Group hints of more protests amid calls to honor MILF peace agreement
MILF supporters rally in Cotabato City. (Bangsamoro Multimedia Network)
Organizers of the June 25 rally in Cotabato City, where thousands of people converged to call for government’s commitment to honor the provisions of the peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), hinted at more mobilization amid the political tensions hounding the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Sheik Abdulhadie, spokesperson and convenor of the Recover BARMM Now, said there is ongoing instability in the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
Based on the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority, which serves as the interim parliament, must be composed of 41 MILF nominees, with the rest named by the government.
Abdulhadie said the wrong pieces of advice to President Marcos have contributed to political instability and to a reduction in the number of seats allotted to the MILF in the regional parliament.
"Peace is not sustained by promises alone. It is sustained by honoring commitments,” Abdulhadie said.
On Thursday, June 25, thousands of MILF supporters rallied in front of the Bangsamoro Government Center in Cotabato City and criticized the government for alleged intervention in the internal affairs of the BARMM government.
The MILF supporters, coming from different parts of Central Mindanao, occupied the entire stretch of the kilometer-long road leading to the BARMM compound. Aside from Cotabato City, thousands of MILF supporters in Lanao del Sur gathered in Marawi City to join the call.
In a manifesto released to the media, the Recover BARMM Now expressed concern on the political developments in the region, claiming that it does not only threaten the integrity of the peace process but could also undermine the spirit of the Bangsamoro peace agreements.
The group has been protesting what it described as outside interference in the BARMM affairs that include the removal of MILF chairman Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim as interim chief minister.
During the protest action, several protesters are also calling for the resignation of Special Assistant to the President Antonio “Anton” Lagdameo Jr.
The group is also calling for the full implementation of the CAB and the Bangsamoro Organic Law and an end to interference in the conduct of the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections.