October 15, 2012 is a historical date both for the Philippines in general and for Bangsamoro in particular, which were specified as the parties of the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsmaoro (FAB).
On August 4, 2011, President Aquino and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chair Murad agreed during a meeting in Japan to speed up the peace process and sign a peace agreement within the first three years of Aquino's six-year tenure to expedite its implementation.
It took three minutes to finally
sign the 13 pages of FAB, which basically aims to set up the new political body called Bangsamoro to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) by June 30, 2016, the end of Aquino's term.
In September, 2012, Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chair Nur Misuari filed his certificate of candidacy for ARMM governor. Misuari is one of the major leaders who are openly against the FAB, which is supported even by some international leaders. In fact, since 2001, Malaysia has been facilitating the peace talks between the Philippine government and Mindanao.
AL HAJ MURAD EBRAHIM
Chairman
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
The signing of the said agreement is an "adversarial relationship" between the Philippines as a country and Bangsamoro as a people. The FAB is the most significant document in the chapter of the Philippines history that serves as a milestone that reinstates to the Bangsamoro people their homeland, identity, right for self-governance, and the authority to independently build their future and fate.
Signing the FAB document signifies "friendship and partnership to the President and the Filipino people" while jointly starting "the historic journey to rebuild our homeland, institute justice , end occupation and the reign of violence and restore normalcy to the masses of the people in Mindanao and Sulu".
The MNLF brethren” need to support the Framework Agreement, and “take this historic journey with us to rebuild our Bangsamoro Homeland on the gains given to us by this Agreement...This is not the time for recriminations. This is the time for unity, the time for all of us to think, act and speak as one Bangsamoro as we summon all our strengths to face the daunting task of home rule".
BENIGNO SIMEON "PNOY" AQUINO III
President
Republic of the Philippines
Aside from marking a new chapter in the Philippine history, the FAB agreement also "now defines the very path we take as a people—one where opinions are heard and hope is shared; where understanding and consensus breed meaningful solutions for all stakeholders; one where every child is offered the opportunity to shape his own destiny".
TERESITA QUINTOS-DELES
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
Philippines
With dignity in a geographic, cultural, and political identity revered in every part of the world, a child of today will grow in the present generation adopt the Bangsamoro identity. This can be likened to the early development of a "once-rended family that has finally come together as one — diverse in beliefs, passionate always, and perhaps, arguing all the time, but still a family resolved to face the future and all its challenges, together".
DATO’ SRI MOHAMMAD NAJIB BIN TUN ABDUL RAZAK
Prime Minister
Malaysia
The day when the FAB was signed is "the dawn of a new beginning for the people of Mindanao, a day when we welcome a unified Philippines".
NUR MISUARI
Chairman
Moro National Liberation Front
The FAB is a "recipe for crisis".