President Rodrigo Duterte will lead the symbolic signing of the landmark Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) which aims to address the decades-old conflict in Mindanao and provide autonomy to the Moro people.

Office of the Presidential Peace Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza said the ceremony, which comes a little over a week after the President signed the law, will mark the major milestone in the Bangsamoro peace process.

“True to his campaign promise, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has signed the BOL, fulfilling his desire to bring peace in Mindanao,” Dureza said.

“The BOL is an extraordinary law. It is the product of years of peace negotiations with the Moro revolutionary groups and the stakeholders in Mindanao,” he added.

For his part, Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri echoed Dureza’s pronouncements, citing the BOL as clear proof of Mr. Duterte’s sincerity in bringing peace and development in Mindanao.

“The President’s signing also meant the national government is finally serious about achieving peace and order in Mindanao,” said Zubiri who led the Senate contingent in the bicameral committee that completed the BOL.

“It took a Mindanaoan President to finally get this done and this will be his administration’s legacy,” he added.

The BOL is part of the Duterte administration’s agenda to achieve national reconciliation with the Moro rebel groups. Congress has extensively deliberated on the BOL and made sure that the law is within the bounds of the Constitution and national sovereignty and territorial integrity at the same time ensuring that the interests of all sectors are respected.

Dureza said the challenge is now for the country to “work hard to achieve the BOL’s vision to bring peace and development and rectify past injustices to be able to work together in the days ahead.”

The central committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), meanwhile, declared its acceptance of the BOL.

MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said since the representatives of all MILF groups had expressed their acceptance of the law during the Bangsamoro Consultative Assembly on 29 July in Camp Darapanan, the central committee “held a special meeting on 1 August 2018 and agreed to officially declare its acceptance of the BOL as ratified by both Houses of Congress and signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.”

Nabil Tan, deputy presidential peace adviser and chair of the government implementing panel for the GPH-MILF peace accord, said the BOL “should be seen as the government’s recognition of the Moros’ right to chart their political future through a democratic process as enshrined and guaranteed in the Constitution.”