Bangsamoro will mean death knell for MILF–Iqbal

COTABATO CITY—The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will cease to exist once the Bangsamoro entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) comes into being in 2016, the rebel group’s chief negotiator said Friday.

Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF’s peace panel in the 16-year negotiations with the government, said the Bangsamoro entity would be the embodiment of the cause the rebel group had been fighting for.

Iqbal said the establishment of the entity would render the MILF insignificant, which was why the rebel group would be dissolved.

“The MILF is only good until 2016 because by the time the new Muslim Mindanao is installed, there should only be one group that would represent the Bangsamoro,” Iqbal said.

Inclusive entity

He said that while the main agenda was for the establishment of a Bangsamoro entity, the governing body that would replace the ARMM would function for the benefit of Christians, non-Christians and lumad (indigenous folk) as well.

Despite the ups and downs at the negotiating table, including continued disagreement over power-sharing between the national government and the envisioned autonomous entity, Iqbal said the MILF remained optimistic that a final peace agreement would be signed during President Aquino’s term.

The peace agreement would become the foundation for the law creating the Bangsamoro territory that Congress would craft for ratification, in sync with the 2016 national and local elections.

Very confident

“Obviously, we are very confident along with the current leadership—that the Bangsamoro government will be in place by 2016—so there’s no reason for the MILF to continue existing by then. The MILF is very confident our dreams will be realized,” Iqbal said.

To make residents of areas proposed for inclusion in the Bangsamoro entity understand what it is all about, the MILF has planned a series of public consultations and information drives even while the negotiations are still taking place.

‘Indispensable’ dialogue

“We will continue to reach out to other sectors of society so that their ideas and sentiments could be used as the basis for crafting the Bangsamoro basic law.”

The process, according to Iqbal, was an “indispensable part” toward “improving the efficiency, transparency and public involvement in this important undertaking.”

Iqbal also urged other rebel groups to support the MILF’s quest for elusive peace in the South.

“The issue of peace is more important than the issue of war,” he said. Edwin Fernandez and Charlie Señase, Inquirer Mindanao

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