BANGSAMORO PEACE AGREEMENT PROCESS: WHAT TRANSPIRED AND WHAT LIES AHEAD?

Presented at the Lina Group of Companies Peace Agreement Forum held at the LCG Multi-Purpose Hall, Paranaque City By Sec. Teresita Quintos Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process 4 March 2014

Bert and I go a long, way back - as friends and colleagues - and we have had discussions about Mindanao's unlimited potentials several times in the past. We share a lot of things in common, like a passion for peace and prosperity, so that the next generation of Filipinos will have happier childhoods, better education, and endless chances for a better life. I am humbled by the generosity of spirit and thoughtfulness behind your invitation, and the award that I am to receive today. Thank-you so much for this great honor. We in government should do more to honor the many contributions of companies like yours and reciprocate these with our people's gratitude because social payback has been in the DNA of the Lina Group of Companies for many years, perhaps from the beginning of its inception. In every calamity that has hit the country, your fleet of planes and cargo vessels, your staff, and the experience of your company in logistics and forward planning have benefited countless communities including those affected by Typhoon Yolanda. In times of logistic challenges, including during elections, you never failed to step up and do your part. In fact, I remember that Corporate Air which was also under the LGC, used to cover missionary routes in Mindanao during the time of President Ramos. Perhaps, soon enough, you can revisit that vital service and explore other businesses that can help spur the creation of jobs and tourism in Mindanao. Your website tells us that the LGC accepts OJTs. Perhaps, you can design an OJT program specifically for the working-age children of MILF fighters. Dos 1, your BPO company, in handling calls about human trafficking in partnership with the CFO and IACAT, can also become a gateway for handson training of young people with leadership potentials from conflict-affected

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areas. I am confident that Bert Lina, surely one of the most accomplished scholars of the now-defunct Commission on National Integration, will find ways to weave our shared aspiration for a progressive Mindanao in your corporate roadmaps. Bert, as a philanthropist and visionary of the highest order and with Sylvia always at your side, you have much work to do in helping our brothers and sisters in Mindanao. Salamat sa inyong walang sawang pagtulong sa bayan. As you know, President Aquino went on a state visit last Thursday to Malaysia where he was warmly welcomed by Prime Minister Najib Razak. I was with the presidential delegation and saw firsthand, the mutual respect and understanding between the two leaders. The Malaysian Prime Minister told P.Noy that Malaysia will continue to support the peace process and is keen in helping develop the Halal industry in Mindanao and to provide training for the future leaders of the Bangsamoro, particularly on Islamic banking and finance, as requested by President Aquino. We welcome such opportunities not just for investments but also for mentorship, because indeed there is so much capacity-building that needs to take place. As Prime Minister Najib noted during the expanded bilateral meeting between our two countries, the MILF and their constituents will have to learn a different set of skills when they take on governance functions in the near future from the skills they had honed when they were waging war. Let us not forget that we have been negotiating peace with the MILF for decades, and it is only now, after many circuitous routes and false starts including serious outbreaks of violence, that a political settlement has been reached. The political settlement provides a roadmap for the strengthened autonomy of Muslim Mindanao - a political and governance construct which is, in fact, mandated by the Constitution. With the promise of genuine autonomy, the MILF moves away from their original aspiration of secession to form an independent state, even as the government or GPH closes the door to simply assimilating or integrating the Bangsamoro into the Philippine body politic.

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The political settlement is embodied by our Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro or FAB and its Four Annexes, as completed in the following sequence: the Annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities (signed in February, 2013), the Annex on Revenue Generation and Wealth-Sharing (signed in July, 2013), the Annex on Power-Sharing (signed in December, 20130), and finally, the Annex on Normalization (signed in January, early this year). We also have an Addendum on Bangsamoro Waters and Joint Zones of Cooperation (also signed in January, 2014), with provisions that cut across the WealthSharing and Power-Sharing Annexes; hence, the need for a separate but complementary agreement. The Annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities lays out and elaborates on the road map from the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro in October, 2012, to the establishment of the Bangsamoro government with the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law and the election of its new officials during the national elections in 2016. Unlike past agreements signed by GPH, 0this road map will have a definite conclusion with the parties signing an Exist Agreement after all substantive provisions have been implemented. The Annex on Power-Sharing, on the other hand, delineates three categories of powers to be exercised by and between the national and the regional governments, with (a) reserved powers for the national government, (b) powers that are fully devolved or exclusive to the Bangsamoro, and (c) concurrent powers which are shared by the national and regional governments. In accordance with the Constitution, the following powers are reserved to the national government: defense and external security, foreign policy, coinage and monetary policy, postal service, citizenship and naturalization, immigration, customs and tariff, common market and global trade, and intellectual property rights. It may be said that this Annex, in delineating the powers of the regional government, constitutes the heart of the regional autonomy envisioned by the framers of our Constitution. However, as we all know, the heart will not survive without air, and so the Annex on Revenue Generation and Wealth-Sharing may be said to constitute the lungs of the Bangsamoro, detailing the sources of wealth creation, revenues, and financial assistance for the envisioned autonomous government. Among

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other provisions, the wealth-sharing annex expands the devolution of taxing powers to the Bangsamoro for as long as all taxable elements are within the Bangsamoro; provides for an increased share from government income derived from the exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources within the Bangsamoro; and installs what GPH chief negotiator Miriam CoronelFerrer has referred to as the crown jewel of the wealth-sharing annex: a yearly block grant from the national government to be provided under a system of automatic appropriation and regular release to the Bangsamoro. At the same time, the annex installs a full array of accountability measures to make sure that the funds received dont disappear into a black hole. As well, the agreement states that any revenues raised as a result of the new wealth-sharing arrangements specified in the annex will be deducted from the annual block grant after the fourth year. This indicates the aspiration for the Bangsamoro to achieve full fiscal autonomy and not be perpetually dependent on national government subsidy. Finally, the fourth and last Annex on Normalization ensures that life in the Bangsamoro will be transformed, particularly for the communities which have been affected by the decades-long armed conflict, from the ways of war to the paths of peace and sustainable development. The Annex defines normalization as a process whereby communities can achieve their desired quality of life, which includes the pursuit of sustainable livelihood and political participation within a peaceful deliberative society. This annex includes provisions on policing, joint peace and security arrangements, the decommissioning of MILF armed forces, the redeployment of the AFP, the disbanding of private armed groups, provision of socio-economic development programs for former combatants and conflict-affected communities, measures to address transitional justice issues and reconciliation, as well as confidencebuilding measures, Officials of the United Nations have told us that this is the most comprehensive normalization framework that they have seen in the world to date, These documents the FAB, its four Annexes and one Addendum taken together, shall constitute the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro or CAB which will be signed by the GPH and MILF peace negotiating panels by the end of March. The CAB will be the basis of the Bangsamoro Basic Law that is now being drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition

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Commission or BTC, chaired by MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal. The BTC is composed of 15 commissioners, eight from the MILF, and seven other members handpicked by the Aquino administration. All of the commissioners were appointed by the President, holding positions of public trust. In effect, the MILF now has an initial firsthand experience with governance, through the BTC. They are also co-implementers of communitydriven government-funded projects under the Sajahatra program of the Office of the President. Social services and infrastructure programs through a whole-ofnation approach have reached conflict-affected areas through PAMANA, which stands for Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan, which is the vehicle for the convergence of various government peace and development projects to reach far-flung, conflict-affected and vulnerable communities throughout the country. And so, as we were negotiating peace across the negotiating table, there have been movements on the ground no longer of soldiers and rebels in conflict with each other but of goods, services, and projects that embody the qualities of inclusivity, transparency, and good governance that this administration is known for. Going back to our roadmap, the BTC has set the deadline of March 31 for its submission of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law or BBL to the Office of the President. As earlier announced, the President will then submit this draft to Congress with a certification as to its urgency at the appropriate time. The leaders of the House and Senate have committed to pass the BBL by the end of 2014, which in turn sets the stage for a plebiscite to be conducted in the identified core territory of the Bangsamoro in early 2015. The results of the plebiscite will define the specific areas of coverage of the Bangsamoro in accordance with the governments abiding commitment to always uphold the principle of the consent of the governed. With the passage and ratification of the new law on regional autonomy in Muslim Mindanao, an interim body to be known as the Bangsamoro Transition Authority or BTA shall be established and supplant the current government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM. The President will designate the members of the BTA, which will govern the Bangsamoro until its leaders are elected as part of the local and national elections in 2016. This will pave the way for an exit agreement to be jointly signed by the GPH and MILF panels as witnessed by

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our Malaysian facilitator and the newly created Third-Party Monitoring Team, thus, signalling the successful conclusion of the GPH-MILF peace negotiations within this administration . Meanwhile, upon the signing of the CAB, the parties will immediately commence the implementation of the Annex on Normalization, which is a parallel track at the heart of which the MILF has agreed to put its armed forces beyond use, which process includes turning over its armoury in phases to an independent decommissioning body, composed of foreign and national experts. Decommissioning includes the dismantling of the military command structure of the MILF Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces or BIAF and the transformation of its recognized camps into civilian communities. This is a true testament to the sincerity and genuine desire of the MILF to fully embrace the cause of peace. As MILF panel chair Mohagher Iqbal said at the conclusion of the normalization annex in Kuala Lumpur in January, This is the cost of peace. It will be hard but we will do it. What will be geographical coverage of the Bangsamoro? Based on the FAB, its core territory shall be composed of (a) the present geographical area of the ARMM, composed of five provinces and the City of Marawi; (b) six municipalities of Lanao Norte and 36 barangays in six municipalities of North Cotabato which had voted for inclusion in the ARMM during the 2001 plebiscite but were outvoted by the Christian majority in their mother provinces; (c) the cities of Cotabato and Isabela which had declined to be part of ARMM in 2001 but which are located in component-provinces of ARMM; and (d) any other contiguous area where there is a local government resolution or a petition of at least 10% of its qualified voters asking for its inclusion at least two months before the conduct of the plebiscite of the BBL. Through the plebiscite, all these areas will need to assent to be part of the Bangsamoro by a majority vote of its qualified voting residents. What will be the structure of the Bangsamoro regional government? Unlike the ARMM and the rest of the country, the Bangsamoro government will have a ministerial form of government. Under this form of government, in the elections of 2016, the registered voters in the areas that ratified the BBL will elect the members of the Bangsamoro legislative assembly which, aside from district representatives, will include sectoral representatives, party-list, and reserved seats. These special legislative seats have been designated to ensure the representation of marginalized groups or what have been referred to as
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minorities within the (national) minority. The assembly shall, in turn, elect the Chief Minister who will serve as head of the Bangsamoro government. The Chief Minister shall form the executive branch, composed of a Deputy Chief Minister and the Cabinet, from the members of the regional assembly. A Bangsamoro council of leaders will also be constituted, composed of the Chief Minister, provincial governors, mayors of chartered cities, and a representative each of the non-Moro indigenous communities, women, settler communities, and other sectors. It is evident that every effort is being taken to ensure that the Bangsamoro shall be an inclusive and representative government. As business people, you know how vital peace and order is to the growth of your companies. The peace agreement addresses this concern, with provisions for the creation of a Bangsamoro police force, based on the forthcoming recommendations of the Independent Commission on Policing and under the umbrella of one Philippine National Police, to enforce law and order and secure the Bangsamoro from terrorism and religious extremism. A peaceful and prosperous Bangsamoro will enable our Armed Forces to focus on external and other, especially transnational, security threats. Human security, combined with additional sources of revenues under the Annex on Wealth-Sharing for social services, infrastructure development and environment management, will sustain peace and productivity in Bangsamoro communities. This is our comprehensive peace roadmap for Mindanao. As you can see, the process is very detailed, and also very, very challenging. A detailed presentation of its main provisions takes all of 43 slides and counting Our roadmap is designed precisely to ensure that everything is done within the boundaries of our Constitution including its flexibilities; accompanied by broad consultations; and a very transparent, inclusive, and democratic process. As we prepare for the ASEAN economic integration that takes place next year, we are doing our own economic integration at the national and regional levels, with a more peaceful Mindanao emerging as our gateway to global and regional trade and investments. Two of our closest neighbors in the south, Indonesia and Malaysia, have among the largest Muslim constituencies in the world. Poised to achieve peaceful transformation into a viable and sustainable

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political and economic entity, the Bangsamoro shall be our front door to regional trade. Through the Bangsamoro, we shall strengthen the politics of reconciliation and build an economy of equal opportunity. No one Muslim, Christian, or Indigenous Peoples will be left behind. Each will enjoy the benefits of good governance, social equity, and, most of all, the rule of law in a society of cultural and religious diversity. As sharp and pragmatic business persons, you will be reasonably concerned about investments, finance, banking and, most of all, the overriding question of whether our peace deal will endure. Let me say before you today that never have we had the overwhelming domestic and political capital to make this peace deal endure with stability and permanence that we do today. With the leadership of President Aquino, who has enjoyed the highest sustained trust ratings of any President in our history, plus the massive international support that is funnelling into the Mindanao peace process; we can overcome all the spoilers, we can obtain the support we need to build the Bangsamoro; we will win this game this historical endeavour in the end. When Bert left the company that had employed him in order to start his own company that is now a fleet of well-run corporations, he was probably asked the same thing: Can it be done? I think Bert will be the first to say that, in life, nothing is impossible. This is also the attitude and approach of our President, who is the chief architect of our roadmap to a just and lasting peace in Mindanao. All the gains in the peace process would have not been possible had it not been for the high degree of trust and optimism generated by his "tuwid na daan" style of leadership. With the prayers and active support of our people, we can all be hopeful that the Bangsamoro will soon be the anchor and sanctuary of our aspirations of shared prosperity and shared security in the Philippines, in Asia, and across the globe.

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To the management and staff of LGC, I say, join us in this journey as OPAPP's peace partner, and be among the leading champions of the Mindanao peace process within the business community and in your many circles of influence. Maraming salamat po. Magandang umaga sa ating lahat.

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