Bangsamoro peace process
Formal peace negotiations between the Government of the Philippines and the various armed groups involved in the Moro conflict[1][2][3] began in 1976 when the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front first met to negotiate towards the 1976 Tripoli Agreement, and most recently reached a major milestone in the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) through a plebiscite in 2018, leading to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
[3][9] The active phase of the Moro conflict is attributed to news about the Jabidah massacre in March 1968[10] – towards the end of the first term of President Ferdinand Marcos.
[11][12][13] A senate exposé broke the news that at least 11 Filipino Muslim military trainees had been killed in Corregidor by soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, with only one survivor living to escape and tell the tale.
[27] However, Marcos unilaterally insisted[28] on implementing the creation of the autonomous Muslim region through the mechanism of a plebiscite, which had not been discussed in the negotiations of the Tripoli agreement.
[34] In 1987, the administration of Corazon Aquino signed the 1987 Jeddah Accord with the MNLF, agreeing to hold further discussions on the proposal for autonomy to the entirety of Mindanao and not just the thirteen provinces stated in the 1976 Tripoli Agreement.
[31] On August 1, 1989, under the mandate of the new 1987 constitution,[35] Congress enacted Republic Act 6734 which authorized the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) pending ratification through a plebiscite.
10-A which established a National Unification Commission (NUC) which was tasked with writing a report regarding the "formulation of a peace process" after conducting public consultations in different parts of the country.
[41] In the early 1990s, the Organization of Islamic Conference expanded its Quadripartite Ministerial Commission, which had been facilitating peace talks between the Philippine Government and the MNLF.
[45] After the signing of the Jakarta Accord with the MNLF, exploratory and preparatory talks towards a truce between the government and the MILF started in August 1996, followed by low-level negotiations commencing January the following year.
The president himself led the military in raising the Philippine flag in the erstwhile rebel stronghold, bringing trucks of lechon (roasted pig) and beer for the triumphant soldiers in what was considered as an insult to the MILF—because pork and alcohol are both prohibited in Islam.
When Gloria Macapagal Arroyo assumed the presidency in January 2001, the peace process was revived with a unilateral declaration of ceasefire on the part of the government.
[55] This attack was based on intelligence reports that the MILF had been aiding the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, which at that time held some American and Filipino hostages in Basilan.
On October 29, 2001, the MILF and MNLF held unity talks, but this would fall apart barely a month later when Nur Misuari allegedly led a rebellion in Sulu and Zamboanga City to stall the scheduled ARMM elections.
[58] On May 6, 2002, the fourth round of formal peace talks between the government and the MILF resulted in both parties agreeing to veto criminal syndicates and kidnap-for-ransom groups in Mindanao, and to implement the Humanitarian Rehabilitation and Development aspect of the Tripoli Agreement.
A final draft of the peace accord was presented to the leaders of Congress on February 10, 2003, but on the next day, a setback would ensue as the military launched an offensive in Buliok Complex against the MILF which would last for more than a week.
[61] During the Conference on Regional Security Meeting held in Makati, Metro Manila, in April 2003, Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Razak make a speech on his country's intention on the issues: Let the audience know that Kuala Lumpur stood with the Philippine government.
[62] Under this agreement, some 700 villages in Mindanao would hold a referendum within a year to determine if they intend to join the "Bangsamoro Juridical Entity," an associated state which would be formed after the necessary constitutional amendments are undertaken by the government.
The administration of Benigno Aquino III resumed peace negotiations, the 20th round, with the MILF in February 2011,[67] after the rebel group announced that they were no longer seeking secession from the Philippines.
[70] The most prominent of these attacks at this stage of the peace talks came on October 18, 2011, when MILF forces ambushed an Army contingent in Al-Barka, Basilan, killing 19 young soldiers and wounding 12 others.
[71] Despite critics saying that the MILF's efforts to make these rogue leaders answer for their attacks were half-hearted[72] the president and the military hierarchy rejected calls for an "all-out-war" approach to this problem.
[74] On October 15, 2012, the Philippine government signed the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, a document which culminates the Aquino administration's effort to end the deadlock in the peace process.
This new document, while merely providing for a general framework for the actual peace negotiations, announced that "the status quo is unacceptable and that the Bangsamoro shall be established to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Two months later, on March 27, 2014, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed in Manila and witnessed by Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ibrahim, and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
A regional police force would be established and the Philippine military would reduce the presence of troops and help disband private armies in the area.
[84][85][86] With the ratification of the BOL following the plebiscite on January 21, 2019, the abolition process of the ARMM began, paving way for the setting up of the Bangsamoro autonomous region.
The second part of the plebiscite held on February 6, 2019, expanded the scope of the future Bangsamoro region to include 63 barangays in North Cotabato.
[6] Under the Political track, the government would work towards the creation of a new politidal entity known as the Bangsamoro,[6] to take the place of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which had been created in 1989.
[6] Some other components of the Normalization track include socio-economic development programs, transitional justice and reconciliation, security concerns such as the disbandment of private armed groups, and the transformation of MILF camps into productive communities.
Women played active roles in both the formal and informal negotiations in the Mindanao peace process that brought an end to open hostilities in 2014.
