18 February 2016•Update: 21 February 2016
By Satuk Bugra Kutlugun
ANKARA
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has expressed its deep disappointment over the non-passage of a law that would have sealed peace in the Philippines' Muslim south, and maintained that it will remain a revolutionary organization until peace is implemented.
In a statement received by Anadolu Agency late Thursday, MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said he spoke for the entire membership of the Moro movement in expressing dismay at the failure of the Houses of Congress of the Republic of the Philippines to pass Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
"This sentiment is mirrored by the tangible frustration of the great majority of the Bangsamoro people, the peace loving populace not only in Mindanao but also in the entire country, and even those in other nations who have been closely following and keenly observing the unfolding of the more than 17 years of Peace Process between the Government of the Philippines and the MILF."
Congress adjourned earlier this month for election campaigning without approving the BBL before new Philippines leaders -- and with them, a new political outlook -- are sworn in on the back of the May 9 presidential vote.
The BBL would have implemented a 2014 peace deal -- encompassing the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro -- between the government and the MILF, the country’s one-time largest Moro rebel group, bringing 17 years of peace negotiations in southern Mindanao island to a close.
Ebrahim underlined that the MILF had played its part in getting the bill so close to being passed by faithfully complying with all its obligations and responsibilities under signed peace agreements, but once it shifted to the Government after the Bangsamoro Transition Commission submitted it to both Houses of Congress it was out of its hands.
"It is at moments like these that we call upon all our Bangsamoro brethren and all peace loving people to join hands, consolidate and vigorously rally behind the cause to pursue with persistence the passage of the BBL and the full implementation of the CAB, be it in the present government or the upcoming administration," he said.
He added that in spite of the non-passage, the MILF would continue to uphold the peace process to ensure all gains will be preserved, and endeavor to sustain the relevant infrastructure of the peace process.
"It [MILF] will remain as a revolutionary organization until it officially joins the government in accordance with the agreed road map in the implementation process of the CAB," the MILF chair said.
Ebrahim called upon the Bangsamoro people and all others in the Mindanao area to remain patient.
"We urge you to become the beacons of hope in the advocacy for peace with justice. This impasse should not lead anyone of us astray and be swayed by elements unreasonably instigating for radicalism. Let us always make reason and wisdom prevail over emotion."
In a special meeting held in Kuala Lumpur last week, both the MILF and the government agreed on a joint resolution that the way forward is the early passage of the BBL in the next administration and Congress.
Congress reconvenes with a new leader June 30.
