Gov’t, MILF to sign peace agreement on March 27

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles. AP FILE PHOTO

The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will sign the Comprehensive Peace Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) on March 27, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said on Friday.

“After 17 long years of arduous negotiations, we are finally arriving at a political settlement that will seal enduring peace and progress in Mindanao,” Deles said in a statement late Friday afternoon.

“The signing of the CAB is expected to benefit not only the Bangsamoro but the entire country, and will radiate beyond our borders to the regional community, and perhaps the whole world,” Deles added.

No other details were given about the signing, as “preparations for the event are currently underway,” she added.

“This is an event that requires careful planning and considerations especially in terms of the venue, etc. We will be sending out invitations soon,” Deles said.

Earlier this week, Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, the first cardinal from Mindanao, mentioned during his testimonial dinner that President Benigno Aquino III had invited him to the signing.

The MILF had staged a decades-long secessionist war against the government but agreed to talk peace in the 1990s.

Its predecessor, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996 and settled for an autonomous region.

However, Mr. Aquino called the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao a “failed experiment,” and pushed for a peace pact with the MILF, describing it as one of the cornerstones of his administration.

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