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Peace be upon all of us:

Assalamu alaikum.

At the outset, please allow me to express the sense and gratitude of the Filipino People to the
Organization of Islamic Conference for its unceasing concern and attention on our quest for a
sustainable peace in Southern Philippines. It was under the auspices of the Organization of
Islamic Conference that the Tripoli Agreement of December 23, 1976, was signed. It was also
through the active support of the Organization of Islamic Conference that the Final Agreement to
Implement the Tripoli Agreement of 1976 was signed on September 2, 1996.

The Organization of Islamic Conference has accompanied the GPH and the MNLF in their
difficult journey on the path of peace as they sought the satisfactory implementation of the 1996
Final Peace Agreement. The Tenth Session of the Islamic Summit held in Putrajaya, Malaysia,
on October 16-17, 2003 (20-21 Shaaban 1424), recognized the significant developments which
have taken place in the implementation of the 1996 GRP-MNLF Peace Agreement thus far then,
particularly the result of the plebiscite held on August 14, 2002; the election on November 26,
2001, of Dr. Parouk Hussin as the new Governor of the Autonomous Region of Muslim
Mindanao; and the completion in May, 2003, of the integration process of MNLF armed
elements into the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police
(PNP) in accordance with the provisions of the 1996 Peace Agreement and the national laws of
the Republic of the Philippines.

The 31st Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Istanbul, Turkey, on
June 14-16, 2004, furthermore declared that Phase I of the 1996 Peace Agreement had been
successfully completed, which declaration was affirmed by the 32nd Session of the Islamic
Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Sana¶a, Yemen, on June 28-30, 2005 (28-30 Jumada al-
Uwla, 1426H).

Ten years after the signing of the Final Peace Agreement, the 33rd Islamic Conference of
Foreign Ministers, held in Baku, Azerbaijan on June 19-21, 2006, expressed its concern over the
seemingly stalled implementation of the other commitments enshrined in the 1996 Agreement, as
the two parties contested each other¶s assessment of what have or have not been achieved in its
implementation. Accordingly, the Conference called for an urgent, high-level tripartite meeting
between the OIC, the Government of the Republic of Philippines (or GRP, now GPH), and the

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MNLF to be held in Jeddah as soon as practicable in 2006 with two objectives at hand:

1. Review the implementation of the 1996 peace agreement and assess the progress made and the
obstacles facing its full implementation; and

2. Draw up modalities for a new Joint Monitoring Committee to observe the implementation of
the peace agreement, verify complaints in this regard, and facilitate agreement on solutions to
such complaints.

It took more than a year before high level tripartite talks could convene. The Joint Working
Groups constituted by the First Tripartite Meeting identified the issues in the implementation of
the 1996 Final Peace Agreement. Of the 36 issues, the Joint Working Groups were able to
identify common proposals on only 15 matters, leaving 21 concerns for further study.
Thereafter, the Third Tripartite Meeting constituted the Legal Panel which was mandated to
forge common ground on the remaining issues. It took the Legal Panel twenty-two months to
find common grounds on 18 additional concerns, leaving only three issues unresolved.

We have already commended the Legal Panel, chaired jointly by MNLF Founding Chairman
Nur Misuari and Justice Undersecretary Leah Armamento, for reaching such common grounds
within the first six months following the assumption into office of President Benigno Simeon
Aquino III. Both the common proposals and common grounds submitted by the Joint Working
Groups and the Legal Panel now constitute proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 9054
enacted by the Congress of the Philippines as provided for in the 2nd Phase of the 1996 Final
Peace Agreement.

Please allow us the honor of extending our congratulations to the GPH and MNLF Secretariats
for transforming the common proposals and common grounds into the legal form initialled by
Director Susan Marcaida and Dr. Alipekre Basher on January 15, 2011, in the presence of the
Legal Panel witnessed by some Ambassadors to the Philippines of the Member-countries of the
OIC Peace Committee for Southern Philippines.

We also take note of the pending proposal for the establishment of a fund mechanism for
Bangsamoro development. The Communiqué of the 2nd Session of the Tripartite Meeting held
on February 14, 2008, highlighted the cardinal importance of social and economic development
that depends on the creation of a climate of peace and security through confidence-building
measures that include rehabilitation, relief, and reconstruction, with special concern for the plight
of internally displaced people. The 3rd Session of the GRP-MNLF-OIC Tripartite Meeting at
the Heritage Hotel, Pasay City on March 11-13, 2009 again welcomed the proposal for the
establishment of a peace and development fund mechanism for Southern Philippines that will be
supported by OIC member countries and OIC Special Bodies. The details of such a Peace and
Development Fund will be worked out by the two parties through a joint mechanism to be agreed

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upon.

We also recall that the 37th Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held last
year, May 18 to 20, 2010, urged OIC Member States, subsidiary organs, and specialized and
affiliated institutions as well as benevolent Islamic organizations in the Member States to
increase their medical, humanitarian, economic, financial, and technical assistance for the
development of Southern Philippines with a view to accelerating the pace of social and economic
development in the affected areas. The 37th Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign
Ministers further urged the Philippine Government to agree to the General Secretariat¶s request
to send a joint delegation of the OIC, IDB and other Islamic NGOs willing to undertake a needs
assessment in the areas to be covered. We say now that we will not only consent to such joint
delegation for needs assessment, we will welcome such initiative. Such assessment can help
determine the fund strategies, mechanisms, and governing structures needed to ensure that Fund
resources will go where they are most needed. Thereafter, the Philippine Government and the
Organization of Islamic Conference with the active participation of the Moro National Liberation
Front may design and administer the proposed Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund.

With the roadmap provided by the GPH-MNLF-OIC Tripartite Meetings covering the desired
amendment of Republic Act No. 9054 and the proposed socio-economic development directions
and initiatives, the baseline, parameters and targets for a more satisfactory implementation of the
1996 Final Peace Agreement will have been set in place. These will further assist the Philippine
Government and Moro National Liberation Front, with the active support of the Organization of
Islamic Conference, in drawing up the scope, targets indicators, mechanisms and operation of the
appropriate Tripartite Monitoring Mechanism, as put forward by the 33rd Session of the Islamic
Conference of Foreign Ministers.

This February, we are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the People Power Revolution that
swept President Corazon Aquino to office and enshrined in the Philippine Constitution the
establishment of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Divine providence would
decree that a key actor in the 1986 People Power uprising, then-General Fidel Valdes Ramos,
would later assume the presidency and conclude the Final Peace Agreement between the
Philippine Government and the Moro National Liberation Front. Twenty-five years later this
coming Friday, the celebration is marked more significantly by the recent resumption by the
Government of formal talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the National Democratic
Front, respectively. In addition, Government is in dialogue with the Cordillera Peoples¶
Liberation Army in northern Luzon and the RPMP-RPA-ABB in Central Philippines for the
completion and final closure of the peace agreements signed with them. We are off to an
extremely busy but interesting and hopeful start given this number of simultaneous tables that are
on course at the moment.

And, here and now, we are pleased to receive and transmit the Report of the Legal Panel,
transforming to a legal form the common grounds and common proposals jointly adopted, as

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well as to indicate our readiness to consent to and receive the Joint Needs Assessment Mission
and our resolve to jointly establish an appropriate and meaningful Tripartite Monitoring
Mechanism. The gravity of this Tripartite Meeting is manifested by the membership of our
delegation with myself, as Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, as Head of Delegation.

I am very pleased indeed to introduce the members of the Government delegation to this very
important meeting:

1. The Honorable SECRETARY RONALDO LLAMAS, Presidential Adviser on Political

Affairs
2. Madame ZENONIDA BROSAS, Deputy Director General, National Security Council
3. Madame LEAH TANODRA-ARMAMENTO, Undersecretary of Justice
4. Lieutenant General RAYMUNDO FERRER, Commander, Western Mindanao Command
5. The Honorable Datu ESMAIL MANGUDADATU, Governor, Province of Maguindanao
6. Consul General EZZEDIN TAGO, Philippine Embassy to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
7. Atty. NAGUIB SINARIMBO, Executive Secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao
8. Atty. ANSELMO ABUNGAN, Assistant Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources
9. Atty. EDILWASSIF BADDIRI, Commissioner, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos
10. Atty. ARIFA ALAUYA-ALA, Islamic Banking Unit, Central Bank
11. Atty. JOSE LORENA, former Chair, MNLF Mixed Committee on Economic Concerns
12. The Honorable ZIAUR RAHMAN ADIONG, Assemblyman of the Regional Assembly of
the of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindananao,
13. Mr. KANGGO UMAL, Regional Treasurer of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
14. Madame POMBAEN KADER , Secretary for Social Welfare and Development of the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
15. Madame FATMAWATI SALAPUDDIN, Civil Society Organization Representative
16. Madame BAINON KARON, Civil Society Organization Representative
17. Madame YASMIN BUSRAN LAO, Civil Society Organization Representative
18. Atty. ZOILO VELASCO, Department of Foreign Affairs
19. Director SUSANA H MARCAIDA, Director of OPAPP Mindanao Affairs Office and Head
of GPH Secretariat for the Tripartite Meetings
20. Miss HELEN ROJAS, Deputy Head of GPH Secretariat for the Tripartite Meetings

There is much work to be done, with due diligence to be applied on all issues. The Philippine
Government, under the leadership of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, does not want to
sign any agreement or statement that it cannot uphold and implement. Thus, we have brought
the full force of government, from national to regional to local government levels, to show the
seriousness in our intent to bring proper closure to a process that has gone on for too long. The
intention of the current Aquino administration is to move this process from dialogue on the table
to implementation on the ground, so that we can use the remaining period of our term to ensure
that commitments are delivered especially to the communities which have carried the heaviest
burden of this conflict. We do not want to turn over another unfinished business to the next
administration. It stops with us.

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We owe it to the people of Mindanao, and especially the Bangsamoro, to make up for the time
lost on protracted processes by coming to terms with a more certain future ± one that speaks
about the interests at stake in less ambiguous terms, so that we can move forward once and for
all. I am praying for a dialogue that will be real ± not just one that will make us feel good, but
one where we can all be forthright in asking the hard questions. And one such hard question is:
If we are all so committed to peace as we declare ourselves to be, if we truly uphold the welfare
of our people above our own personal interests as we say we do, then why are we still in the
position where we are now? The answer will be made by all of us in the next two days.
Needless to say, the future rests on our shoulders. It is a heavy load to carry but it is part of our
duty to be hopeful because, if we aren¶t, then why are we still here?

Let us continue to stand up and insist on staying the course, persist in drawing lessons for the
future, in affirming capacities and hope, in celebrating faith and fortitude. We come here with
the trust of knowing that, in each of our hearts, peace has won.

Your Excellency, please extend to the Organization of Islamic Conference our appreciation of its
continued support to the 1996 Final Peace Agreement and the Southern Philippine peace process
as well as the sustained attention and concern extended to our Muslim citizens. May we also
express our gratitude for the concern and effort of the Peace Commission for Southern
Philippines as it shepherds the Tripartite Meetings towards a more satisfactory implementation of
the 1996 Final Peace Agreement. Our people and Government would also wish to show our
appreciation to the concern and leadership of the Government of Indonesia, particularly of His
Excellency Rezlan Jenie. The 1996 Final Peace Agreement ushered in an era of hope. Let us
make that hope a reality.

Maraming salamat po. May God Bless the Southern Philippines. Assalamu alaikum.#

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