Historic peace pact sign-off paused
The final Exit Agreement that would formally conclude the decades-long Moro conflict remains on hold, awaiting scheduling confirmation for a high-level meeting at Malacañang Palace between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairperson Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim.
Ebrahim requested the meeting in a 1 October letter to address outstanding commitments under the peace process. Palace Press Undersecretary Claire Castro confirmed Tuesday that the meeting is being organized, though an official date has not been announced.
Since the recent September regional elections, Marcos has met with other prominent Bangsamoro figures, including interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP) and leaders of the BARMM Grand Coalition.
Those meetings were attended by Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr. However, leadership from the MILF — the government’s primary partner in the peace pact — has not yet been received at the Palace.
The scheduling delay occurs amid a fluid political transition following the first-ever parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Macacua’s BFP secured 31 seats in the regional parliament, closely followed by the MILF’s political party, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, which took 30 seats.
The BGC holds 15 seats, placing regional coalition factions in a decisive position as parties work to secure a 41-seat majority to form the incoming regional government.
The pending Exit Agreement requires signatures from both the Philippine government and the MILF to take effect. As MILF chairman, Ebrahim is the sole authorized signatory for the front.
The political standstill leaves approximately 14,000 former combatants awaiting the final phase of their decommissioning.
The current peace framework traces its origins to the 1976 Tripoli Agreement signed under former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The upcoming Exit Agreement is designed to serve as the definitive conclusion to the peace process.
Mindanao State University political scientist Yasmira Moner cautioned that a peace process left unclosed and unsigned remains vulnerable to political disruption.