President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Moro National Liberation Front founding chairman Nur Misuari as Special Economic Envoy on Islamic Affairs to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The appointment will speed up the creation of the Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund, one of the remaining commitments contained in the Tripartite Review Process carried out by the Philippine government, MNLF, and the OIC, according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).
OPPAPP said Duterte made the announcement during his meeting with Misuari and members of the MNLF Peace Coordinating Committee in Davao City Friday evening.
The OIC, along with the government and MNLF, led the TRP which was concluded in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia last January 2016.
Duterte said the MNLF founder would help enable “lasting relationships” with leaders in Islamic countries.
“At least before I die I want to see peace in Mindanao,” Duterte told members of the peace committee.
During the meeting, the government and the MNLF agreed to pursue the implementation of the two remaining commitments contained in the TRP of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement. The TRP was concluded in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in January 2016.
The two remaining commitments were the establishment of the BDAF and the creation of the Tripartite Implementation Monitoring Committee which will oversee the implementation of the fund.
“I would like to see its creation at the earliest,” Duterte said, adding the parties involved should “pursue simultaneously” the establishment of the BDAF and TIMC “to have a meeting of the minds in the first quarter” of 2020.
“It may be selfish but I want to have the honor of having peace with the Moro during my time… I want everything fixed,” the President added.
Under the TRP, the establishment of the BDAF required the assistance of the OIC and its financial institution, particularly the Islamic Development Bank.
The mechanism will be used for “socioeconomic development projects for the MNLF communities.”
