Details

Heading the Delegation were outgoing KAS country representative Dr. Peter Köppinger, his successor Benedikt Seemann and IAG Executive Director Benedicto Bacani.

The eight-member delegation had the chance to discuss the most pressing issues of the current Bangsamoro peace process with MILF Chairman Murad Ebrahim during the meeting. After the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the government of the Philippines and the MILF in January hopes were rising the new Muslim autonomous entity called "Bangsamoro" under a law to be approved by the Philippine Congress would be born soon. However the process is stuck at the moment. Regarding the ongoing developments in the negotiations between the Philippine government (GPH) and the MILF all parties expressed their concerns about the government’s current position regarding the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law. After the Bagsamoro Transition Committee had submitted its draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the Office of the President in Manila had expressed concerns about its constitutionality leading to a complex discussion.

Also meeting the delegation were Sammy Al-Mansoor, chief of staff of the MILF's Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) and interim committee chair of the MILF political party, and Toks Ebrahim, former chairman of the MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH). For its part, KAS reiterated its support to the development of "genuinely principled political parties", one of the features of the proposed Bangsamoro new political entity. However KAS and IAG emphasized the need to include Christians and indigenous peoples into the political processes to ensure sustainable peace in the region.

Background:

In the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) signed in Manila on October 15, 2012, government and MILF agreed to “entrench an electoral system” that “encourages formation of genuinely principled political parties.” The MILF earlier announced that it is organizing its own political party so it could join electoral exercises in the future Bangsamoro. The IAG-KAS courtesy visit to MILF Chairman Murad coincided with the GPH and MILF peace panels and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) week-long meeting in Kuala Lumpur where they will try to resolve issues that have arisen from Malacañang's review of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law.