June 27, 2022
President-Elect Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr.
Republic of the Philippines
We, members of the Mindanao civil society, congratulate you for the overwhelming mandate that you received from the Filipino people to serve our country as President until June 30, 2028.
Responding to your call for unity, we vow to accompany you in your peace journey and we trust that your administration will put the highest premium on the primacy of the peace process in the Bangsamoro as antidote to violence and hostilities.
On June 30, Day 1 of your six-year administration, the three-year extension of the transition period in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) also begins.
Your administration will play a historic role in the full implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) because it is to be expected that by the end of the extended transition period in 2025, an Exit Agreement will be signed by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to signify the full implementation of the peace agreement.
That will be your Bangsamoro legacy as the Aquino administration’s legacy was the signing of the CAB and the Duterte administration’s was the passage of the enabling law that paved the way for the creation of the BARMM. We in the civil society movement will accompany you in your six-year peace journey.
In this accompaniment, we appeal to you to address these urgent needs in the Bangsamoro peace process:
1. The immediate appointment of the 80 members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) — 41 nominated by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the signatory of the peace pact, and 39 nominated by government — to avoid any vacuum in governance.
2. The fast-tracking of the normalization track of the peace agreement which includes, among others, the decommissioning of combatants and weapons, the transformation of former rebel camps and the allocation of adequate funds to implement the socio-economic package for the decommissioned combatants.
3. The activation of the amnesty program, including the appointment of the members of the Amnesty Commissions in accordance with Proclamation 1090 and Proclamation 1091, to fast-track the grant of amnesty of the Moro liberation fronts who committed crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code and special penal laws in furtherance of their political beliefs.
4. The appointment of the nine-member Marawi Compensation Board, two of whom must represent non-governmental organizations as provided for by the newly-passed law, RA 11696 or the Marawi Siege Compensation Act of 2022.
5. The immediate implementation of the recommendations in the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission’s report, and the establishment and operationalization of national mechanisms for transitional justice as the main
push for national unity and reconciliation.
Mr. President, the triumph of the Bangsamoro Peace Process is the triumph of the national government and the triumph of the Filipino people.
We assure you that we will continue to build constituencies to sustain our advocacy for democracy, sustainable development and the implementation of the peace agreement in Mindanao.
SIGNED:
Guiamel Alim
Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society Peacebuilders Community
Rev. Daniel Pantoja
Chairperson CEO, Peacebuilders Community
Bae Magdalena Suhat Regional Coordinator
Mindanao Peoples Caucus
Herbert Demos, Chairperson, Sentro Soccsksargen
Signatory organizations:
1. Mindanao Peoples Caucus for Peace and Solidarity, Inc.
2. Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society
3. Kalimudan sa Ranao Foundation
4. League of Bangsamoro Organizations
5. Save Sulu Movement
6. Civil Society Organizations- Movement for Moral Governance (CSOMMG)
7. Peacebuilders Community
8. Kapeyepaan Farmers Association
9. Moro Consensus Group
10. Bantay Ceasefire
11. SENTRO
12. United Youth for Peace and Development, Inc. (UNYPAD)
13. Moro Women Development and Cultural Center, Inc.
14. TASBIKKA- Parang Maguindanao
15. BAWGBUG Advocates for Peace Human Rights, Inc.
16. Ateneo Public Interest and Legal Advocacy Center
17. Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits (ECOWEB)
18. Singanen O Mindanao
19. Thuma, Inc.
20. Balay Mindanaw
21. Pakigdait, Inc.
22. Coffee for Peace, Inc.
23. PCEC Commission on Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation
24. MNLF Arakan Cooperative
25. Kulamanon Manobo Development Initiatives
26. Suara Kalilintad Association, Inc
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