GPH, MILF panels expand Bangsamoro transition panel

The peace panels of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have agreed to expand the membership of the body that will draft a new enabling law mandated by the peace pact signed in 2014.

The Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) will now have a total of 21 members, with 11 individuals nominated by the MILF and 10 by the government.

This will add three more members on each panel than the current set-up, which includes eight representatives from the MILF and seven government appointees.

The decision to expand the membership aims "[t]o ensure inclusivity in the implementation" of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), a joint statement from the panels said.

Earlier, Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza said the expanded panel may include representatives from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and other Mindanao sectors.

Over the weekend, MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said they see no problem with MNLF chairman Nur Misuari taking part of the peace talks with the government.

The current administration's roadmap to peace emphasizes the convergence of the MILF's CAB and the MNLF's Final Peace Agreement, signed in 1996.

Both the MNLF and the MILF trace their roots to the Mindanao Independence Movement founded in 1968. The MILF broke away from the MNLF in the 1970s.

Regular meetings

During their meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the panels resolved "to meet regularly in the Philippines" for the implementation of the peace agreement."

In a statement, Dureza said the next meeting between the panels had been set on August 30 in Davao City.

They also "committed to sustain trust and confidence ... through continued implementation of deliverables under the Program for Normalization, including the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund," their joint statement said.

Dureza has said talks between the Duterte administration and the MILF will focus on "the process of implementing all these signed agreements."

This includes the CAB, signed in March 2014, under the Aquino administration.

The implementation of the said agreement was halted when the controversial Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) failed to pass the 16th Congress.

Congressional deliberations on the bill suffered a huge setback after an encounter between the police's Special Action Force and members of the MILF and its splinter group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) on January 25, 2015 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

The said clash resulted in the deaths of at least 60 people, including 44 elite police officers.

President Rodrigo Duterte has urged the 17th Congress to pass the BBL without provisions deemed to violate the Constitution. — Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/NB, GMA News