GPH, MNLF draft bill to amend ARMM law

Manila, Jan. 17 – The Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has drafted an amendatory bill for Republic Act (RA) 9054 – the law that provides for the expansion of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The bill was drafted and initialed by the joint secretariat last Saturday at the Indonesian Embassy. It has yet to be approved by the GPH-MNLF legal panel and presented in the Fourth Tripartite Meeting.

The legal panel, which is jointly led by founding MNLF chair Nur Misuari, and Justice Undersecretary Leah Armamento, has reached common grounds on proposed modifications to make the ARMM law more reflective of the Moro sentiments.

They were able to resolve majority of the 32 issues that surfaced, with only three items in which both sides have not reached common grounds. These include issues regarding area of autonomy; sharing of revenues between central government and regional government in strategic minerals; and transitional mechanism.

In a message during the opening of the legal panel meeting last Friday, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles lauded the legal panel for sharing their “effort and expertise” for “a more satisfactory implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement.”

“Almost 22 months to date from the Third Tripartite Meeting, we are glad that the Legal Panel – jointly led by Professor Nur Misuari and Undersecretary of Justice Leah Armamento – has found such common grounds and transformed to legal form the common proposals and common grounds,” she stated.

Deles expressed her gratitude to the OIC, particularly the Peace Committee on Southern Philippines and its member-states, for their support to this endeavor.

“Such concern, attention and effort definitely and concretely contribute to the establishment and nourishment of an enabling environment for the sustained peace and development in Southern Philippines,” she said.

Deles likewise thanked the Indonesian Embassy in Manila for hosting the meetings of the legal panel.

The GPH-MNLF legal panel was formed based on the agreement during the Third Tripartite Meeting among the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), GPH and MNLF on March 13, 2009. The panel has been tasked to transform the common proposals of the two parties into legal form and arrive at common grounds on the issues for further study.

The legal panel held series of meetings to review proposed modifications to RA 9054, and discuss other items for further study, such as the implementation of the agreement to set up the Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund (BDAF); and the tripartite monitoring of the implementation of the peace pact.#