Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has signed legislation creating a new Muslim autonomous region aimed at settling nearly half a century of unrest in the south.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque and another key aide, Bong Go, late on Thursday told reporters without elaborating that Duterte signed the bill creating the region, to be called Bangsamoro.
The autonomy deal, which has been negotiated for more than two decades under four presidents, was ratified earlier this week by both chambers of the legislature.
Photo: EPA
“This is to announce that the president has just signed the BOL into law,” Roque said in a cellphone message, referring to the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
The deal was negotiated with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group in the south, although about half a dozen smaller Islamic State group-linked radical groups remain a threat in the region.
Moro front chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim on Tuesday told a news conference that up to 40,000 fighters would be “decommissioned” if the autonomy deal is fully enforced.
The disarming would be done in batches based on compliance with the accord, with the final 40 percent of the guerrillas turning over their weapons once there is full compliance.
Six of the largest guerrilla camps were already being converted into “productive civilian communities” to help the insurgents return to normal life, Murad added.
Murad appealed to the international community to contribute to a trust fund to finance the insurgents’ transition from decades of waging one of Asia’s longest rebellions.
“We will decommission our forces, the entire forces,” Murad said, declining to immediately cite the number of weapons that “will be put beyond use.”
The Bangsamoro replaces an existing autonomous region and is to be larger, better-funded and more powerful. An annual grant, estimated at 60 billion to 70 billion pesos (US$1.12 billion to US$1.31 billion), is to be set aside for development.
Murad’s guerrilla force is the second to drop a demand for a separate Muslim state in exchange for autonomy. The Moro National Liberation Front forged a 1996 peace deal with the government that led to the current five-province Muslim autonomous region, which has largely been regarded as a failure.
Murad said it is crucial for the peace agreement to be fully enforced, citing how earlier failed attempts prompted some guerrillas to break away and form groups.
“We can roughly conclude that all these splinter groups are a result of the frustration with the peace process,” Murad said.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS