Govt, MILF welcome renewed support for peace implementation

PEACE PARTNERS In this 2018 photo, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. (second from left), then serving as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, welcomes Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chair Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim(second from right) to Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. It was the first visit of an MILF leader to the Philippine military’s main headquarters. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have welcomed the pledge of leaders of various sectors to accompany the parties in implementing their landmark peace deal that was inked in 2014.

Leaders from the academe, private sector, civil society organizations, indigenous peoples, religious groups, women, and the youth, convened on Thursday in Manila in a “recommitment ceremony” in which they vowed to engage both the government and the MILF in the course of implementing the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) to ensure that the process will help bring about the intended change in the Bangsamoro region.

The gathering was organized by the International Center for Innovation, Transformation and Excellence in Governance, Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute, and Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID), under the auspices of the Principles for Peace (P4P) Foundation.

READ: READ: Gov’t-MILF peace pact makes history

The groups pledged to keep track periodically of carrying out the peace deal, signaling the launch of the Participatory Periodic Review for Peace, akin to the Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations in the human rights domain.

“Today, we offer a space for peace. A space for hope. A space for recommitment of faith that peace can and will happen. This is a stage where more and more people need to say that the Bangsamoro peace matters, not just to the Bangsamoro, not just to Mindanao, but to the entire nation, and to the world at war,” said former Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Quintos-Deles, a member of the P4P Governing Board.

Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. and MILF peace implementing panel chair and Bangsamoro Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal expressed gratitude for the effort, coming at a crucial time of the transition period.

READ: Gov’t, MILF peace panels hold first meeting under Marcos

“As we move forward, let us remember that peace is a shared responsibility. It requires the commitment of not just the signatories to the agreement but of every individual who believes in the power of unity and the promise of a better tomorrow. Your support, understanding, and advocacy is invaluable in this endeavor,” Iqbal said.

“These sectoral pledges and commitment can greatly contribute, not only to ensuring the trickling down of peace dividends, but also to building a more durable national, regional and even global peace architecture, one which gives premium to the interest and welfare of every person over time,” said Galvez.

“Peace talks may conclude and agreements are inked, but a peace process like that of the Bangsamoro never ends,” said Augusto Miclat, IID executive director, adding that the process requires “a continuous journey and endeavor.”