Philippines clinches revenue-sharing deal with rebels
The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF, from Mindanao announced on July 13 that they have reached what they call a “wealth-sharing” deal, making an end to the decades-old conflict more likely.
Under the deal, the government has agreed to let the rebels have a 75 per cent share of earnings from natural resources and metallic minerals in a proposed autonomous region for the Muslim minority in southern Mindanao. For energy resources, both sides agreed to split earnings equally.
“This signing indicates that both sides are really committed to finish the peace negotiations. Nobody wants this not to reach its fruition,” government chief peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer told news agency AFP.
The government had initially bargained for a bigger share of the wealth, arguing that it wanted a deal that could withstand a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.
Ferrer said a final peace deal with the 12,000-strong MILF could be signed after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends at the beginning of August.
The proposed autonomous territory comprises areas the minority Muslims consider their “ancestral domain” in Mindanao, the country’s main southern island believed to have a large chunk of the country’s estimated $840 billion
in gold, copper and other mineral reserves.
[caption id="attachment_12484" align="alignleft" width="230"] Child soldier of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front[/caption] The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF, from Mindanao announced on July 13 that they have reached what they call a "wealth-sharing" deal, making an end to the decades-old conflict more likely. Under the deal, the government has agreed to let the rebels have a 75 per cent share of earnings from natural resources and metallic minerals in a proposed autonomous region for the Muslim minority in southern Mindanao. For energy resources, both sides agreed to split earnings equally. "This signing indicates that both...
The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF, from Mindanao announced on July 13 that they have reached what they call a “wealth-sharing” deal, making an end to the decades-old conflict more likely.
Under the deal, the government has agreed to let the rebels have a 75 per cent share of earnings from natural resources and metallic minerals in a proposed autonomous region for the Muslim minority in southern Mindanao. For energy resources, both sides agreed to split earnings equally.
“This signing indicates that both sides are really committed to finish the peace negotiations. Nobody wants this not to reach its fruition,” government chief peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer told news agency AFP.
The government had initially bargained for a bigger share of the wealth, arguing that it wanted a deal that could withstand a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.
Ferrer said a final peace deal with the 12,000-strong MILF could be signed after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends at the beginning of August.
The proposed autonomous territory comprises areas the minority Muslims consider their “ancestral domain” in Mindanao, the country’s main southern island believed to have a large chunk of the country’s estimated $840 billion
in gold, copper and other mineral reserves.
