Duterte admin and MILF now connected diplomatically

CAMP DARAPANAN, Maguindanao-- Government peace broker Jesus Dureza and Hadji Murad Ebrahim of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front sealed the diplomatic link between the MILF and President Rodrigo Duterte with delicacy pastil” and fried catfish during a breakfast meeting Thursday.
Their meeting at Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao was the first ever engagement between the MILF, whose central committee is led by Murad, and the Duterte administration.
Duterte defeated with irreversible vote leads all of his rivals in areas where there are MILF forces during the May 9, 2016 presidential race.
sand//scontent.fceb2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t34.0-12/13729120_10210233756828644_8264037211609192643_n.jpg?oh=81de81ea89ef1ff6dc72a61f4c3d5d27andampoe=57940272 (Dureza and Murad pose with Duterte's fist bump ala-Digong. )Dureza, chief of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, and Murad talked about the prospects of the government and MILF’s bilateral peacebuilding efforts under a Duterte presidency during their meeting, which lasted for about two hours, in a conference function facility inside Camp Darapanan.
They also agreed to help each other protect the dividends of the now 20-year overture as they feasted on pastil, fried catfish and fruits harvested from farms around Camp Darapanan, the MILF’s main enclave.

Pastil is a traditional Maguindanaon food, made up of rice topped with finely shredded chicken meat sautéed with garlic, onions and ginger and rolled in fresh banana leaves.
Also present in the meeting were Dureza’s deputy, the now retiring Army Col. Dickson Hermoso, who was former inspector-general of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division based in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, and other senior MILF officials.
During their dialogue, Dureza reassured Murad of Duterte’s commitment to abide by all compacts crafted by past administrations and the MILF. That includes the CAB (Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro). We will continue what had been started and we will have open communication lines to ensure the success of this peace process,” Dureza said.
The CAB was forged by Malacañang and the MILF on March 27, 2014, but failed to takeoff and even became dormant owing to the failure of Congress to grant imprimatur to the proposed enabling measure for its implementation, the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law.The bill was a requisite for the replacement of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with a more politically and administratively empowered, MILF-led Bangsamoro government.The ARMM cannot be simply deactivated without any congressional repeal owing to its being a constitutionally-mandated political outfit, covered by a charter, the Republic Act 9054.Murad said he and members of their central committee were elated with Dureza’s visit.

He said the MILF is always ready to work with Duterte in seeking a lasting negotiated solution to the Mindanao Moro issue. We in the MILF are always for a peaceful resolution of the problem,” Murad said.

Dureza and Murad also separately acknowledged the continuing support of Malaysia in helping push the Mindanao peace process forward.
Malaysia, a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a bloc of more than 50 Muslim states including petroleum exporting countries in the Middle East and North Africa, is involved in the southern peace process as third party facilitator” since late 2003.The diplomatic dealings between the government and the MILF started on January 7, 1997, but had repeatedly been stalled by confrontations between rebel and state forces and misunderstandings among negotiators during the time of Presidents Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, and Gloria Arroyo.Dureza and Murad also agreed to communicate with each other via mobile phones as frequent as they can to ensure the continuity of their diplomatic engagements.

We can call each other anytime and talk about issues regarding the peace process.” Dureza told Murad in the presence of reporters.