Wednesday, November 28, 2007 Merging of MILF, MNLF peace pacts to ‘result in more woes’ By Ben O. Tesiorna
THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) flatly dismissed the proposal raised by government chief peace negotiator Secretary Jesus Dureza for the merging of the peace accord it would likely sign with government next year with that of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
In a report, the MILF expressed dismay over Dureza's proposal, saying it is not only ill-timed "but prelude to spilling the beans that will create more problems than addressing the existing ones."
Khaled Musa, MILF deputy chair of the committee on information, explained that the MNLF agreement with the government is "integrative" in nature that "instead of solving the centuries-old Moro problem, it destroys the very foundation of realizing a separate homeland for the Bangsamoro people."
"Genuine self-governance and integration cannot go together," Musa clarified, even as he reiterated an earlier MILF pronouncement that it is willing to accommodate all the good but unimplemented portions of the 1996 peace pact into the political package that the MILF intends to sign with the government.
Dureza was earlier quoted as saying that "once the review of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement by the RP-MNLF-Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) is completed, the provisions will be downloaded into a bill to amend the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao law."
Dureza said the same will happen to the MILF-RP peace agreement once it is signed by the two parties.
"Now you can both already converge (the provisions of both RP-MNLF and RP-MILF pacts) into a legal framework for the Bangsamoro," Dureza said.
In a text message Monday evening, Dureza clarified that his earlier statements were "all speculative until outcome is clear."
"We need legislative action to implement some provisions of the MILF agreement. Review of the implementation of MNLF peace agreement may require also legislative action assuming such review may result to possible amendments to the Armm Law. Congress, in acting on bills that may be filed, may consolidate those action points. But this possible scenario will take place only depending on the outcome of the negotiations," Dureza said.
