The Comprehensive Agreement On Bangsamoro

Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro
The Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) is a final peace agreement

signed between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front on March 27, 2014 at the Malacañang Palace in Manila.[1] Under
the agreement, the Islamic separatists would turn over their firearms to a third
party, which would be selected by the rebels and the Philippine government. The
MILF agreed to decommission its armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed
Forces (BIAF). In return, the government would establish an autonomous
Bangsamoro. Power sharing was a central point to the autonomy redesign.
The current ARMM charter lists 14 areas that are outside the powers of the
regional legislature. In this comprehensive peace agreement, the parties lists 81
powers categorized into reserved for the central government, exclusive to the
Bangsamoro, and concurrent with or shared by the two sides for power sharing.
Of the 81 powers, 58 are devolved to the Bangsamoro, nine are reserved to the
central government, and 14 are shared.[2] The Framework Agreement on the
Bangsamoro and Four annexes, namely on Transitional Arrangements and
Modalities, Revenue Generation and Wealth Sharing, Power Sharing and
Normalization, together with the Addendum on Bangsamoro Waters, will be
included in the comprehensive agreement.[3] The Armed Forces of the
Philippines has raised red alert status on March 24 in preparation for the event.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, MILF chair Hadji Murad Ibrahim, and
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak are among the key people expected to be
present at the signing of the agreement.[4]
Background
In pursuit of their goal of liberating Bangsamoro, the MNLF engaged the
government forces in extensive armed collisions,[5] peaking in the early 70s when
the rebels’ blitz-like operations brought them control of a substantial number of
municipalities surrounding Cotabato City and its airport complex. This prompted
the Marcos regime to beef up military presence by deploying almost three-
fourths of the army[6] in most Muslim parts of Mindanao. Things took a different
turn in 1976 when Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi brokered an agreement[7]
that led to the signing of the Tripoli Agreement[8] introducing the concept of an
autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao. On August 1, 1989, under the mandate
of the new 1987 Constitution,[9] Congress enacted Republic Act 6734[10]
authorizing the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM). However, out of the 13 provinces and 9 cities that participated in the
plebiscite,[11] only the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-
Tawi opted to become part of the ARMM. The ARMM was formally established on
November 6, 1990.[12]
Instead of bringing the Muslim leaders together, this agreement further

fragmented the MNLF,[13] because some factions within the group preferred
independence over autonomy. Thus, a group of officers led by Hashim Salamat
broke away[14] and formed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to continue
their armed struggle for an independent Bangsamoro (Moro nation) in Mindanao.
Though the combined strength of these two rebel forces has not reached a point
of posing any real threat to the government in Manila, their existence—and the
reasons for their resilience—certainly brings many headaches for the
government. For nearly five decades, five presidents have tried to completely end
these two rebellions, utilizing both force and diplomacy. So far, no combination
has succeeded. Perhaps the most remarkable effort to bring closure to these
movements was that of the Ramos Administration, which tried to reach out to
both the communist and Muslim rebels through peaceful means. There were
many efforts to reach peace with Islamist separatists.
Framework Agreement
Main article: Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro
On October 15, 2012, the Philippine government signed a much-hyped document
touted as the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which culminated the
Aquino Administration's effort to end the deadlock in the peace process. This new
document, while merely providing for a general framework for the actual peace
negotiations, announced that "the status quo is unacceptable and that the
Bangsamoro shall be established to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM). The Bangsamoro was the new autonomous political entity
(NPE) referred to in the Decision Points of Principles as of April 2012." According
to President Aquino, this was the agreement that could "finally seal genuine,
lasting peace in Mindanao."[15] with Bangsamoro replacing ARMM which was
described by President Benigno Aquino III as "a failed experiment".[16]
Reaching the agreement

The peace talks between the MILF and the Philippine government had been
brokered by Malaysia since 1997. After 2009, the negotiations were also
supported by an International Contact Group (the ICG).[17] The ICG represented
an innovation in peace process support, in that it was a hybrid body composed of
both states and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs). The
members were Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and Japan, The Asia
Foundation, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Muhammadiyah, and
Conciliation Resources. When the Asia Foundation became an official member of
the Third Party Monitoring Team in 2012, the Community of San’Egidio from Italy
replaced the Asia Foundation in the ICG.
On January 24, 2014, Philippine government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel

Ferer and MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal signed a peace agreement in
Kuala Lumpur. The agreement would pave the way for the creation of the new
Muslim autonomous entity called "Bangsamoro" under a law to be approved by
the Philippine Congress.
The government aims to set up the region by 2016. The agreement calls for
Muslim self-rule in parts of the southern Philippines in exchange for a
deactivation of rebel forces by the MILF. MILF forces would turn over their
firearms to a third party to be selected by the MILF and the Philippine
government. A regional police force would be established, and the Philippine
military would reduce the presence of troops and help disband private armies in
the area.[18] In the Agreement, the government committed to change a 37-year
autonomy experiment whose current version, the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM), has failed to live up to the Moro people's aspiration for
freedom from a highly centralized government.[2]

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Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro

The Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) is a final peace agreement

Instead of bringing the Muslim leaders together, this agreement further

Reaching the agreement

On January 24, 2014, Philippine government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel

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