Government and MILF negotiators agree to reform ARMM

Manila: Negotiators of the Philippine government and a formerly separatist Filipino-Muslim group signed an agreement to reform an existing autonomous region - in order to create a new one - ahead of efforts to create a new and larger Bangsamoro homeland in the southern Philippines, sources said.

The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) agreed that "the status quo is unacceptable and the parties will work for the creation of a new autonomous political entity in place of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM in the south)," said a document signed by Marivic Leonen, the Philippine government's chief negotiator, and Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, on the first day of talks in Kuala Lumpur on April 24, the copy of which was released by MILF on April 25.

The proposed "new autonomous political entity shall have a ministerial form of government," said the document, but did not explain how this will be done in Philippines' current presidential form of government.

"There will be power sharing of wealth and sharing between the national government and the new political entity. The national government will have its reserved powers, the new political entity will have its exclusive powers, and there will be concurrent powers shares by the national government and the new political entity," said the document.

The new political entity can "create its own sources of reserves and create its own sources of revenues subject to limitations as maybe agreed upon by the parties," said the document, adding it will "have a just share (with the national government) in the revenues generated through its exploration, development or utilization of natural resources".

The Philippine government and the MILF agreed that proposed Bangsamoro homeland will not handle defense and external security, foreign policy, coinage and monetary policy, citizenship and naturalization, and postal service.

They also said the 10 points (to reforms the ARMM to pave the way for the creation of a new Bangsamoro homeland) "shall guide discussions on the substantive agenda of the negotiations."

They recognized the "need for a transition period and the institution of transitional mechanism in order to implement the provisions of the agreement."

Legal expert said they negotiating parties agreed to wait for the two houses of the Philippine Congress to legislate the agreement or to amend an existing law that was the basis for the creation of the ARMM (which opted for autonomy by referendum) in 1987.

The "breakthrough" occurred because the negotiators skirted around the decision of the Supreme Court in 2008, which said proposed agreement done during the time of former President Gloria Arroyo, to expand the ARMM (which has five provinces and one city as members) with 800 Muslim-dominated villages near the ARMM, was unconstitutional.

In a speech at the opening of the talks in Kuala Lumpur, Iqbal said the MILF remained open to the establishment of a federal system of government for the creation of the proposed Bangsamoro substate.

This is a sign that the proposed political entity for Filipino-Muslims will be implemented only through Charter change. Several administrations always since after the end of the term of former president Corazon Aquino in 1992, always failed in doing this. She was responsible for the drafting of the 1987 Constitution (which brought back the presidential form of government).

The "breakthrough," Iqbal said happened because negotiators noted that the Supreme Court, in its 2008 ruling, said the proposed expansion of the Bangsamoro homeland (drafted during Arroyo's time) "can be renegotiated".

At the start of the talks, Iqbal also said, "(After the Supreme Court's 2008 ruling) the MILF cannot slide down anymore lower than our current proposal for the establishment of a substate for our people."

"The MILF cannot and will never accept a recooked ARMM even with all the spices and ingredients to make it palatable to the MILF," said Iqbal.

"No less than the Supreme Court of the Philippine, in its final decision on the law postponing the ARMM election in 2010 to allow for synchronization with the national elections in 2013, had decided with finality that it is not autonomous," Ibal said.

"We appeal to the government, please do not offer the ARMM or any similar entity to the MILF again, because we will reject it with the same intensity, as we have done before, in 2000, in 2001, in 2003, and in 2010. It is only a waste of time, energy -- and goodwill," said Iqbal.

In a sense, MILF's rejection made the negotiators agree to identify instead the salient quality of a true autonomous region for Filipino-Muslims instead of working hard for its expansion, as it was done in 2001.

The two parties have been holding on and off peace talks since 1992. They have signed a ceasefire agreement in 2001, allowed peace keepers from member countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to observe the implementation of the accord in the south, and invited foreign observers to see to it that what the negotiators have inked will be implemented.

The MILF was part of a mainstream group that waged a separatist group that killed 150,000 in the south in the early 70s. It became a faction of that group in 1978.