Governance
Official statement
August 5, 2011MILF Statement on the Meeting of President Benigno Aquino III
and MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim
MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III had a one-on- one meeting at Narita, Japan, on August 4, 2011.
The meeting between the two leaders took place at Ana Crown Hotel, Narita, and lasted for almost two hours in the evening of said date.
The meeting was held behind closed doors. Both were accompanied only by their respective note-takers. President Aquino was accompanied Prof. Marvic Leonen, Chair of the GPH Peace Negotiating Panel, while Chairman Murad had with him Mohagher Iqbal, Chair of the MILF Peace Negotiating Panel. The closed-door meeting immediately commenced after the President and the Chairman formally introduced their respective delegations.
This historic engagement was the result of the initiative of President Aquino, who invited Chairman Murad for a personal meeting initially proposed to be held anywhere in the Philippines. The invitation was relayed last June 2011 and was coursed through Government of the Philippines (GPH) Peace Panel Chair Marvic Leonen who conveyed it to the Malaysian facilitator, Tengku Dato’ Ab’Ja’afar Tengku Mohammed. Through back channel mode, it was relayed to the MILF Peace Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal which, for security reasons, was all conducted in utmost confidential manner.
The Central Committee of the MILF arrived at the consensus that Chairman Murad should reciprocate positively provided that the venue would be in any of the member-states of the International Contact Group (ICG): Turkey, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. After a series of consultations between the two peace panels, their respective secretariats, and the Malaysian facilitator, Japan was finally agreed as the preferred host of the historic meeting. After informing the Malaysian facilitator of this matter, it was conveyed to the Japanese representative to the ICG that proximity to the Philippines, among other factors, was considered for choosing Japan as the venue.
The MILF Peace Panel clarified that the meeting between Chairman Murad and President Aquino does not supplant or replace in any way the current peace negotiation being conducted by the GPH and the MILF and facilitated by Malaysia. This was also the assurance given to the MILF and the Malaysian facilitator by GPH Peace Panel Chair Marvin Leonen when he relayed the invitation. To underscore this important point and as a matter of established protocol, both the MILF and the GPH peace negotiating panels agreed on the presence of the Malaysian Facilitator in Japan during the day of the meeting.
The meeting between President Aquino and Chairman Murad was very cordial, frank, honest and intimate. The Narita one-plus-one conversation in the suburb of Tokyo covered a wide range of issues and concerns related to the negotiated political settlement of the Bangsamoro Question. Furthermore, there was consensus that all substantive and outstanding issues discussed by both leaders will be taken up by the peace panels for deliberation on the negotiating table. The meeting between the two leaders gives a tremendous boost to the peace negotiations and in rekindling public expectation to fast tract the peace settlement.
For the MILF, this historic and unprecedented meeting between the two leaders in a third-party country host is a significant political milestone in the MILF’s quest for Bangsamoro right to self-determination. President Aquino’s ‘grand gesture’ in inviting Chairman Murad for a one-on-one meeting plus one note-taker in each side was a bold step. It is viewed as a great leap forward for both leaders, indicating a determined as well as decisive move for President Aquino and MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad to put closure to the conflict in Mindanao.
On the part of the MILF Chairman, his acceptance of the invitation illustrates a high level of statesmanship that necessitates resolution peacefully and politically at the negotiating table. By positively responding to President Aquino’s “grand gesture”, Chairman Murad reciprocated it with political maturity and pragmatism of leadership and without compromising the fundamentals of Islamic movement that guide the MILF in pursuit of the Bangsamoro struggle for the right to self-determination.
President Aquino was accompanied to the meeting by a delegation composed of key cabinet members: Secretary Florencio ‘Butch’ Abad of the Department of Budget Management, Secretary Cesar Purisima of the Department of Finance, Secretary Voltaire Gazmin of the Department of Defense, Presidential Spokesman Jose Lacierda, Secretary Teresita ‘Ging’ Quintos-Deles of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process, GPH Peace Panel Chair Marvic Leonen, and Ret. Gen. Cesar Garcia who now heads the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA).
The place of meeting and security arrangements at the Ana Crowne Plaza were coordinated by officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in coordination with staff from the Office of the President and the Presidential Security Group.
MILF Chairman Murad headed an equally powerhouse thirteen-man delegation constituting senior members of the Central Committee, members of the MILF Peace Panel, and political and commanders from the Moro geographic areas, as well as a representative of the indigenous peoples in Mindanao. Among the members of Chairman Murad’s delegation were Aleem Abdul Aziz Mimbantas, MILF Vice-Chairman for Military Affairs; Aleem Kalifa Nando, Head of the Supreme Shari’ah Court of the MILF Central Committee.
Accompanying Chairman Al Haj Murad was the team of Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the MILF Information Committee and the MILF Negotiating Panel, Atty. Datu Michael Mastura, a senior panel member; Maulana M. Alonto, another panel member; Datu Antonio Kinoc, representative of the indigenous peoples (IPs) and alternate panel member.
The rest of the delegation was composed of Dr. Zafrullah Dipatuan, Chairman of the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA); Ismael Pasigan and Muhajirin Ali, both members of the MILF Secretariat; and the private secretary of the MILF Chairman. Mahmur Estino, MILF Provincial Chairman of Sulu; Sonny Davao, senior military Commander of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) in Davao were part of the Moro leader’s entourage.
The MILF conveys its sincere appreciation to the Government of Japan for hosting this historic meeting between President Aquino and Chairman Murad. It takes special note of the assistance extended to the MILF delegation by Political Minister Hitoshi Ozawa of the Japanese Embassy in Manila and Mr. Yoshihisha Ishikawa of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The MILF likewise extends its gratitude to the Government of Malaysia, particularly to the Malaysian Facilitator, Tengku Dato’ Ab’Jaafar Tengku Mohammad, and Madame Che Khasnah, Head of the Secretariat, whose participation and contribution in making this meeting possible and successful were invaluable.
Finally, the MILF congratulates President Aquino and Chairman Murad for making history and for drawing the minds of the Parties towards a common point leading to the political resolution of the Bangsamoro Question before the end of the term of the incumbent president.