The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed last Tuesday in Tripoli, Libya, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to continue working on the implementation of the Final Peace Agreement reached and signed by both parties on September 2, 1996.

Signing for the GRP was Assistant Secretary Camilo Miguel M. Montesa of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), while the MNLF was represented by Prof. Nur Misuari, MNLF chairman.

Ambassador Rezlan I. Jenie, chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference-Peace Committee for the Southern Philippines (OIC-PCSP), signed for the OIC-PCSP where other OIC-PCSP member countries were likewise duly represented in the event held at the World Islamic Call Society in Tripoli, Libya.

In a statement, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Annabelle T. Abaya, who attended the formal signing ceremony, expressed hope that the implementation of the peace agreement as embodied in the signed MOU shall be fully carried out.

She also called on the MNLF and all peace supporters to work with the GRP to patiently and vigorously improve on the implementation of the peace agreement. She stressed the need to make peace better and stronger to be able to hand over a better future for our children.

She also thanked the Kadhafi Foundation which assisted the Philippines in various peace-related initiatives in Mindanao.

Abaya also likened a peace agreement to entering into a marriage contract where the parties commit to staying inextricably together, what comes after, however is a commitment to improving the relationship.

It was recalled that the panels from the GRP and MNLF, with the able facilitation of the OIC-PCSP, worked on the review of the implementation of 1996 Final Peace Agreement.

It was pursuant to this review process that a tripartite meeting between the OIC, GRP and MNLF was held at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City on March 13, 2009 where it was agreed to create a legal panel with members coming from both the GRP and the MNLF tasked to transform the common proposals between the Parties into legal form and to arrive at common grounds to move forward on the issues for further study.

Given the mandate, the legal panel's work was presented to the GRP and MNLF leadership. The parties had agreed to transform these salient points into an MOU.

They agreed to continue working on the contentious issues and “the result of which shall be transmitted to the President of the Philippines for referral to the Congress of the Philippines as certified administration bill.”

The GRP and MNLF also agreed to set up a fund mechanism to pursue economic development in southern Philippines which is being supported by the OIC.

It is in this light that Executive Order 872 creating the Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund (BDAF) was signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on March 16, 2010 as the implementing arm for the economic catch-up plan on the implementation of the 1996 GRP-MNLF Peace Agreement.

Under the MOU, all the parties concerned agreed “to undertake a GRP-OIC-MNLF tripartite process structure to monitor the implementation of the 1996 Peace Agreement and the security, governance, economic activities, including the delivery of social services, in the conflict-affected areas.”

It was recalled that the GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement was signed during the administration of then President Fidel V. Ramos on September 2, 1996 in Malacañang.