Manila – In a bid to maintain lasting peace in Mindanao, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the creation of a coordinating committee between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Tuesday said Duterte made the directive following a meeting with MNLF founder Nur Misuari in Davao City last Friday.
“The President relayed to Mr. Misuari his desire to immediately form a Coordinating Committee between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MNLF,” Panelo said.
“(Duterte) instructed the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity to convene the same by the second week of September in Davao City for agenda setting and for the start of discussions,” he added.
Panelo said Misuari wished the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) be involved in the consultations, similar to the previous tripartite talks with GPH, MNLF and the OIC, to determine the remaining compliance of the GPH in the 1996 Final Peace Agreement with the MNLF.
The government has a peace pact with the MNLF in 1996, consequently establishing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao where Misuari became a governor.
“The GPH-MNLF Coordinating Committee will serve as a venue to seek for the cooperation of the MNLF to achieve immediate peace in Sulu by, among others, helping in combatting the Abu Sayyaf Group and convincing MNLF relatives to return to the folds of the law,” Panelo said.
He added the GPH-MNLF Coordinating Committee could “expect the full support of the Office of the President as we move towards our common goal of resolving the conflict that have caused deaths, suffering, and dislocation among the Muslims and Christians alike.”
“In resolving the Muslim rebellion in Mindanao, every undertaking that may lead to a lasting peace and prosperity to that region must be tried and tested until its fruition,” Panelo said. “We can do less as a people, and President Rodrigo Duterte will walk the extra mile to bring harmony to the country and the nation.”/PN
