KUALA LUMPUR: The Philippine government (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Saturday signed the last annex of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, with the hope of bringing peace and prosperity in Mindanao.
Both parties also signed the Addendum on the Bangsamoro Waters here in Malaysia, which has long been brokering the negotiations.
GPH Panel Chair Prof Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and MILF Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal signed the documents in the presence of Malaysian facilitator Tengku Datuk Ab Ghafar Tengku Mohamed, to conclude the 43th GPH-MILF Formal Exploratory Talks which was held here since Wednesday.
The Annex of Normalisation provides details of the normalisation process by which MILF combatants and their communities can return to condition where they can achieve their desired quality of life.
Today's event paves the way for the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, and is hoped to put an end to decades of bloody fighting in Mindanao.
The GPH and MILF, which have been pushing for secession for decades, signed the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro on Oct 15, 2012.
Both parties have also signed the annexes on transitional arrangements and modalities (February 2013), revenue generation and wealth sharing (July 2013), and power sharing (December 2013).
The framework agreement outlines the general features of the political settlement between the GPH and the MILF.
It also sets the principles, processes and mechanisms for the transition until the regular election in 2016, for the new Bangsamoro autonomous political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
At the press conference later, Iqbal dedicated today's achievement to all Bangsamoro people.
Miriam said it would stand as a landmark on which to build the future Bangsamoro.
"A future where we hope for all the dreams and aspirations for peace and development, not only for the Bangsamoro in Mindanao but the whole country.
"It also marks the beginning of the bigger challenges ahead of implementation. We are committed to maintaining the integrity of this process from the negotiation onwards to the implementation process," she added. - Bernama
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