"Slow," says international monitor on PH-Moro peace process

THE Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) on the implementation of the Bangsamoro peace process has issued its Eighth Public Report in Davao City on November 23.

This time, the TMPT Report covers the period from February 2022 to October 2023 including developments following the May 2022 elections.

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 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members

Malacanang 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, whether punishable under the Revised Penal Code or special penal laws.

The TPMT underscores 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. All inter-governmental relations mechanisms are now operational, being essential to effective coordination between the national government in Manila and the regional government that is based in Cotabato.

But Heino Marius, 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.

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 has been set up by the Government of the Philippines 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 Heino Marius, a German national, with long experience working on 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; Ms. Rebecca “Karen” Tanada, one of the peace convenors of the Coalition for Peace in 1987; currently, she  is one of the convenors of major peace networks such as the Mindanao Peaceweavers and the Waging Peace Philippines.

The mandate of the TPMT is to monitor, review and assess the implementation of all signed agreements between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), in particular the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed on 27 March 2014 and the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and its Annexes.

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 consolidate 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 of 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 finally started in 2023 but questions remain 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 remains 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.

“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.

“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.”