NEWS




4April

Peace process-supportive evangelical church group visits MILF leadership

The leaders of Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC), a Christian religious network which supports the peace process, visited the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Central Committee (CC) at Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat municipality in Maguindanao last Saturday (April 2) to discuss how leaders of Evangelical Christian and Muslim religious groups can work together for a justice-based peace and reconciliation initiatives in Mindanao and in the whole Philippines.

PCEC delegation, led by Bishop Noel Alba Pantoja, exchanged ideas with MILF-CC members led by Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, on how they can advance reconciliation efforts towards attaining peace in Mindanao. The Mufti of the Bangsamoro, Sheikh Abu Huraira Udasan, and MILF Peace Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal, were present in the gathering.

In a forum at Quezon City last April 2015, PCEC expressed its support and active participation to the peace process through its own Peace and Reconciliation Commission.

The MILF leadership stressed the importance of passing the BBL which embodies the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people and proposed resolutions to conflict in Mindanao. 

BBL is a piece of legislation that will provide the establishment of autonomous Bangsamoro government with more fiscal and political powers.

It requires enactment by the Philippine Congress as stipulated in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed by the government and the MILF in 2014.

The lawmakers failed to pass the BBL under the Aquino administration. 

Various peace advocates and religious groups have been pushing for the passage of BBL. With the failure of the Congress to pass the BBL, they are hopeful that the next administration will finish the stalled enactment of the proposed measure.

Established in 1965, PCEC has grown into the largest network of denominations, churches and mission groups and para-church organizations in the country. (More details to follow. Photo credit to Lakan Sumulong)