COTABATO CITY – The fine print of an agreement that could lead to a “transition government” in Muslim-dominated areas in Mindanao is the next item in the agenda of peace talks between the government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF political affairs chief, said the next round of talks was expected to hammer out details of what negotiators called a Comprehensive Compact Agreement [CCA], the last document that was deemed needed to seal a peace pact.

Discussion on the CCA, he said, was expected to start after the Aug. 5 signing of an agreement that would define the territorial boundaries of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity [BJE], a wider autonomous area that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The MILF has listed at least 1,000 villages to form part of the BJE.

According to Jaafar, the BJE would cover areas in the provinces of North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and Palawan and the cities of Cotabato and Isabela.

Details of the CCA, said Jaafar, are not part of the agreement that would be signed on Aug. 5.

He said the MILF expects the CCA to contain details of how the BJE would be governed and how a plebiscite that would lead to its creation would be conducted. It includes “who will run it,” according to Jaafar.

He said once the CCA is signed, “a transition government will immediately take effect.”

The government and the MILF, he said, will form a group to draft a Moro Charter to serve as a framework for governance in BJE.

According to Jaafar, the BJE “will remain part of the Philippines and its sovereignty and territorial integrity [will be] under one republic.”

“But this time, we expect it to be truly autonomous,” he said.
But even as the talks move forward, MILF guerrillas continue to launch attacks in some areas of Midsayap and Aleosan towns in North Cotabato.

Midsayap Mayor Manuel Rabara said since Sunday night, at least 100 MILF members have been occupying Barangay Baliki, about 5 km from the town center.

He said gunfight started when the guerrillas refused to withdraw from the areas.

But Eid Kabalu, MILF civil-military affairs chief, said the MILF did not start the fight. He pointed at militiamen.

Fighting also rages in Aleosan town.

“It’s our community,” said Kabalu.

Despite the clashes, however, ARMM Gov. Zaldy Uy Ampatuan said he was optimistic about the peace talks.

Deputy Speaker Simeon Datumanong said other Muslim leaders were as optimistic.