32nd Panels Meeting – Joint Statement of GPH and MILF

32nd Panels Meeting – Joint Statement of GPH and MILF

JOINT STATEMENT

The Implementing Panels of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) successfully ended today their meeting in Manila.

The meeting was marked with mutual trust, sincerity and commitment to collaboratively work towards the continued implementation of the peace agreement including the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) that will benefit all peoples in the Bangsamoro.

The Parties agreed on the following resolutions/action points, bearing in mind the spirit of continuity, stability, and sustainability of the peace dividends and in view of the developments in the Bangsamoro peace process:

1. The GPH Panel shall communicate to the MILF Panel the proposal of the GPH for the transition of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) for the immediate resolution of the IMT’s status;
2. The Panels shall continue to discuss the socioeconomic packages for decommissioned combatants;
3. The Panels agree to reconstitute the Working Group for Vulnerable Sectors, which was created by the GPH and MILF Peace Negotiating Panels in 2016, and to direct the Working Group to submit its formal report;
4. The Study Group shall submit its report on the Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) program for other MILF weapons to the Joint Normalization Committee (JNC), and the JNC shall submit its report to the Panels;
5. The MILF Panel shall study the GPH Panel proposal on the involvement of the Bangsamoro Government, particularly the Ministry of Public Order and Safety (MPOS) in the disbandment of private armed groups;
6. The Panels agree to include humanitarian reasons in the qualifications for the issuance of safe conduct passes to MILF personalities, pending the effectivity of the amnesty process, but the GPH Panel shall decide on a case-to-case basis the qualification for humanitarian reasons;
7. The Panels agree to create a technical working group (TWG) for the police force for the Bangsamoro that will make recommendations including the drafting of executive issuances;
8. The Panels advise the joint TWG on Transitional Justice and Reconciliation (TJR) to also invite international experts to provide advice on the crafting of the TJR roadmap;
9. MILF Panel to study and come up with inputs and comments to the draft declaration of continuity on or before 6 June 2022; and
10. On the invitation of the Third Party Facilitator, the Parties considered to hold a special meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before the end of the current administration. However, in case of exigencies, the Parties may invite the Third Party Facilitator to hold the meeting in Manila, Philippines.

The Parties expressed their mutual commitment to pursue dialogue through a problem-solving approach on the remaining issues on the implementation of the Normalization Process to ensure inclusive solution for the interest and welfare of all Bangsamoro.

The Parties firmly commit that the path to peace and the continued implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and BOL remain as the only viable solution in achieving durable peace and development in the Bangsamoro. As such, the Parties acknowledge their responsibilities to work in the spirit of partnership and with earnest optimism and commitment to faithfully implement the peace agreement.

The Parties expressed their gratitude to His Excellency President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, under whose leadership and firm resolve to a just and lasting peace in Mindanao, the Bangsamoro Organic Law was ratified and the Bangsamoro Government was established; to Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr. and  the members of the MILF leadership under the leadership of its chair and now Interim Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Government Ahod B. Ebrahim for their unwavering commitment to pursue the implementation of the CAB and BOL; to the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB) and the Inter-cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization (ICCMN) for their steadfast support towards achieving peace and development in the Bangsamoro; and to the members of the different peace process mechanisms for their perseverance and invaluable contribution to the Bangsamoro peace process despite challenges brought by the pandemic.

Done this 3^rd day of June 2022 in Manila.