A CALL ON THE GPH AND THE MILF TO MOVE WITH GREATER URGENCY IN COMPLETING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CAB

At PBCI, we join our peacebuilding colleagues in calling on the National Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to accelerate the full implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), with a particular focus on the Annex on Normalization, while ensuring inclusivity for marginalized groups such as women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples. Our call stresses the importance of unity among the Bangsamoro people, rejecting divisive initiatives, and urges a clearer process and understanding on Sulu’s historical and political relationship with BARMM. PBCI also emphasizes the need for prompt resolution of election-related petitions to avoid undermining self-determination and calls for strengthened protections for vulnerable communities and ancestral domains. Lastly, it appeals for collective solidarity to hold leaders accountable and advance peacebuilding efforts that promote justice and inclusivity.

Here is the statement we co-signed as one of the conveners of the Principles for Peace Bangsamoro Initiative:

STATEMENT ON THE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE BARMM AND THE BANGSAMORO PEACE PROCESS

by the Convenors of the Principles for Peace (P4P) Bangsamoro Initiative
15 December 2024

We, the undersigned, representing a broad and diverse group of Bangsamoro stakeholders brought together through the Principles for Peace Bangsamoro initiative, are compelled to issue this statement in light of several developments in the Bangsamoro peace process, which require us to put forward our positions on key issues affecting the Bangsamoro region and its people.

It is in this context that we:

Recognize that while we have achieved historic and substantial gains for peace, particularly with the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), we also admit that the majority of the Bangsamoro people have yet to fully enjoy the fruits of peace and stability in the region, and that the gains from the CAB remain tenuous and fragile.

View with grave concern the non-completion of the implementation of the CAB, particularly the Annex on Normalization, and the seeming lack of agreement and consensus between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on how to move the peace process towards the signing of an Exit Agreement as provided by the CAB.

Respect and accept the ruling of the Supreme Court that Sulu cannot be part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, while at the same time acknowledging that Sulu and the peoples of Sulu played a central and historic role in the Bangsamoro narrative and that they remain part of the Bangsamoro’s struggle for the right to self-determination.

Recognize the uncertainties and confusion caused by the SC ruling, which, in turn, have caused division among the Bangsamoro people, especially with regard to calls to postpone the first BARMM Parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2025.

Hold firm to our principled belief in the right to self-determination of the Bangsamoro people and that the supreme and ultimate source of authority of government emanates from the people’s right of suffrage.

Recognize the continuing vulnerability of certain communities within the Bangsamoro, particularly the Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples (IPs), to violence and disenfranchisement from their ancestral domains.

Reject all efforts that cause divisions among the Bangsamoro people and undermine the primacy of the peace process, especially if these are in pursuance of narrow partisan agendas.

In light of the principles and challenges outlined above, we make the following calls to our leaders:

We call on the National Government and the MILF to move with greater urgency in completing the implementation of the CAB, especially the components of the Annex on Normalization, and to be more mindful in making the structures of the CAB implementation more inclusive, particularly for the marginalized sectors in BARMM.

We call on all parties, whether at the national or regional level, to uphold and protect the primacy of the peace process and to pursue only initiatives that bring greater unity and solidarity among the Bangsamoro people.

We ask all government agencies at the national and regional levels to set in place a smooth transition of Sulu from BARMM, particularly on matters related to BARMM employees who are from Sulu and BARMM programs implemented in Sulu.

We make a plea to the National Government, both the Executive and Legislative branches, to definitively resolve the petitions for the postponement of the BARMM Parliamentary elections at the soonest possible time and in a manner that will not create distrust, division, and conflict among the Bangsamoro communities, while recognizing the fundamental right of the Bangsamoro to self-determination.

We call on leaders at the national and regional levels to strengthen mechanisms that will protect the physical well-being of all communities in the Bangsamoro and uphold their rights to their ancestral domains.

We enjoin the different Bangsamoro stakeholders and communities to show greater solidarity in addressing the urgent and immediate tasks of peacebuilding and to raise our collective voices to demand greater accountability from our leaders at the local, regional, and national levels.

We invite everyone who agrees with these principles and petitions to join us by affixing their names to this statement.

Signed: