Published Date: September 3, 2010

Tags: Mindanao, Peace

Former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chief Nur Misuari

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THE peace deal between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) 14 years ago on Thursday was a “missed opportunity” to settle political issues in Mindanao, campaigners say.

The agreement had the ability to “really strengthen the Bangsa Moro (Filipino Muslim nation) people around the concept of autonomy and progress,” said Claretian Father Angel Calvo, president of Peace Advocates Zamboanga (PAZ).

“Part of the problem faced by the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA) was that there was no supervisory body to handle its implementation. The peace brokers just gave up after the agreement. And this is a lesson we need to learn,” he told ucanews.com.

Oblates of Mary Immaculate Father Eliseo Mercado, president of Kusog Mindanao, said while the government is claiming partial compliance, the MNLF is “contesting” it.

“After 14 years the implementation of the deal, the programs, the institutionalization of the agreement through Republic Act 9054, have all been contested.”

RA 9054 strengthens and expands the law creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Report from ucanews.com

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