MINDANAO — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Thursday joined various groups and individuals who greeted United States (US) President Barack Obama for winning a fresh four-year term during Wednesday's elections. “The MILF warmly welcomes the successful holding of the recent elections in the United States and the decisive victory of President Obama over Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger,” MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said in a statement. Murad said both the US and the MILF desire to bring development and peace in Mindanao. “The Bangsamoro and the United States share a common vision for better Mindanao where just peace, progress, and development are in the pipeline after the signing of the celebrated Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro,” the MILF chief said. “The MILF is particularly grateful for the expression of support to the Agreement from the Obama administration through US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton,” he added. The Philippine government and the MILF signed the historic Bangsamoro framework agreement last Oct. 15 in Malacanang. The agreement would form a new political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which President Aquino described as “a failed experiment.” The entity, to be called Bangsamoro, will cover Isabela City in Basilan, Cotabato City, six towns in Lanao del Norte, and some areas in North Cotabato, in addition to the ARMM provinces Basilan, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. The proposed entity will have to be created through legislation and will have to be subjected to a plebiscite. The government and the MILF are now crafting the rules of the framework agreement. Among the issues being discussed by the negotiators are the issue of wealth-sharing, power-sharing and normalization, including the disarmament and decommissioning of rebel forces. — Agencies
