DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 17 July) – A day after his appointment as concurrent chair of the government’s Peace Implementing Panel (PIP) in the Bangsamoro peace process, Presidential Peace Adviser Mel Senen Sarmiento hit the ground running by meeting with heads of the government’s (GPH) Peace Process Mechanisms, not in Metro Manila where he is based, but in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
On Thursday at the 6th Infantry Division in Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, Sarmiento met with the heads of the government’s peace process mechanisms in the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the peace agreement signed by the government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on March 27, 2014.
On Friday, he visited the MILF’s Camp Badre in Guindulungan, Maguindanao del Sur. He told MindaNews they are conducting workshops in preparation for meeting the MILF PIP “at the soonest possible time” and inspecting camps under the Camp Transformation Program.
On July 3, Sarmiento visited Camp Bilal in Munai, Lanao del Norte, meeting with Commander Bravo, now a BARMM parliament member. He said workshops are ongoing to develop a catch-up plan. Once administrative improvements are completed, discussions with the MILF will resume to fast-track commitments.
Sarmiento received briefings from GPH chairs of various peace mechanisms, including AHJAG, CCCH, IDB, JCC, JNC, JPSC, JTFCT, TFDCC, and TWG-TJR.
Appointed in April as Presidential Peace Adviser, Sarmiento was named concurrent GPH PIP chair on July 15—welcomed by the MILF. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, former GPH peace panel chair, expressed confidence in Sarmiento’s leadership.
MILF PIP chair Mohagher Iqbal called Sarmiento’s appointment “an excellent choice,” praising President Marcos Jr.’s commitment to CAB implementation. Iqbal seeks immediate panel discussions to address Bangsamoro elections and normalization challenges.
The historic Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections are set for September 14, marking the end of BARMM’s transition period on October 30. (Carolyn O. Arguillas)
