NEWS
7October
Mindanao leaders call for urgent dialogue to break normalization impasse
- Oct 7, 2025
- Taher G. Solaiman
- HITS: 1506
Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Leo Tereso Magno and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua warned in a press briefing on Wednesday that the stalemate threatens to derail the development gains achieved across Mindanao.
"While the peace process is not under my office’s purview, normalization is a concern for MinDA because it affects the development we aim to achieve in Mindanao,” Magno stated, emphasizing the crucial link between sustained peace and economic growth.
He called on all concerned parties to "sit down again," stressing that there is "no alternative to a peaceful dialogue."
Macacua echoed the sentiment, acknowledging the existing challenge but expressing confidence that a resolution is possible, especially with the peace implementation "now at the finish line."
"It’s only right that we talk," Macacua said. "If we managed to do it before, why can’t we do it now?"
He expressed hope that the Inter-Government Relations Body (IGRB) and the President would help facilitate a "very cordial manner" of discussion between the government and MILF implementing panels.
The normalization process, a key component of the peace agreement, reached a critical point when the MILF central committee suspended the decommissioning of its remaining 14,000 combatants. The MILF cited delays in the delivery of promised socio-economic packages for its former fighters.
European Union Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Santoro, present at the forum, reaffirmed the EU's full support for the normalization process, which includes assisting former MILF combatants in transitioning away from arms.
Santoro emphasized that the process must continue "until the desired results are achieved."
Magno concluded by noting that the issue has two sides, both of which must come to the table to comprehensively address the disagreement.
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