With a theme: “Unity and Cooperation for Peace: Strengthening Partnership and Convergence to Sustain and Protect the Gains of the Peace Process”," the conference was highlighted by the adoption of a manifesto re-affirming their firm commitment and strong support to peace in Mindanao and conveying the same to President  Ferdinand Romuladez Marcos Jr (PBBM). 

Organized by the League of Bangsamoro Organizations Inc. (LBO) in cooperation with the Mindanao People Caucus (MPC), Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS), United Youth for Peace and Development (UNYPAD), and the Civil Society Organizations for Moral Governance (CSO-MG), the conference-aimed to gather the CSO leaders together to consult them on  concrete steps in ensuring that Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) will be MILF-led as provided for in Republic Act 11054 also known as Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

They also appealed to President Marcos, Jr to appoint BTA government side nominees who are sympathetic to the peace process; help ensure for the bilateral implementation of the signed peace agreement; call for the continuity of the presence, participation and support of the international community; and work collaboratively towards harnessing Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim (BARMM) regional government.

Apart from local NGOs, INGOs, the international peace process mechanism and selected government institutions are also invited. 

Heino Marius, chairman of the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT), gave an experiential and reflective talk on the role of international community in ensuring bilateral implementation of the peace agreement.

Representatives of various international non-governmental organizations such as the International Decommissioning Body (IDB), The Asia Foundation (TAF), the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), European Union’s SUBTRA Justice and Society project, and the Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) also gave messages of support for the peace conference.

The peace conference was the culminating activity of a series of meetings and consultations between and among members of the LBO after a regional dialogue on the Bangsamoro peace process participated by several networks of CSOs coming from the different parts of Mindanao including the LBO was held in Davao City on June 7 to 9, 2022.

The peace conference encouraged the grassroots to air their views on the peace process. 

After they identified issues and challenges at hand, they prepared to effectively address emerging issues with the end in view of sustaining and protecting the gains of the peace process.

On the issue pertain8ing to the appointment of the BTA members, they appealed to newly inaugurated president to  ensure that the MILF will have 41 appointees and the government side nominees to be sympathetic to the peace process.

They called on the international community to continue and strengthen the peace process; ensure that CSO representatives are appointed to the Marawi compensation board; expedite the creation of the national amnesty program and be involved in the crafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) and strong message on the need to address the threats of unilateral peace implementation and ensure the joint implementation of the peace process.

The highlight of the conference was the reading of the manifesto by LBO President Hashim B. Manticayan encompassing all issues and concerns, suggestions, suggestions and recommendations discussed during the peace conference.

The manifesto stated the staging and manifesting the reaffirmation of their firm commitment and strong support to peace in Mindanao, and conveying the same to  President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr.

It also expresses profound congratulations to the new President. “This Peace Conference is very optimistic of the President-Elect Marcos, Jr., and believes that His Excellency shall carry on and continue the peace legacy of the outgoing President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, it being the latter’s honorable bequest to the former. The CSO community is hopeful that he shall build on the peace legacy of his predecessor, and that he shall continue upholding and sustaining today’s gains of the peace process”.

“Specifically, this CSO Leaders’ Peace Conference strongly believes that the only path to a just and lasting peace in Mindanao is to sustain and protect the gains of the Comprehensive Agreement for the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) through its continuous and uninterrupted implementation according to the bilaterally agreed-upon peace roadmap. Along this context and in relation thereof, this CSO Leaders’ Peace Conference earnestly appeals to President-Elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos, Jr. and fervently implore His Excellency’s pro-peace intervention to consider the following:”

One of the most important appeals stated in the manifesto was for President Bongbong Marcos, Jr. to confer immediate and official approval of the appointments of the 41-MILF BTA members consistent with Section 2 Article XVI of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). It also appeals to reappoint the same representatives for the 39-government slots in the BTA, or if not, those who are peace champions, and as such, ever sympathetic and supportive to the GPH-MILF peace process.

The conference also petitions that President will generously start complying with and engaging in the Normalization Tract of CAB, aside from the Decommissioning so that the rehabilitation mechanisms e.g., Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) shall commence to function operationally as programmed.  

It also appeals to him that there shall be NGO representation in the Marawi Compensation Board. 

Likewise, this Peace Conference appeals to expedite the constitution of the National Amnesty Commission (NAC) and the bilateral crafting of its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) to start processing pending applications, given the recent concurrence of Senate last January, and taking into consideration that the processing therein is only within a year immediately.