MANILA (August 19) – Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. on Tuesday stressed that an “open and sincere” dialogue is the best way to resolve the current impasse between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Galvez assured that the Bangsamoro peace process remains “robust and dynamic,” reiterating the government’s full commitment to the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), which seeks to end decades of conflict in Mindanao and establish the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The statement comes after the MILF Central Committee suspended the final phase of decommissioning its fighters, citing the government’s need to deliver on socio-economic commitments under the normalization track. Galvez described MILF Chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim’s order halting participation in government-led decommissioning activities as an internal organizational matter.
He added that the government is open to discussing joint programs with the MILF, provided these do not conflict with prohibitions linked to the October 13 BARMM parliamentary elections. The election gun ban is expected to affect the planned decommissioning of combatants and firearms.
