Maguindanao offers to host signing of peace pact between gov’t, MILF

Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu . AP FILE PHOTO

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Local leaders in Maguindanao will hold a traditional Muslim “Kanduli” (feast) immediately after the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) of the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as thanksgiving, according to officials here.

Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu said local officials in the province have been elated by the announcement made by Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles confirming the signing of the agreement on March 27.

Mangudadatu said his province would be more than willing to host the historic signing of the accord.

Kanduli is a centuries-old Muslim traditional gathering, either as thanksgiving or as a celebration of an important event.

“We have been very supportive of the peace process, it is but fitting and proper to rejoice over this signing of the CAB,” Mangudadatu said in a statement.

Mangudadatu, who publicly expressed support to the peace process since he assumed office in 2010, said Maguindanao, being the hotbed of Moro rebellion, could be an ideal venue for the historic event.

“We are willing, we shall appreciate that, if ever,” he said when asked if the province could be the host.

Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, who repeatedly said he would step down upon the selectio of the new political leaders for the new political entity, said he was planning to declare March 27 a special on working holiday in the region.

ARMM is composed of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

“This is very historic and unprecedented because it will end four decades of bloody uprising,” Hataman said in a statement.

The comprehensive accord is the result of a 17-year peace process interrupted by several hostilities, the bloodiest was in 2008 when the negotiating panels of the MILF and the Philippine government signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) but the agreement was rejected as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ruling angered Moro fighters, resulting in skirmishes in North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur. The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) composed of former MILF rebels frustrated with the slow pace of peace process also emerged as a force during the fighting.

Talks began in 1997 but gained headway when Malaysia came into the picture as a third party facilitator, and the International Monitoring Team and International Contact Group were formed to mediate in any problem and disagreement about the implementation of the ceasefire.

On Friday, Deles said the agreement would benefit, not onl the Moro people, but all Filipinos.

“We are very optimistic.  We hope it will come without any delay.  This is historic event unfolding before us,” MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal told reporters.

After the signing, both sides will focus on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law that will pass through Congress before it will be submitted to a plebiscite in the proposed territory.

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