MILF not a terrorist group, OPAPP asserts

DAVAO CITY – The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) recently said that the on-going peace talks belie the tagging of the Moro islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as a terrorist group.

“By forging the peace agreement with the government, the MILF has committed to renounce violence and terrorism as an ideology and way of life,” GPH peace panel chair Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said.

She pointed out that the full implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) will ensure that the leaders and followers of the MILF will desist from going the way of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Ferrer also commented on the views aired by some senators labeling the MILF of having terrorist links by saying that: “If the MILF were considered a terrorist organization, why does the international community, including the United Nations and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), support the peace process on the Bangsamoro?”

Various countries and multilateral bodies in the world have issued official statements commending the government and the MILF for signing the CAB in March 27 last year, Ferrer added.

These countries and bodies included Singapore, Cambodia, Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, United States of America, Japan, Brunei, Norway, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UN, the European Union, ASEAN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ferrer said.

“The UN Country Team commended the GPH for providing a global model for best practice on supporting a peace process,” Coronel-Ferrer emphasized, adding that the UN was ready to support the implementation of the peace agreement through robust engagement.

The GPH peace panel chair added that several countries also reiterated their continued support to the peace process after the Mamasapano incident.

Two days after that incident, the Embassy of Canada wrote that it continued to engage efforts to achieve peace, remained committed to supporting the Bangsamoro peace process and backed the diligent efforts of both sides to bring about an era of opportunities for the people of Mindanao, Ferrer said.

“The United States reiterates its support for the Philippine government’s efforts to combat international terrorism while promoting a just and lasting peaceful resolution to the conflict in Mindanao,” she added, while the Australian Ambassador to the country, last March 5 highlighted the importance of the peace process at a high-level forum attended by members of the diplomatic community, by saying that the “peace process provides the opportunity for development, for investment and for prosperity, in Mindanao and the Philippines as a whole.”

Aside from international organizations, local groups have also expressed their continuing support to the peace talks.

These groups include the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, the Professors for Peace, and various business groups like the Makati Business Club, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Mindanao Business Council.

“You would not get this kind of national and international support for the peace process if we were dealing with a terrorist organization,” said CoronelFerrer.