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Publish Date : 16-Jul-2013

Just when everyone thought that the peace negotiations were going nowhere, the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) surprised the whole nation with yet another breakthrough. They signed the Annex on Revenue Generation and Wealth-Sharing.

After six days of discussion, the contentious Annex was completed at 10:30 p.m. on July 13, 2013 and signed before midnight. It was the toughest of all the rounds of talks after the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) was signed in October last year.

"It was a close call. But both parties' persistence and goodwill bore fruit," GPH peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said shortly after the signing. "We have a good package, one that we believe would make fiscal autonomy in the Bangsamoro a reality," GPH Chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said.

The Annex on Revenue Generation and Wealth-sharing is one of the four annexes that, together with the FAB, will complete the comprehensive agreement. The other annexes are on power-sharing and normalization, and are still under discussion. The Annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities was signed in February.

"This Annex on Revenue Generation and Wealth-sharing seeks to fulfill the aspirations for meaningful autonomy for Muslim Mindanao that was envisioned in the Constitution," said Coronel-Ferrer. "It will correct the flaws in the current fiscal system in the ARMM."

"With the insights provided by the technical experts, Cabinet secretaries and several legislators consulted by the government panel and the intense discussions we've had with our counterparts, we are confident that the Annex will withstand scrutiny and the tests of implementation."

The originally scheduled four-day talks were extended for another two days. "The panels exerted their best effort to resolve the language issues. We succeeded because we exercised flexibility and worked hard to find the appropriate solutions," Coronel-Ferrer added.

"For the benefit of the Bangsamoro and the whole country, Government and the MILF once more demonstrated that they are invested in the process and will persevere in order to forge lasting peace in Mindanao," she said.

In a joint statement, the Parties said "the (revenue generation and wealth-sharing) Annex, which forms part of the FAB, will provide sufficient guidance for the crafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law's provisions on wealth-sharing and revenue generation for the Bangsamoro as envisioned by the FAB."

The signed annex stated that "wealth creation (or revenue creation and sourcing) is important for the operation of the Bangsamoro, considering that the Bangsamoro territory is among the most underdeveloped in the Philippines due to the decades-old conflict. Moreover, the existing tax base therein is very limited."

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