PHL, MILF panels begin talks on disarmament

Panels from the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have started discussions on the Annex on Normalization, which will tackle the disarmament of the group.

 

According to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), the 43rd GPH-MILF Formal Exploratory Talks began on Wednesday morning in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

 

Earlier, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles said the normalization process will involve the "reduction and control of firearms in the area as well as the disbandment of private armies and other armed groups."

 

"As put in the Framework Agreement, decommissioning is phased and calibrated and will start once political commitments are delivered … We agreed that substantial decommissioning happens when the basic law is delivered,” she said.

 

According to the Framework Agreement, “the MILF shall undertake a graduated program for decommissioning of its forces so that they are put beyond use.”

 

But Deles said this will not only involve the disarmament of the MILF but also of other private armed groups in Mindanao.

 

“You don't just talk about the arms of the MILF, but also of everyone else. That is part of normalization. How can you ask the MILF to completely disarm if other groups or some families are armed?" she said.

 

"We are looking for a real partnership among the government, the MILF, and other governance constituencies to look at this matter on how to make a life more secure, to trust in the state forces to make them secure, and be engaged in other productive activities,” she added. 

 

The Normalization Annex is the last of four annexes to the Framework Agreement, which is expected to result in a Bangsamoro Political Entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

 

The panels have already signed the Annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities, the Annex on Revenue Generation and Wealth Sharing, and the Annex on Power Sharing.

 

A Bangsamoro Transition Commission shall be in charge of drafting the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will use the annexes as guide. 

 

Government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said they hope to present the Bangsamoro Basic Law to Congress by early 2014. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ, GMA News