Press Release
December 19, 2012

SEN. GUINGONA: BANGSAMORO TRANSITION COMMISSION CRUCIAL IN ACHIEVING LASTING PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT IN MINDANAO

Senator Teofisto "TG" Guingona has expressed full support to the 2012 Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), including the creation of the Transition Commission as a step forward towards political stability and sustainable economic development in Mindanao.

He sponsored Senate Resolution 922 to support the FAB entered into by the Government Peace Negotiating Panel and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the process towards its implementing agreements, and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission created by Executive Order 120 which was signed by President Benigno S. Aquino III last December 17, 2012.

Sen. Guingona said the resolution is a message of support and a commitment to demand that the outcome of the negotiations between the Philippines and the MILF will be for the good of our people and our country.

"That agreements will stabilize our relationships and our activities; that agreements will pave the way for greater progress, especially in Mindanao. As we support the process towards peace, we must remain vigilant that the products of the process will truly bring about peace," he said.

Through the EO, the President will appoint a 15-member TC. The list of appointees will come from the GPH and the MILF whereas the candidates will be from and among the Bangsamoro and other residents in the prospective core area of the new political entity.

Sen. Guingona said the framework is crucial in the country's attainment of normalized conditions in Mindanao.

With the 2012 FAB, the agreement will provide for the creation of a new political entity called the Bangsamoro, through a Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), to replace the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The said agreement will create the space for the meaningful participation in the process of enacting the BBL through the creation of the TC.

Sen. Guingona emphasized that the signing of FAB has sparked the optimism and hope that a just framework for peace in the Muslim Mindanao region through a partnership with the Bangsamoro has been achieved.

"Partnership and mutual recognition among our peoples are crucial in the process of nation building by providing spaces for our diverse cultures and traditions under one sovereign Philippine Republic," he added.

A native of Mindanao, Sen. Guingona highlighted that the government is committed to the reconstruction of conflict-affected areas and to expedite the socio-economic development in the region.

He added that this objective of the administration will be achieved by empowering the Bangsamoro themselves through a meaningful participation in transforming and developing their own communities.

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