Bangsamoro sub-state raised during Aquino-Murad meet — MILF exec

Both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are tight-lipped on what President Benigno Aquino III and MILF chair Al Haj Murad had discussed in their meeting last week, but an MILF official said the subject of a Bangsamoro sub-state was brought up. “The chairman explained our proposal of a sub-state," said MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, who witnessed the meeting last Thursday in Tokyo, in a phone interview on Tuesday. Asked on what was Aquino’s reaction, Iqbal said the President “just listened," noting that the Tokyo meeting “was not in a form of a negotiation." Pressed if Aquino made gestures of approval or opposition to the proposal, Iqbal said: “He asked a question how did the MILF conceptualize the sub-state." Iqbal assured the public that there is nothing worrisome about the proposed sub-state. He said Murad assured Aquino that their proposed sub-state will still be under the Philippine government.

“Basically, the sub-state is still under the Philippines and it has layers of power and authority reserved for the central government, which are foreign relations, national defense, currency and postal services and there is residual power for the sub-state," he said. He added: “Also, there are joint jurisdiction of power, exercised jointly by the central government and the (sub) state government." The proposal for the establishment of the Bangsamoro sub-state in Mindanao is part of the Comprehensive Compact Agreement recommended and submitted by the MILF to the government last year. Government negotiators are due to furnish their MILF counterparts with their counter-proposal during the next round of talks to be held in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on Aug. 22, according to Iqbal. Iqbal described the Tokyo as a good development “because for the first time, the President heard from the horse’s mouth the MILF’s point of view." He said the discussions between Aquino and Murad also centered on the need to fast track the peace negotiations, which had been dragging for more than a decade. — KBK, GMA News