Skip to content

Philippines Today

home of the Global Filipino

Menu
  • News Stories
  • Regional News
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • International
Menu

GPH-MILF peace process seeks to address root causes of Mindanao conflict –Deles

Posted on April 12, 2015

MANILA, April 12 (PNA) — The ongoing peace process between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is among the measures being pursued to substantially reduce threat to security and peace and order in Mindanao from armed groups that foment lawlessness and instability in the South, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles said on Saturday.

“Peace between government and MILF means peace with the largest, most organized armed group which has been fighting government for decades. Ending this armed conflict means that this organized armed body ceases to fight the government and instead becomes a partner in addressing the problems facing the country, including problems of lawlessness in the South,” she said.

“It enables the effective exercise of the rule of law over areas previously outside its reach and ungovernable. Certainly, that must have some value in achieving our national aspiration for shared security and shared prosperity,” she added.

Her statement came after a published news report quoted a study funded by the World Bank which noted that political violence related to rebellion and insurgency inflicts the “largest human cost” that affect the Philippine development.

Deles said the government had early in the Administration concluded that negotiating with the MILF, which concluded with a peace agreement and its legal iteration, the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), would make efforts to address the root causes of the conflict in Mindanao more effective.

Deles said despite efforts by critics to paint the Mamasapano incident as proof that the BBL won’t address the threat from armed groups in Mindanao, the peace agreement with the MILF and the establishment of the proposed Bangsamoro in the BBL would be an indispensable big step towards disarming not just the MILF but other threat groups in Mindanao.

“The decommissioning process will cover not only the MILF but also other armed groups. Hence, the BBL will have a multiplier effect,” she said.

Under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro which the government and MILF signed in March last year, the MILF agreed to decommission its firearms and weaponry and its 11,000-strong Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) in exchange for the establishment of a political entity with genuine autonomy to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Its fighters would undergo a normalization process so they could resume lives as ordinary citizens, and not as combatants anymore.

The CAB — a product of more than 17 years of peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the MILF — has also made the MILF, the biggest armed group in Mindanao, to undergo a transformation from a secessionist movement to a political group with intentions to participate and field candidates in the coming elections.

“The challenge is tough but unavoidable and doable through a combination of MILF cooperation and government law enforcement,” Deles said. “Rule of law begets trust and vice versa. Together both will encourage people to choose lawful ways to resolve conflict or to sustain life,” she added.(PNA)

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit

Related

News Categories

  • Announcement (34)
  • Business & Economy (1,567)
  • Comment and Opinion (74)
    • Random Thoughts (18)
  • Current Issues (425)
    • Charter Change (1)
    • Election (228)
    • Population (6)
  • International (389)
  • Life In Japan (66)
    • Everything Japan (41)
  • Literary (34)
  • Miscellaneous (610)
  • News Stories (5,312)
  • OFW Corner (297)
  • Others (75)
  • People (408)
  • Press Releases (163)
  • Regional News (3,362)
  • Science and Technology (502)
  • Sports & Entertainment (287)

Latest News

  • BSP keeps policy rates anew December 17, 2015
  • NEDA cuts PHL additional rice import for 2016 by 25% December 17, 2015
  • DA cites serious implications of banning genetically modified products December 17, 2015
  • BBL is not yet dead – Drilon December 17, 2015
  • Comelec recognizes Duterte’s CoC for president December 17, 2015
  • NEDA chief sees 2015 growth at 6% despite typhoons December 17, 2015
  • House of Representatives ratifies bicam report on P3.002-T national budget for 2016 December 17, 2015
  • Cebu-based developer invests PHP430M to build 709 townhouse units in north Cebu town December 17, 2015
  • City gov’t eyes P75-M income from economic enterprise December 17, 2015
  • Baguio City LGU presents traffic plan for holiday season December 17, 2015

Archives

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Science and Technology

  • DOST-ICTO targets 500,000 web-based workers from countryside by 2016
  • (Feature) STARBOOKS: A ‘makeover’ for librarians
  • Science, research reduce ‘cocolisap’ hotspot areas in PHL
  • Montejo to further improve PAGASA and empower scientists
  • 1st PPP in biomedical research produces knee replacement system fit for Asians

Press Releases

  • Microsoft to buy Nokia’s mobile devices business for 5.44-B euros
  • New World Bank climate change report should spur SEA and world leaders into action: Greenpeace
  • Save the Philippine Seas before it’s too late — Greenpeace
  • Palanca Awards’ last call for entries
  • Philippines joins the global call for Arctic protection

Comment and Opinion

  • Remembering the dead is a celebration of life
  • Killer earthquake unlikely to hit Panay Island in near future – analyst
  • It’s not just more fun to invest in the Philippines, it is also profitable, says President Aquino
  • How does one differentiate a tamaraw from a carabao?
  • Fun is not just about the place, it is also about the people, says DOT chief

OFW Corner

  • Ebola infection risk low in Croatia
  • Death toll rises to 41, over 100 still missing in landslide in India
  • Asbestos use in construction a labor hazard
  • 500,000 OFWs to benefit POEA on-line transactions — Baldoz
  • 25 distressed OFWs return home from Riyadh
©2025 Philippines Today | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme