Cotabato peace rally: Bangsamoro pact’s full implementation sought

COTABATO CITY – Participants of a multi-sectoral Bangsamoro peace rally here started to gather as early as Wednesday evening for a mass demonstration in front of the Bangsamoro Government Complex (BGC) on Thursday.

Thousands filled the streets along Gov. Gutierrez Avenue, the road leading to the main entrance of the BGC, the seat of government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The group is led by the “Recover BARMM Now,” a coalition of Bangsamoro stakeholders composed of peace advocates, civil society organizations, religious and traditional leaders, youth groups, women leaders, professionals, former Moro combatants, community organizations, and concerned citizens of the Bangsamoro region.

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The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) supported the peace rally, which called for the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and the reinstatement of MILF chair Ahod “Al Haj” Ebrahim as BARMM chief minister, among others.

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The CAB, the final peace agreement signed by the Philippine government and the MILF in 2014, paved the way for the establishment of the BARMM in 2019.

Sheik Abdulhadie, Recover BARMM Now spokesperson, told the INQUIRER in a phone interview that the gathering today seeks to amplify the voices of the Bangsamoro people.

Abdulhadie said the full implementation of the peace accord was put on hold because of the government’s inaction over the appointment of the chairman of the government’s Peace Implementing Panel.

“Peace is not sustained by promises alone. It is sustained by honoring commitments,” Abdulhadie said.

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Participants from outside Cotabato City had arrived the night before today’s gathering and slept along Gov. Gutierrez Avenue.

This is the second major peace rally in the same venue by a different group since Monday. /gsg

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