MILF submits nominees to transition body

MANILA, Philippines—The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels have presented to Malacañang its nominees to the 15-man Bangsamoro Transition Committee, which will craft the Bangsamoro Basic Law according to the Framework Agreement of the Bangsamoro (FAB).

The MILF has submitted eight names to Malacañang, which includes its chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal and a female lawyer, the Inquirer learned from an MILF source.

On the other hand, the government has yet to submit its nominees who have been vetted by a search committee, a statement from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said.

“Very soon, we’ll have the members of the Transition Commission announced and duly appointed, and they can start working together on their mandate,” government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said in the statement.

The Transition Commission will draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which would be certified as urgent by Mr. Aquino. People in the core Bangsamoro territory will vote to ratify the new law in a plebiscite.

In the FAB, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, labeled by President Benigno Aquino III as a “failed experiment,” will be deemed abolished.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said that the Transition Committee “shall have gender, ethnic and generational balance.”