PRRD claims he fulfilled his promise to bring peace to Mindanao

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MANILA – President Rodrigo Roa Duterte believes that with his term ending in over three months, he has been able to fulfill his commitment to bring peace to Mindanao.

Duterte also gave credit to Bangsamoro leaders for resolving the decades-old conflict in Mindanao during a prerecorded interview with Pastor Apollo Quiboloy aired Saturday on SMNI.

According to Duterte, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) led by Chief Minister Ahod “Murad” Ebrahim was able to “somehow calm” the situation in the region.

“I think we have relatively a peaceful Mindanao,” he said. “We have a good rapport with the Moro of Mindanao. And I think that just allow them in the governance of our country and give them enough elbowroom to, you know, just govern without interference of armed groups.”

Duterte is hoping that peace and progress in Mindanao would continue even after his presidency ends.

“I think that we have achieved militarily the objectives of keeping the peace in Mindanao. God willing, if the equilibrium nami-maintain (will be maintained), we are trouble-free. I hope and I pray of course,” he said.

Duterte has opted to keep the Bangsamoro Transition Authority’s (BTA) status quo on the current composition, the interim government with executive and legislative authority over the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

The BTA was assigned with the responsibility of overseeing the three-year transition from 2019, followed by an election of BARMM officials.

Over 10.3-million-euro (PHP601.9 million) worth of project grants are set to be implemented in support of the normalization process in the Bangsamoro government, Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said in February.

Meanwhile, BARMM officials and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Friday promised to help ensure a peaceful, clean, and orderly elections on May 9 this year.

Earlier, BARMM police director Brig. Gen. Arthur Cabalona reported that 102 areas of concern have been listed by the Police Regional Office-BARMM in national and local elections in BARMM this year.

Cabalona stated that among the 102 election hotspots, 99 are municipalities and the three others are the cities of Cotabato, Marawi, and Lamitan.

According to OPAPRU, around 19,345 former MILF combatants have already completed the three-phase decommissioning process, and another 14,000 MILF members are due to do so this year.