An independent team of international experts on peace process has cited major achievements in normalization efforts in Muslim Mindanao, but noted that the socioeconomic support for the former combatants “has been slow in coming.”
The Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) on the implementation of the Bangsamoro peace process made this observation in its 8th public report on the Bangsamoro peace process in Davao City last November 23.
The report covered the period February 2022 to October 2023 and included developments following the May 2022 elections.
Heino Marius, a senior member of the TMPT, said the level of success that the peace process has attained would not be a guarantee that it is not vulnerable to lapses at some point in terms of bilateral compliance which proved to be slow, thus far.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ahod Al-Hadj Murad Ebrahim of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) said the Moro people welcomed the issuance on Friday by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Presidential Pardon Proclamation for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members.
Malacañang said under Proclamation 403, Marcos granted amnesty to the members of the RPMP-RPA-ABB who have committed crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code and special penal laws, specifically those who committed crimes in pursuit of their political beliefs.
The TPMT underscored progress on the political track of the peace process. It said the interim Bangsamoro parliament has adopted the Electoral Code and the Local Governance Code. It added that all inter-governmental relations mechanisms are now operational, being essential to effective coordination between the national government in Manila and the regional government based in Cotabato.
Both Marius and Filipina peace advocate Rebecca “Karen” Tanada, also a member of the TMPT, acknowledged that the Philippine-Bangsamoro Peace Process is one of the world’s best models for peace processes.
The independent TPMT was set up by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to monitor the implementation of the GPH-MILF peace agreement, as provided for in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) signed on 15 October 2012.
TMPT is composed of Marius, a German national with long experience working in peace processes in Southeast Asia; Rahib Kudto, past president of the United Youth for Peace and Development and a visiting lecturer of Cotabato Foundation College; Husayn Oruc, founding member of the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief; and Rebecca “Karen” Tanada, one of the convenors of the Coalition for Peace in 1987 and currently one of the convenors of major peace networks such as the Mindanao Peaceweavers and the Waging Peace Philippines.
The TPMT was mandated to monitor, review and assess the implementation of all signed agreements between the government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MILF), in particular the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed on March 27, 2014 and the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
The TMPT members cited a “major win for the peace process,” in that “all factions of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) are now represented in the Bangsamoro Parliament.”
These steps, they noted, further consolidated the foundations for meaningful self-governance in the BARMM which in itself is an important achievement.
The reporting period also saw progress on the normalization track.
However, it noted with diligence that the “performance here needs to accelerate.”
According to the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) the third phase of decommissioning the MILF combatants was “almost completed in August this year, but the provision of socioeconomic support to decommissioned combatants and their communities has been slow in coming.”
Recruitment of MILF and MNLF into the PNP started in 2023, but questions remained on how many recruits can ultimately be accommodated. The TPMT proposes the following recommendations:
• Joint decisions are a key to maintain high degree of mutual trust which has been established between the Parties over the years.
Unilateralism should be avoided.
• A strategic review is recommended to define jointly agreed targets and an implementation roadmap until the end of the transition phase and if necessary beyond.
• The Bangsamoro Parliament should focus on adopting remaining priority codes, in particular the Bangsamoro Revenue Code and the Indigenous Peoples Code.
• Decommissioning is central to normalization. It is important to remove remaining uncertainties over the provision of socioeconomic support to decommissioned combatants and their communities.
• Target figures for recruitment into the PNP need to be clarified.
The Parties to discuss further how the policing concept outlined in the CAB could be better reconciled with policing provisions in the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
• Processing of amnesty applications needs to be fast-tracked. The renewal of the Presidential Proclamation on amnesty is urgently needed.
• Transitional Justice and Reconciliation is a task that needs to be pursued at national level. Bills under consideration in Congress to establish a National Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission for the Bangsamoro merit priority status.
• The Parties should work towards a solution for a continued role of the International Monitoring Team, even if modified from previous arrangements.
An independent body to monitor adherence of the Parties to the ceasefire agreement is necessary to maintain a high level of confidence in the peace process.
The TPMT members believe that the CAB remained as the cornerstone for peace in the region.
The peace process serves a higher purpose. The CAB aspires towards a new and unique form of autonomous political entity which reflects the distinct cultural identity of the Bangsamoro, the team said.
“Many tasks still need to be accomplished and should now be tackled with determination as we approach the end of the transition phase and the first regional elections in the BARMM in 2025. As time is running short, full implementation of the peace agreements may no longer be possible by the end of the transition phase,” it added.
“We note as positive that both Parties remain fully committed to the peace process, including at the highest levels. We are encouraged to observe that women play a very active role in the peace process.
Furthermore, in our discussions we have come across a perceptible new drive for more effective performance delivery and increased resources in support of normalization. These developments hold promise for the future of the peace process.
”Most crucial for the successful conclusion of the peace process is the continued commitment and sincerity of both Parties to fully implement the peace agreements, however long it may take to complete.”
The TPMT, was launched in July of 2013, has so far convened 48 times in the Philippines, on a roughly bimonthly basis, and would continue its work through until the completion of the Exit Agreement under the FAB.