AlQa'dah 26, 1436, Sep 10, 2015, SPA -- The two day Preparatory Tripartite Peace Process convened on 7-8 September 2015 in Manila, Philippines between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Government of Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front concluded having agreed on the agenda and substantive issues to be deliberated at the next Tripartite Ministerial Meeting due be held in Jeddah in November 2015. The OIC has maintained its commitment to the Tripartite Review since its establishment in 2007 which has led to the establishment of essential processes to address the needs of the Bangsamoro people. During the Preparatory Tripartite meeting the parties were able to reactivate discussions on the Bangsamoro Development Assistant Fund (BDAF) which addresses the socio-economic needs of the Bangsamoro People; the Tripartite Monitoring Committee (TIMC) which is a process to ensure implementation of agreements reached during the tripartite review; and the Co-management of Strategic Minerals which will be undertaken with consultations of relevant departments of the Philippine Government departments. The meeting was also briefed on the current status of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in the Congress by the representative of the Government of Philippines and held discussions on the mechanism to bring the two peace tracks together. The ultimate goal of the Tripartite meeting is to set the path for the implementations of the previous peace agreements of Tripoli Peace Agreement of 1976 and 1996 Final Peace Agreement. During the preparatory Tripartite meeting the parties agreed on a number of common issues. In regards to the Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund (BDAF) the meeting agreed to revisit the agreement and understanding on the implementation of the (BDAF). The parties also agreed to follow-up with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the BDAF. The meeting also agreed to revisit the agreement on the Tripartite Implementation and Monitoring Committee (TIMC). According to the proposed Terms of Reference the TIMC is to meet and monitor the implementation of all the agreements of the Tripartite Implementation Process. It was deiced to refer this issue to the Ministerial level. On issue of Co-Management of Strategic Minerals the meeting agreed to look into the Interim Agreement on Co-management which was signed in a document during the 2nd Ad Hoc High Level Group Meeting on March 1-2, 2012. The two parties, (GPH and the MNLF) committed to work with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on the current status of the arrangement regarding the implementation of the Interim Agreement and submit recommendations on how to strengthen the same. The meeting also agreed to examine the provisions of the BBL relevant to co-management.
