OIC wants peace pacts with MILF, MNLF linked

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called for the linkage of the peace pacts with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), saying the Philippine government “overlooked” the previous agreements.

“Being the two conventions which establish the position of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation towards that conflict – the General Secretariat has spared no effort to bring the two fronts together,” he said.

“They actually met a few days ago and reached a memorandum of understanding which we hope will be the basis for bridging the gap between them and establishing a united national front that follows up the implementation of the new agreement and links it to the previous agreements overlooked by the Philippine government,” he added.

The CAB, signed last March, will serve as the basis for the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will formalize the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

President Benigno Aquino III has called ARMM—established in 1989 through Republic Act 6734—a “failed experiment” because it supposedly “alienated” people and forced them to resort to violence. He said his administration wants to change what happened in the past with the new pact.

In 2001, RA 9054 was passed to amend RA 6734 and expand ARMM’s territory as part of the implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement with the MNLF, which in turn traces its roots to the 1976 Tripoli Agreement between the government and the Nur Misuari-led MNLF.

A faction of the MNLF loyal to Misuari, who founded the group, had opposed the peace deal between the government and the MILF, saying it effectively abrogated the 1996 agreement.

The MILF is a splinter group of the MNLF.