The Philippine national government said that the highly anticipated decommissioning of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) combatants and weapons will no longer continue without the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
Although the decommissioning of the MILF will not continue without the controversial BBL, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. welcomed the statement of the MILF’s chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal that the non-passage of the BBL was not the end of the world for the MILF and they would continue to pursue a peace settlement.
The MILF decommissioning process already began last year with the ceremonial turnover of 75 crew-served weapons and high-powered rifles from 145 members of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) which was held on June 16, 2015.
Based upon the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed by the government and the MILF on March 27, 2014, concluding 17 years of peace negotiations. They stipulates that 30 percent of the MILF combatants and weapons will be decommissioned upon the passage of the BBL, to be followed by another 35 percent after the plebiscite and the appointment of the members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said “the political-legal track centered on the passage of the BBL is at the heart” of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed by the government and the MILF.
The BBL is the legal translation of CAB. If enacted, the BBL will be the legal basis for the creation of an autonomous Bangsamoro region to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).