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SUPPORT*PEACE*>*Bangsamoro* Supporting*an*Enabling*Enviro! nment*for*Sustainable*Peace*in*the*Bangsamoro* SUPPORT*PEACE*>*Bangsamoro* __________________________________________________! " " Progress*Report* " January(1,(2017(–(March(31,(2017( ! I.! BACKGROUND! ! Following!over!seventeen!years!of!peace!negotiations,!the!Government!of!the!Philippines!and!the!Moro! Islamic!Liberation!Front!(MILF)!signed!the!Comprehensive!Agreement!on!Bangsamoro!(CAB)!in!March! 2014.!The!CAB! embodies! a! comprehensive! political! settlement! that! aims! to! provide! a! just! and! lasting! solution! to! the! armed! conflict,! articulated! in! several! annexes! including! the! Annex! on! Transitional! Arrangements!and!Modalities!(signed!on!27!February!2013)M!Annex!on!Revenue!Generation!and!Wealth! Sharing!(signed!on!13!July!2013)M!Annex!on!Power!Sharing!(signed!on!8!December!2013)M! Annex! on! Normalization!(signed!on!25!January!2014),!and!the!Addendum!on!Bangsamoro!Waters!and!Zones!of! Joint!Cooperation!(signed!on!25!January!2014).!!The!Framework!Agreement!on!the!Bangsamoro!(FAB)! (signed!on!15!October!2012)!also!forms!part!of!the!CAB.! ! In!general,!the!CAB!is!to!be!implemented!along!two!main!thrusts:!!one,!the!political[legislative!track!that! includes!the!drafting!the!Bangsamoro!Basic!Law!(BBL),!which!when! ratified,! will! give! rise! to! the! legal! creation!of!the!Bangsamoro!political!entity!that!will!replace!the!current!Autonomous!Region!in!Muslim! Mindanao!(ARMM)M1!and!two,!the!normalization!track,!which!runs!alongside!and!complementary!to!the! political[legislative!work!on!the!BBL.!An!independent!body,!the!Third!Party!Monitoring!Team!(TPMT),!was! created! by! the! peace! panels! to! monitor! and! report! on! the! implementation! of! all! signed! agreements! between!the!parties.! ! The!Bangsamoro!Basic!Law! ! Towards!implementing!the!political!track!of!the!CAB,!the!Bangsamoro!Transition!Commission!(BTC)!was! established!by!the!President!to!draft!the!BBL.!The!draft!document!was!completed!and!submitted!to!the! President!in!April!2014,!and!following!a!rigorous!review!by!government!legal!experts,!a!revised!BBL!was! submitted!to!Congress!for!deliberations!towards!its!enactment!into!law.!! ! Both!Houses!of!Congress!drafted!their!own!versions!of!a!draft!law!for!the!creation!of!the!Bangsamoro,! largely!seen!to!have!significantly!diluted!the!original!draft,!and!digressing!from!the!basic!content!and!spirit! of!the!CAB.!Congressional!deliberations!were!affected!to!a!large!extent!by!the!unfortunate!Mamasapano! incident! of! January! 2015,! during! which! 44! policemen! from! the! Special! Action! Forces! (SAF)! of! the! Philippine!National!Police!(PNP),!18!MILF!and!7!civilians!were!killed!in!a!firefight.!! ! The!Aquino!administration!pushed!hard!for!the!passage!of!the!BBL,!but!due!to!the!continued!lack!of!a! quorum!and!because!the!focus!of!the!legislators!shifted!towards!the!upcoming!national!elections!in!May! 2016,!the!BBL!was!not!passed.!This!means!that!a!new!legislative!process!would!take!place!in!the!next! administration.!A!worst[case!scenario!may!be!that!the!CAB!itself!may!be!deemed!unconstitutional!based! on!current!petitions!before!the!Supreme!Court.!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1! Envisioned! to! have! increased! fiscal! and! political! autonomy,! the! Bangsamoro! will! replace! the! existing! Autonomous! Region! in! Muslim! Mindanao!(ARMM).!!It!is!hoped!that!the!new!entity!will!meet!Moro!aspirations!to!govern!their!own!affairs,!while!laying!the!foundation!for! stronger!institutions!and!better!governance.!Upon!the!ratification!of!the!BBL!through!a!plebiscite,!the!ARMM!is!deemed!abolished!and! will!cease!to!exist.!An!interim!government!called!the!Bangsamoro!Transition!Authority!(BTA)!shall!be!created!to!prepare!for!the!transition! of!the!region!to!the!Bangsamoro!government!until!the!May!2016!national!and!local!elections.! ! The!uncertainties!around!the!BBL!underscores!the!fragility!of!the!GPH[MILF!peace!process.!!While!the! ceasefire! between! the! two! parties! has! held! since! 2008,! renewed! violence! may! erupt! over! disenchantment!around!any!of!the!scenarios!mentioned!above.!!Thus!there!is!a!need!to!sustain!the!gains! of!the!peace!process!so!far!through!support!for!mechanisms,!platforms!and!processes!to!maintain!peace! and!stability!on!the!ground.!!Regardless!of!whether!a!basic!law!is!enacted!or!not,!a!transition!process!has! been!started,!and!initial!progress!around!this!has!to!be!sustained.! ! UNDP,!with!funding!support!from!the!EU,!has!also!been!supporting!the!transition!to!Bangsamoro!through! the!implementation!of!the!Strengthening!Institutions!for!Peace!and!Human!Rights!project!(February!2014! to! December! 2015).! The! project! has! two! components:! i)! provision! of! administrative! and! fund! management!support!to!the!TPMT!as!it!exercises!its!mandate!to!monitor!the!implementation!of!all!GPH[ MILF!signed!agreements,!including!the!CAB,!and!ii)!building!the!capacity!of!the!Regional!Human!Rights! Commission!(RHRC)!in!strengthening!human!rights!in!the!ARMM.!!!! ! Towards!contributing!to!the!maintenance!of!the!peace!and!stability!that!has!been!achieved!so!far!in!the! Bangsamoro,! and! helping! to! strengthen! the! enabling! conditions! for! sustaining! the! peace! process,! the! Supporting! an! Enabling! Environment! for! Sustainable! Peace! in! the! Bangsamoro! (SUPPORT! PEACEN Bangsamoro)!Project!will!be!implemented!for!a!period!of!18!months!starting!05!February!2016.!! ! ! II.! OVERALL!OBJECTIVE!AND!EXPECTED!RESULTS! ! The!Project!seeks!to!contribute!to!the!achievement!of!the!following!overall!objective:!!To!strengthen!the! enabling! environment! for! peace! and! stability! and! sustain! the! gains! for! peace! and! development! in! the! Bangsamoro!and!surrounding!areas.! ! Towards!achieving!its!objective,!the!Programme!will!pursue!three!outcomes!and!corresponding!outputs,! as!indicated!below.!The!project!will!undertake!the!following:!1)!continuing!to!support!the!operations!of!the! TPMT,! 2)! supporting! capacity[building! for! local! leaders! and! other! stakeholders! relative! to! public! administration!and!parliamentary!processes,!and!3)!strengthening!the!constituency!for!peace,!particularly! by! strengthening! the! role! of! the! youth! sector! in! peacebuilding,! and! in! ensuring! the! continued! strong! engagement!of!women!in!peacebuilding!in!the!Bangsamoro.! ! Components! Outputs! Component!1:! 1.1!Smooth!operations!of!the!TPMT!is!assured!through!effective!fund!management!and! ! administrative!assistance!provided!by!UNDP! ! Component!2:! 2.1! Increased! awareness! and! understanding! amongst! key! stakeholders! on! the! ! parliamentary!system!of!governance! ! 2.2! Enhanced! Capacities! for! Local! Public! Administration! in! Selected! Local! Government! Units!(LGUs)! ! Component!3:! 3.1! Platforms! established! to! constructively! engage! the! youth! in! peace! advocacy! and! ! education! ! 3.2!Key!peace!issues!and!agenda!for!the!youth!identified!through!a!process!of!“horizontal! dialogue”! ! 3.3!Engagement!of!women!in!peacebuilding!in!the!Bangsamoro!is!sustained! ! ! ! Page!2!of!10! ! ! ! ! III.!ACCOMPLISHMENTS! ! The!project!officially!started!when!the!contribution!agreement!between!the!EU!and!UNDP!was!signed!on! 05!February!2016.!Since!the!signing,!the!activities!below!were!undertaken!for!the!first!quarter!of!2017.! ! Progress!Towards!Targets! ! COMPONENT!1:!FUND!MANAGEMENT!AND!ADMINISTRATIVE!SUPPORT!FOR!THE!TPMT! ! In! February! 2017,! the! TPMT! held! meetings! in! Manila! with! the! Government! Peace! Implementing! Panel! (led! by! Chair! Irene! Santiago),! a! member! of! the! International! Contact! Group,! local! peace! process! observers,! as! well! as! members! of! the! Independent! Decommissioning! Body! (led! by! its! newly[ appointed! Chairperson,! Turkish! Ambassador! Levent!Sahinkaya).! ! The! TPMT! also! went! to! Cotabato! to! meet! with! the! MILF! Peace! Implementing! Panel! (led! by! Chair! Mohagher! Iqbal)! and! with! the! officials! of! the! MILF! Central! Committee! (led! by! Chair! ! Murad! Ebrahim).! The! TPMT! also! received! a! TPMT!members!in!discussion!with!the!MILF!Central! security!briefing!from!the!Government!Ceasefire! Committee!led!by!Chair!Al!Haj!Murad!Ebrahim.! Committee! (or! the! Coordinating! Committee! on! the!! Cessation! of! Hostilities)! and! met! with! the! Malaysian[led! International! Monitoring! Team,! which! was! tasked!to!monitor!the!ceasefire!agreement!between!the!government!and!the!MILF.! ! Separate!consultations!were!conducted!by!the! TPMT! with! young! Moro! student! leaders! from! Cotabato! City! and! North! Cotabato! Province,! select!faculty!members!from!the!Cotabato!City! State! Polytechnic! College,! and! Lumad! (Indigenous! Peoples)! leaders! from! North! and! South!Upi!in!Maguindanao.! ! Subsequently,!the!TPMT!submitted!a!report!to! the! Peace! Panels! containing! the! results! of! their! consultations! and! a! set! of! recommendations! regarding! the! continued! implementation!of!the!peace!agreements.!!! ! Apart!from!its!regular!monitoring!sessions,!the! TPMT! also! participated! in! several! activities! related! to! the! Bangsamoro! peace! process! during!the!first!quarter.!Ms.!Karen!Tañada!and! Dr.! Rahib! Kudto! witnessed! the! launching! of! TPMT!members!with!Moro!youth!leaders.! the! newly! expanded! 21[member! BTC,! which! Page!3!of!10! ! was! held! in! Davao! City! on! 24! February! 2017.! They! also! attended! the! Public! Launches! of! the! Supplementary! Reports! of! the! Transitional! Justice! and! Reconciliation! Commission! held! in!
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