MANILA, Philippines — Bangsamoro leaders and civil society groups have urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to meet Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim before Oct. 30, 2026 to push the completion of the long-pending Bangsamoro peace process.
In a statement, the groups welcomed Malacañang’s reported move to schedule a meeting between Marcos and Murad, saying the remaining step was the signing of the Exit Agreement and completion of the MILF’s decommissioning process.
The appeal came just days before the first elected Bangsamoro Parliament is scheduled to convene on Oct. 30.
The groups, which identified themselves as Bangsamoro religious leaders, civil society members, traditional leaders, settlers and Indigenous Peoples, called on Marcos and Murad to work together to conclude the peace process.
They said Murad, who led the MILF in signing the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), was the only person authorized to sign the Exit Agreement on behalf of the rebel group and lead the completion of decommissioning.
The statement also called for a “rainbow coalition government” led by Murad and open to all political parties, the Moro National Liberation Front, settlers and Indigenous Peoples.
The groups appealed to Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr. to help facilitate the meeting by opening communication channels between Malacañang and the Bangsamoro leadership.
“Mr. President, please meet Chairman Murad before October 30,” the statement said.
The appeal invoked the 1976 Tripoli Agreement, signed during the administration of Marcos’ father, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., as the starting point of the government’s peace efforts with the Moro separatist movement.
“Fifty years ago, in 1976, President Ferdinand E. Marcos opened the road to Bangsamoro peace with the Tripoli Agreement. Today, his son can close it,” the statement said.
The CAB, signed in 2014, laid the groundwork for the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the transition to a new autonomous political entity.
The groups also called for prayers for the victims of decades of conflict, including widows and orphans, and for a Bangsamoro region where no one would be left behind.
They described the completion of the peace process as a milestone that would earn international recognition.
