PASIG CITY — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has appointed Presidential Peace Adviser Mel Senen S. Sarmiento as the new chairperson of the Government of the Philippines Peace Implementing Panel (GPH-PIP) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
This was announced by Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro during her press briefing on Tuesday, July 15, in Malacañang.
“Naitalaga po bilang Chairperson of [the] Government Peace Implementing Panel for the government of the Philippines Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace process si Secretary Mel Senen S. Sarmiento,” Castro said.
Sarmiento succeeds former GPH Panel Chair Cesar Yano and will now lead the Philippine government’s efforts in sustaining and building on the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process.
In a press statement, the peace adviser declared, “Today, I humbly accept my appointment as the Chairperson of the Government Peace Implementing Panel for the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).”
“I express my deepest gratitude to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. for the trust and confidence he has placed in me,” Sarmiento said, who was appointed by the President as peace adviser on April 22, 2026.
He acknowledged that “serving as the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity while concurrently leading the government’s peace panel is indeed a big challenge, but it provides a seamless alignment.”
According to Sarmiento, “These roles will complement one another as we accelerate our collective quest to advance the Bangsamoro peace process.”
“The President’s guidance is crystal clear: the Marcos administration will double its efforts in implementing the landmark and historic Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). We remain unyielding in our commitments to the milestones achieved with the MILF,” he stressed.
Sarmiento said that he “look[s] forward to working closely and constructively with my counterparts in the MILF to ensure a productive, collaborative, transparent, and time-bound implementation of the remaining commitments of the CAB.”
“To the Bangsamoro people and our vital local and international peace partners: your unwavering support is the bedrock of this journey. I appeal for your continued, steadfast commitment as we walk this path together, shepherding a lasting and inclusive peace under Bagong Pilipinas,” he concluded.
Prior to taking on the roles of peace adviser and GPH Peace Panel chair, Sarmiento served as a three-term mayor, a member of the House of Representatives, and secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Upon assuming the post of peace adviser, Sarmiento has championed the concept of “shared value,” wherein all sectors of society must reap the dividends of peace and development, while advocating for Positive Peace.
He has committed to fulfill the national government’s commitments under all signed Bangsamoro peace agreements, particularly the CAB, the landmark peace agreement between the GPH and MILF signed in 2014.
The CAB has paved the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and its interim government, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA). PR
