Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said Wednesday, March 27, that the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the final peace agreement between the Philippine government (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), exactly 10 years ago has brought an immense impact on the economy and socio-political landscape in the Bangsamoro Authonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Galvez said the GPH and MILF, once the largest Islamic militant group in the country, embarked on a "historic journey" that has brought them closer to a shared goal of fostering greater peace, development and stability in the region with the signing of the CAB.

"The path that we have taken since the agreement was forged has dramatically transformed the socioeconomic and socio political landscape of the Bangsamoro region and the rest of Mindanao. It has paved the way for a future that is filled with hope and the promise of a better life for the Bangsamoro people and all Filipinos," he said.

The establishment of the BARMM has been a cornerstone achievement under the CAB.

The CAB provided a framework for governance that respects the diversity and rights of the Bangsamoro people while fostering an environment conducive to economic growth, social equity, and peace, Galvez noted.

The GPH and MILF signed the CAB on March 27, 2014 to allow Islamic separatists to establish an autonomous government for the Bangsamoro people.

In return, the MILF would decommission 40,000 fighters and surrender their firearms to a third-party monitoring team (TPMT) under the "normalization track" of the Bangsamoro peace process.

In 2019, BARMM was created and the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) was established to serve as its interim government following the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) the year prior.

since then, various socio-economic programs have been introduced in the region that has long been neglected by the national government, allowing decommissioned MILF fighters to rebuild their lives and reintegrate themselves into the society with their families, although some of the projects were delayed due to budget constraints and the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The progress in the decommissioning process, the strengthening of democratic institutions, and the implementation of development programs aimed at uplifting the living conditions of our Bangsamoro brothers and sisters are all major accomplishments that have contributed to the Normalization process for MILF combatants, their families and communities," Galvez shared.

"As we look to the future, let us remember that peace is not merely the absence of conflict but the presence of justice, opportunity, and understanding. We must nurture and defend this peace, build bridges where walls once stood, and forge a path of progress that honors the sacrifices of Bangsamoro brothers and sisters to build a better and brighter tomorrow," he added.

Parliamentary elections in 2025 and 'slow' normalization track

Next year, the first parliamentary election will be held in BARMM which will introduce a new set of leaders to succeed the BTA.

"As the Bangsamoro prepares to elect a representative regional government in May 2025, the foundations for genuine and meaningful self-governance in the Bangsamoro have been laid," said the Third Party Monitoring Team in a statement.

The TPMT is composed of Heino Marius from Brussels, chairman; Karen Tañada and Sam Chittick, members from Manila side; Rahib Kudto, member from Mindanao side; and Huseyn Oruc, member from Turkiye.

The TPMT has a mandate originating from 2013 to monitor the implementation of the CAB.

While it acknowledged that "a lot" has been achieved in the past 10 years particularly on the political track of the peace agreement through the adoption of priority pieces of legislation, the TPMT pointed out that the progress on the normalization track, which has the aim of ensuring human security in the BARMM, "has been slower."

"There are many tasks still to be accomplished, including in the fields of decommissioning, camps transformation, policing, amnesty, redeployment of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines], disbanding of private armed groups and transitional justice," the TPMT said.

The decommissioning process is among the key provisions in the normalization track of the CAB. In September last year, Galvez admitted that the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the completion of the four-phased decommissioning process of the 40,000-strong MILF forces, which was among the conditions set before the BARMM was created.

The first phase took place in June 2015 where 145 combatants and 75 weapons were ceremonially deactivated while the second phase was held from September 2019 to March 2020 involving 12,000 combatants (30 percent of MILF’s force) and 2,100 weapons.

The third phase involving the decommissioning of 14,000 fighters (35 percent) and 2,500 weapons was supposed to commence immediately after the second phase in 2020 but restrictions brought about by the pandemic prevented both parties from conducting the process. Instead, it was moved from Nov. 8, 2021 to June 2022.

Meanwhile, the fourth and final phase will include the decommissioning of another 14,000 MILF fighters and their weapons which will start once the third phase is completed.

As of February 2024, more than 26,000 MILF fighters have already been decommissioned, according to data from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU).

"There is a perceptible new drive by the reconstituted Peace Implementing Panels to fast-track implementation of the normalization track. But it has also become clear that some elements of the peace process may not be complete by the end of this transition phase in June next year," the TPMT stated.