MANILA, Philippines — Ten Bangsamoro civil society organizations have set a Dec. 23, 2026 deadline for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim to sign the Exit Agreement and formally close the nearly five-decade Bangsamoro peace process.
The proposed deadline would coincide with the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement, which launched a major phase of government-Moro negotiations under the administration of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
In a manifesto released Monday, the coalition urged Marcos and Murad to meet before the new Bangsamoro Parliament convenes on Oct. 30 and agree on a firm timetable for completing the remaining commitments under the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
“The elections are over. Now comes the harder task: finishing the peace,” the groups said. “After fifty years, only President Marcos and Chairman Murad can close it in our time.”
The call comes as the Bangsamoro region prepares to shift from the MILF-led Bangsamoro Transition Authority to its first elected Parliament following the Sept. 14 parliamentary elections.
The CSOs said the transition should not leave unresolved key commitments under the peace agreement, particularly the completion of the MILF decommissioning program, delivery of socioeconomic assistance to former combatants and their families, transformation of MILF camps and the signing of the Exit Agreement.
They proposed that Marcos and Murad agree on specific deadlines for each remaining commitment, leading to the signing of the Exit Agreement on Dec. 23.
The groups said the Exit Agreement should be signed by the Philippine government and the MILF, which negotiated and implemented the peace agreement, rather than by officials of the future Bangsamoro regional government.
“An Exit Agreement is signed by the parties who made the peace: the Government and the MILF,” they said.
The CSOs also appealed to Marcos to stay out of the political contest for the next Bangsamoro chief minister, saying the choice should be left to the elected Parliament.
The 80-member Parliament is expected to assume office on Oct. 30 after the region's first parliamentary elections, in which about 2.39 million voters were registered and turnout reached roughly 84 percent.
With no single party securing a majority, the selection of the next chief minister will require coalition-building among the elected members.
The CSOs said the Parliament must be allowed to choose the regional leadership freely and fairly, without pressure from Malacañang or other political interests.
They also called for an inclusive Bangsamoro government that protects the rights and interests of the region's Moro communities, Indigenous Peoples and Bangsamoro of other faiths.
“No community should be a guest in its own homeland. We are equal in voice, in rights, and in hope,” the groups said.
The coalition also pressed for the completion of the MILF decommissioning program, a central component of the normalization track of the CAB.
About 40,000 MILF combatants are covered by the phased decommissioning process. The CSOs said more than 26,000 had undergone the process, leaving about 14,000 combatants and around 2,500 weapons still to be accounted for.
The MILF deferred the final phase of decommissioning in 2025, citing delays in the delivery of promised socioeconomic assistance.
Government and MILF peace panels met in Kuala Lumpur in September and recommitted to completing decommissioning and other normalization commitments.
The CSOs said the remaining obligations should now be carried out under a firm timetable rather than through further extensions.