Joint Statement between the GRP and MILF Peace Panels

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Country/entity: Philippines
Mindanao
Region: Asia and Pacific
Agreement name: Joint Statement between the GRP and MILF Peace Panels
Date: 29 Jul 2009
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Intrastate/intrastate conflict
Philippine Insurgencies (1968 - )
The Maoist Insurgencies (1968 - )

Philippines-NDF

The Philippines have been defined by a series of center-periphery and often ideologically Maoist, separatist insurgencies. The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), began its war against the central Philippine government in 1968 through their armed wing – the New People’s Army (NPA). Further legitimacy was gained through the establishment of the National Democratic Front (NDF) in 1973. Grievances were predominantly opposed to the corruption and repression under the authoritarian Marcos regime.

Philippines-Cordillera

With the overthrow of Marcos’ regime in 1986, the CPP factionalized further to take on more localized characteristics. The Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) broke away from the NDF in 1986 to focus on the protection of the Cordilleran people and land in northern Luzon. Hostilities were formally ended in July 2011, with an agreement signed between the central government, the CPLA and the Cordillera Bodong Administration (CBA) that allowed for the absorption of CPLA fighters into the Philippine Army and the re-working of the CBA-CPLA into a socio-development organisation.

Philippines-RPM-P

Meanwhile, purge among the CPP in the early 1990s, encouraged the formation of a parallel party, the Revolutionary Workers Party (RPM-P). Their armed wing, the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) which had carried out a number of assassinations during the 1980s at the bequest of the CPP, followed suit and allied themselves with the RPM-P in 1997 forming the (RPM-P-RPA-ABB). Severely weakened by the split with the CPP and with the arrest of several key figures, the RPM-P-RPA-ABB signed a peace agreement in December 2000, which encouraged the RPM-P’s branch in Mindanao to break away in 2001.

The CPP-NPA has only participated in intermittent talks with the government. Talks halted in 2004 when Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration sought closer ties with the U.S. in the war on terror and added the CPP-NPA to the list of terrorist organisations, renewing violence. Following the launch of a counter-insurgency by the Philippine government, negotiations have been further delayed due to suspected internal differences between the CPP ‘old guard’ and younger members.

The Moro Insurgency (1968 - )

Philippines-Mindanao

The Moro Insurgency began in 1968, in Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago after the killing of Moro Commandos, the so-called Jabidah Massacre, by the Philippine Army following a plot to invade Sabah province in Malaysia. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) captured a swath of territory in the mid-1970s. In an attempt to stem the violence, the constitution was reformed and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was created 1990 granting a devolution of power to the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. Following the establishment of the ARMM, the MNLF splintered into a range of smaller groups including Islamic factions such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayef Goup (ASG). The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed in 2014.
Stage: Pre-negotiation/process
Conflict nature: Government/territory
Peace process: Philippines - Mindanao process
Parties: Rafael E. Seguis, Panel Chairman for the Government of the Republic of the Philippines;
Mohagher Iqbal, Panel Chairman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Third parties: Datuk Othman Bin Abdul Razak, Facilitator, Representative of Malaysia
Description: This Joint Statement provides for renewed commitment from the Parties to the resumption of the peace process, with both Parties agreeing on future work on framework agreements for the formation of an International Contact Group and the establishment of a mechanism to protect non-combatants in the armed conflict, in addition to the acknowledgement of the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) as an unsigned, yet initialed, document to which the Parties will reframe to bring about a political settlement.

Agreement document: PH_090729_Joint Statement by GRP-MILF Panels.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Groups

Children/youth: No specific mention.
Disabled persons: No specific mention.
Elderly/age: No specific mention.
Migrant workers: No specific mention.
Racial/ethnic/national group: No specific mention.
Religious groups: No specific mention.
Indigenous people: No specific mention.
Other groups: No specific mention.
Refugees/displaced persons: No specific mention.
Social class: No specific mention.

Gender

Women, girls and gender: No specific mention.
Men and boys: No specific mention.
LGBTI: No specific mention.
Family: No specific mention.

State definition

Nature of state (general): No specific mention.
State configuration: No specific mention.
Self determination: No specific mention.
Referendum: No specific mention.
State symbols: No specific mention.
Independence/secession: No specific mention.
Accession/unification: No specific mention.
Border delimitation: No specific mention.
Cross-border provision: No specific mention.

Governance

Political institutions (new or reformed): No specific mention.
Elections: No specific mention.
Electoral commission: No specific mention.
Political parties reform: No specific mention.
Civil society: Page 1,
In their meeting, they agreed on the following:
4. Work for a framework agreement on the establishment of International Contact Group (ICG) of groups of states and non-state organizations to accompany and mobilize international support for the peace process.
Traditional/religious leaders: No specific mention.
Public administration: No specific mention.
Constitution: No specific mention.

Power sharing

Political power sharing: Page 1,
In their meeting, they agreed on the following:
2. Acknowledgement of MOA-AD as an unsigned and yet initialed document, and commitment by both parties to reframe the consensus points with the end in view of moving towards the comprehensive compact to bring about a negotiated political settlement;
Territorial power sharing: Power sharing→Territorial power sharing→Autonomous regions
Summary: the short reference to the MOA-AD is a reference to the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain which established a form of autonomy

Page 1,
In their meeting, they agreed on the following:
2. Acknowledgement of MOA-AD as an unsigned and yet initialed document, and commitment by both parties to reframe the consensus points with the end in view of moving towards the comprehensive compact to bring about a negotiated political settlement;
Economic power sharing: No specific mention.
Military power sharing: No specific mention.

Human rights and equality

Human rights/RoL general: Page 1,
In their meeting, they agreed on the following:
2. Work for a framework agreement on the establishment of a mechanism on the protection of non-combatants in armed conflict;
Bill of rights/similar: No specific mention.
Treaty incorporation: No specific mention.
Civil and political rights: No specific mention.
Socio-economic rights: No specific mention.

Rights related issues

Citizenship: No specific mention.
Democracy: No specific mention.
Detention procedures: No specific mention.
Media and communication: No specific mention.
Mobility/access: No specific mention.
Protection measures: Rights related issues→Protection measures→Protection of groups
Page 1,
In their meeting, they agreed on the following:
2. Work for a framework agreement on the establishment of a mechanism on the protection of non-combatants in armed conflict;
Other: No specific mention.

Rights institutions

NHRI: No specific mention.
Regional or international human rights institutions: No specific mention.

Justice sector reform

Criminal justice and emergency law: No specific mention.
State of emergency provisions: No specific mention.
Judiciary and courts: No specific mention.
Prisons and detention: No specific mention.
Traditional Laws: No specific mention.

Socio-economic reconstruction

Development or socio-economic reconstruction: No specific mention.
National economic plan: No specific mention.
Natural resources: No specific mention.
International funds: No specific mention.
Business: No specific mention.
Taxation: No specific mention.
Banks: No specific mention.

Land, property and environment

Land reform/rights: No specific mention.
Pastoralist/nomadism rights: No specific mention.
Cultural heritage: No specific mention.
Environment: No specific mention.
Water or riparian rights or access: No specific mention.

Security sector

Security Guarantees: Page 1,
In their meeting, they agreed on the following:
1. Mutual effort to sustain both the Government's Suspension of Military Offensives (SOMO) and the MILF's Suspension of Military Actions (SOMA);
2. Acknowledgement of MOA-AD as an unsigned and yet initialed document, and commitment by both parties to reframe the consensus points with the end in view of moving towards the comprehensive compact to bring about a negotiated political settlement;
3. Work for a framework agreement on the establishment of a mechanism on the protection of non-combatants in armed conflict;
Ceasefire: Security sector→Ceasefire→General commitments
Page 1,
In their meeting, they agreed on the following:
1. Mutual effort to sustain both the Government's Suspension of Military Offensives (SOMO) and the MILF's Suspension of Military Actions (SOMA);
Police: No specific mention.
Armed forces: Page 1,
In their meeting, they agreed on the following:
1. Mutual effort to sustain both the Government's Suspension of Military Offensives (SOMO) and the MILF's Suspension of Military Actions (SOMA);

[...] The GRP Panel Chairman took serious note of the concern of the MILF on the implication of the exclusion from the SOMO of some MILF commanders tagged as 'rogues' by the Government.
DDR: No specific mention.
Intelligence services: No specific mention.
Parastatal/rebel and opposition group forces: Page 1,
In their meeting, they agreed on the following:
1. Mutual effort to sustain both the Government's Suspension of Military Offensives (SOMO) and the MILF's Suspension of Military Actions (SOMA);

[...] The GRP Panel Chairman took serious note of the concern of the MILF on the implication of the exclusion from the SOMO of some MILF commanders tagged as 'rogues' by the Government.
Withdrawal of foreign forces: No specific mention.
Corruption: No specific mention.
Crime/organised crime: No specific mention.
Drugs: No specific mention.
Terrorism: No specific mention.

Transitional justice

Transitional justice general: No specific mention.
Amnesty/pardon: No specific mention.
Courts: No specific mention.
Mechanism: No specific mention.
Prisoner release: No specific mention.
Vetting: No specific mention.
Victims: No specific mention.
Missing persons: No specific mention.
Reparations: No specific mention.
Reconciliation: No specific mention.

Implementation

UN signatory: No specific mention.
Other international signatory: No specific mention.
Referendum for agreement: No specific mention.
International mission/force/similar: No specific mention.
Enforcement mechanism: No specific mention.
Related cases: No specific mention.
Source: UN Peacemaker; GRP-MILF Peace Process: Compilation of Signed Agreements & other related Documents (1997-2010); (MILF Peace Panel/Asia Foundation, 2010), p. 258.

JOINT STATEMENT

The Chairmen of the GRP and the MILF Peace Panels re-established official contact today under the auspices of the Malaysian Third Party Facilitator, to end nearly a year of impasse in the peace negotiations, and to complete the preparation for the resumption of the Talks.

The two-day Special Meeting ended on a high note with both sides expressing a common desire to restore trust and confidence in addressing major issues in order to pave way for the early resumption of the stalled peace negotiations.

In their meeting, they agreed on the following:

Mutual effort to sustain both the Government’s Suspension of Military Offensives (SOMO) and the MILF’s Suspension of Military Actions (SOMA);

Acknowledgement of MOA-AD as an unsigned and yet initialled document, and commitment by both parties to reframe the consensus points with the end in view of moving towards the comprehensive compact to bring about a negotiated political settlement.

Work for a framework agreement on the establishment of a mechanism on the protection of non-combatants in armed conflict;

Work for a framework agreement on the establishment of International Contact Group (ICG) of groups of states and non-state organizations to accompany and mobilize international support for the peace process.

The GRP Panel Chairman took serious note of the concern of the MILF on the implication of the exclusion from the SOMO of some MILF commanders tagged as “rogues” by the Government.

The Parties expressed their gratitude to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her desire and commitment to durable peace and sustainable development in Mindanao, and to Malaysian Prime Minister Data’ Sri Mohd.

Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak for his generous and steadfast support and assistance to the pursuit of these goals.

Their joint efforts largely contributed to this significant advancement in the GRP-MILF peace process.

Done this 29th day of July 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.