COTABATO
CITY, Philipppines --- Officials see as “vote of confidence” to the
on-going talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front Monday’s launching of the World Bank and United Nations’ joint
on-demand technical support to the setting up of the Bangsamoro region.
The Facility for Advisory Support to Transition Capacities (FASTRAC),
was launched in nearby Camp Darapanan by WB and UN representatives
and the MILF’s chieftain, Al-Haj Murad.
“What else can be the best indication that the government-MILF talks
are gaining headway? This cooperation between the World Bank, the United
Nations and the MILF indicates that the Mindanao peace process, under
the Aquino administration, is indeed gaining headway,” said Maguindanao
Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu.
Camp Darapanan, the MILF’s main headquarters, is located in Sultan
Kudarat town in the first district of Maguindanao. The MILF has dozens
of guerrilla camps in the province.
The FASTRAC, whose implementation will start next week, will provide
expertise and intervention that can hasten and transition from the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to the Bangsamoro political
entity the government and MILF panels will establish under the
Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro.
UN resident Director Luiza Carvalho, who attended the launching rite
at Camp Darapanan, said the FASTRAC will provide on-demand advisory
services and access to the most relevant national and international
expertise needed in the Basic Bangsamoro Law, which will legitimize the
ARMM’s replacement with a new autonomous government.
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World Bank’s sector manager for sustainable development, Ousmane
Dione, said FASTRAC will support the initiatives of the MILF and
government’s peace panel, and the TransCom in furthering an inclusive
Mindanao peace process.
The Murad-led MILF central committee agreed to the implementation of
the FASTRAC early this month after a series of brainstorming sessions
with representatives of the World Bank and the United Nations.
ARMM Gov Mujiv Hataman, chairman of the regional peace and order
council, said the FASTRAC can be a showcase of international cooperation
in pushing the Southern peace process forward.
“We in the ARMM regional cabinet see that as a `vote of confidence’ to the government-MILF talks,” Hataman said.
The ARMM covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which are both in
Central Mindanao, the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi,
and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi.
The MILF wants these areas grouped together into a new governing
mechanism that has more administrative, fiscal and political powers.
