MILF troops told to maintain truce with gov’t

The head of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Thursday urged his followers to maintain a ceasefire with the government despite the failure to pass a bill implementing a peace agreement.

MILF chair Murad Ebrahim made the appeal in a statement carried on the group’s Facebook page.

“In spite of the nonpassage of the [proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law], the MILF will continue to uphold the peace process and ensure that all the gains will be preserved,” Murad said in the statement.

It was the first time that Murad issued a statement following the failure of Congress this month to pass the BBL, which would have completed the peace accord signed by the government and the MILF in 2014.

“All officers, commanders, and members of the MILF political wing and the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) are enjoined to strictly follow and abide by the instructions guidelines of the MILF Central Committee. They are tasked to uphold the primacy of the peace process while maintaining their vigilance and perseverance as they continue the consolidation and capability building programs of the organization,” Murad said.

The MILF decommissioned more than a hundred fighters and their firearms last year as part of the peace agreement.

The decommissioning process, however, is hinged on the progress of the peace deal.

Without the BBL, the decommissioning process is also suspended.

MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal admitted that the failure to pass the BBL brought about a “dangerous situation,” as it caused disappointment and frustration among the Bangsamoro who  had hoped for an autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao.

But the MILF, Murad said, “will endeavor to sustain the relevant infrastructure of the peace process and our military forces will, at times, maintain its defensive posture.”

Murad said the MILF would “remain a revolutionary organization until it officially joins the government in accordance with the agreed road  map in the implementation” of the peace agreement.

Murad expressed the MILF’s “deep disappointment and grave dismay over the nonpassage of the BBL.”

Murad emphasized that the MILF had “faithfully (complied) with all its obligations and responsibilities” under the deal.

“It has entrusted the passage of the BBL to the [government] since the process was entirely internal to [it], and all its concerned structures had the obligations to deliver the law that could have truly implemented the terms of agreements in letter and spirit,” Murad said.

The establishment of a Bangsamoro autonomous region would have ended the four-decade-long armed struggle of the MILF in Mindanao.

The conflict has left more than 150,000 people dead and millions displaced.

An investigation into a clash between policemen and MILF fighters in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, that left 44 police commandos, 17 MILF rebels and three civilians dead on Jan. 25, 2015, delayed the congressional deliberations on the BBL. With a report from AFP