Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras: Peace within reach FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—To Malacañang, “peace is within reach” despite the stalemate in the negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) over the last three unresolved points in the annexes to the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro.
“We are close to (an agreement), yes, it’s not an impossible dream,” said Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras, who was asked by reporters if both sides were close to signing a comprehensive peace accord.
Almendras said in a Palace press briefing on Tuesday the government remained optimistic about the prospects for ending the four-decade-long Bangsamoro separatist war.
“Definitely it’s not a stop-and-forget (thing), we are moving there,” he said.
Almendras, however, was tight-lipped when asked the reason for the current deadlock at the peace table.
Both sides have been hammering out the unresolved annexes, which would deal with wealth- and power-sharing and “normalization” or the phased disarmament of the Moro rebels.
Earlier, MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal admitted the talks had reached a “stalemate,” while Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, had told reporters the MILF was “frustrated” by the slow progress of the negotiations.
Jaafar had warned that MILF ground commanders were starting to lose faith in the process.
Almendras would not comment on their pronouncements but did confirm that “there are many things under consideration” and many “ongoing discussions” on the unresolved annexes.
“There was a statement that the OPAPP (Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process) said we’re close. Yes, we are very close,” he said, but added: “There are just some more things that…there are so many details that need to be looked at and there are … precedent issues, antecedent issues that need to be understood fully,” he said.
“So I cannot put a finger on one reason for the delay. There are many small things that need to be cleared up (first),” he said.
He did not say if the Aquino administration had set a deadline for the signing of a final peace deal with the MILF.
“I would not know. I really do not know the details on that one,” Almendras said.
However, the Sajahatra project, which consists of the government’s socioeconomic initiatives such as medical missions, scholarship grants and livelihood support in MILF-dominated areas, is ready for implementation, he said.
Almendras said, “Well, we’re still very eager to do the Sajahatra. We know how effective it is. We now have a specific plan—where, how, how much, how many—the plan is complete,” he said.
“We discussed it in great detail, so that’s ready (to be implemented),” he said.