Sharing as a special gift of the Season for the Filipino people, an indication of the collective hopes and dreams of our people for just and lasting peace," Deles said.
"The Annex embodies the Parties’ agreement on the delineation and sharing of power between the Central Government and the Bangsamoro Government within the territorial jurisdiction of the prospective Bangsamoro political entity," the panels said in a joint statement.
They said the Bangsamoro Transition Commission will use the annex as a guide in the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. "It also provides principles of intergovernmental relations to ensure the harmonious partnership between and among the different levels of government," the statement read.
The panels also expressed confidence that they will finish talks on the "the Annex on Normalization and an addendum on the matter of Bangsamoro Waters" by January next year.
The Annex on Power Sharing is one of four annexes to the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro that both sides signed in October 2012.
In a statement, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said agreement on the annex came after a "very difficult round" of talks. She added the signing showed that both parties are committed to peace.
One of the thornier aspects of the peace talks between the government and the MILF has been how much power the national government will retain in the Bangsamoro that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The two sides kept talking even through the crisis created last September by a disgruntled Nur Misuari, the founder of the Muslim separatist movement in the 1970s, whose men led a bloody seige of Zamboanga City to protest their marginalization in the peace process.
Annex on power sharing signed! pic.twitter.com/cs6lAqRE8S
— OPAPP (@OPAPP_peace) December 8, 2013 All four annexes by end of 2013
"We consider the signing of the Annex on Power Sharing as a special gift of the Season for the Filipino people, an indication of the collective hopes and dreams of our people for just and lasting peace," Deles said.
"The Annex embodies the Parties’ agreement on the delineation and sharing of power between the Central Government and the Bangsamoro Government within the territorial jurisdiction of the prospective Bangsamoro political entity," the panels said in a joint statement.
They said the Bangsamoro Transition Commission will use the annex as a guide in the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. "It also provides principles of intergovernmental relations to ensure the harmonious partnership between and among the different levels of government," the statement read.
The panels also expressed confidence that they will finish talks on the "the Annex on Normalization and an addendum on the matter of Bangsamoro Waters" by January next year.
"There remain challenges ahead but we are ready for that and looking forward to Annex on Normalization."-GPH Chair Ferrer
— OPAPP (@OPAPP_peace) December 8, 2013 Iqbal: Next year, we will have another round of negotiations. I know Normalization will be as difficult as Power Sharing and Wealth Sharing.
— OPAPP (@OPAPP_peace) December 8, 2013 The Annex on Power Sharing is one of four annexes to the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro that both sides signed in October 2012.
The panels have already signed the Annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities and the Annex on Revenue Generation and Wealth Sharing.
According to the OPAPP, the agreement "elaborates on the nature of the political entity that will replace the [Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao]. This new entity shall be called the Bangsamoro."
"The document also charts the road map or the steps and mechanisms for the transition leading to the creation of the Bangsamoro," it said.
"The Framework document and the Annexes all together will constitute the comprehensive agreement. Both panels aim to finish the annexes within this year," it also said.
It will have to go through the legislative process, and will also have to be voted on in a plebiscite. — JDS/HS/ELR, GMA News
Government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer told reporters earlier this year that the panel hopes to present the Bangsamoro Basic Law to Congress by early 2014.
More Videos
Most Popular
