Editing Moro Islamic Liberation Front

{{Short description|Group in Mindanao, Philippines, seeking Moro autonomy}}
{{Other uses|MILF (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{cite check|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox militant organization
| name             = Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
| image_alt        = 
| image_caption    = 
| image_flag       = 
| flag_alt         = 
| logo             = Moro Islamic Liberation Front seal.png
| seal_alt         = 
| flag             = [[File:Flag of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.svg|150px]]
| native_name      = {{naskh|جبهة تحرير مورو الإسلامية}}
| native_name_lang = ar
| other_name       = Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF)
| country          = Philippines
| leader           = [[Murad Ebrahim|Al-Hadj Murad Ibrahim]], [[Sheikh Hashim Salamat]] (former)
| foundation       = 1977
| dates            = 1977{{spaced ndash}}March 27, 2014 <small>(Permanent ceasefire)</small><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2014 |title=Philippines Reach Landmark Peace Deal with MILF |url=https://www.c-r.org/news-and-insight/philippines-reach-landmark-peace-deal-milf |access-date=June 27, 2022 |website=Conciliation Resources}}</ref><!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}}–{{End date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| dissolved        = 
| merger           = 
| split            = [[Moro National Liberation Front]]
| predecessor      = 
| merged           = 
| successor        = 
| motives          = Independence of the Bangsamoro region (formerly)<br />Establishment of a region with greater autonomy than the [[Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao]] ([[Bangsamoro Autonomous Region]])
| area             = [[Mindanao]], [[Philippines]]
| headquarters     = [[Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte|Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat]], [[Maguindanao del Norte]]
| newspaper        = ''Luwanran''
| ideology         = [[Moro people|Moro]] [[autonomy]] <br>[[Islamism]] <br> [[Islamic democracy]]
| position         = 
| crimes           = 
| attacks          = 
| status           = Inactive <small>(as an armed group)</small>
| size             = 
| revenue          = 
| financing        = 
| website          = {{URL|https://www.luwaran.com/}}
}}

The '''Moro Islamic Liberation Front''' ('''MILF'''; {{langx|ar|جبهة تحرير مورو الإسلامية| ''Jabhat Taḥrīr Moro al-ʾIslāmiyyah''}}) is an [[Islamist]] group based in [[Mindanao]], [[Philippines]], which sought an autonomous region of the [[Moro people]] from the [[Government of the Philippines|central government]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=De Guzman |first=Orlando |date=May 6, 2003 |title=The Philippines' MILF Rebels |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/Asia-pacific/3003809.stm |url-status=dead |access-date=June 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209140136/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3003809.stm |archive-date=December 9, 2010}}</ref> The group has a presence in the [[Bangsamoro]] region of Mindanao, the [[Sulu Archipelago]], [[Palawan]], [[Basilan]], and other neighbouring islands.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 16, 2006 |title=Philippines |url=http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rp.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060528200256/http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rp.html |archive-date=May 28, 2006 |access-date=May 29, 2006 |website=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> The armed wing of the group was the '''Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces''' ('''BIAF'''),<ref>{{Cite news |last=Arguillas |first=Carolyn |date=July 23, 2018 |title=Murad: BARMM is "Very Much Above ARMM" |work=MindaNews |url=http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2018/07/murad-barmm-is-very-much-above-armm/ |access-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725191214/http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2018/07/murad-barmm-is-very-much-above-armm/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> although the name of its parent organization, the MILF, was often used to refer to the BIAF. 

In July 2018, the [[Philippine government]] passed the [[Bangsamoro Organic Law]], giving more autonomy to Muslims.<ref>{{cite news|title=Duterte Signs Law Giving More Autonomy to Muslims in Southern Philippines|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/world/asia/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-marawi.html|work=[[New York Times]]|date=July 26, 2018 |last1=Villamor |first1=Felipe }}</ref> In return, MILF announced that it would disarm its 30,000 fighters.<ref>{{cite news|title=30,000 Muslim rebels to be disarmed under Philippine deal|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1422408/30000-muslim-rebels-to-be-disarmed-under-philippine-deal|publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]}}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|Moro conflict}}
[[File:MILF militant lying prone.jpg|thumb|left|A Bangsamoro fighter trains with an [[M60 machine gun]].]]

Following the [[Jabidah massacre]] in 1968, the [[Moro National Liberation Front]] (MNLF) was established clandestinely in 1969 by [[Moro people|Moro]] students studying at the [[University of the Philippines]], [[Egypt]], and in the [[Middle East]] who sought to create an independent Muslim nation in southern Philippines. The MNLF gained foreign support from [[Muammar Gaddafi]] of [[History_of_Libya_under_Muammar_Gaddafi#Great_Socialist_People's_Libyan_Arab_Jamahiriya_(1977–2011)|Libya]], which supplied arms and provided training for Moro youths.<ref name="MilitaryReview-2002">{{Cite journal |last=Turbiville |first=Graham H. Jr. |date=March–April 2002 |title=Bearer of the Sword |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xv67ozZJ1mcC&pg=RA1-PA42 |journal=Military Review |language=en |page=42}}</ref><ref name="Gross-2007">{{Cite book |last=Gross |first=Max L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aJHaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA183 |title=A Muslim Archipelago: Islam and Politics in Southeast Asia |date=2007 |publisher=National Defense Intelligence College |isbn=978-1-932946-19-2 |location=Washington, DC |page=183 |language=en}}</ref> The MNLF took part in terrorist attacks and assassinations to achieve their goals.<ref name="Huang 2002"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Moro Islamic Liberation Front |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/milf.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821104005/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/milf.htm |archive-date=August 21, 2010 |access-date=June 4, 2010 |website=GlobalSecurity.org}}</ref> The government in [[Manila]] sent troops into the southern Philippines to control the insurgency. In 1976, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi brokered a negotiation between the Philippine government and MNLF Leader [[Nur Misuari]] which led to the signing of the MNLF-GRPH Tripoli Agreement of 1976 wherein the MNLF accepted the Philippine government's offer of semi-autonomy of the regions in dispute.<ref name="abuza2003pp39-40">{{Cite book |last=Abuza |first=Zachary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqgiE94IAmIC |title=Militant Islam in Southeast Asia: Crucible of Terror |date=2003 |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers |isbn=1-58826-237-5 |location=Boulder |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QqgiE94IAmIC&pg=PA39 39], [https://books.google.com/books?id=QqgiE94IAmIC&pg=PA115 115] (note 3)}}</ref>

The signing of this agreement brought about a serious rift<ref name="scribd.com">{{Cite magazine |last=Sadian |first=John Carlo Gil M. |date=April 2–8, 2012 |title=The Long Struggle to Silence the Guns of Rebellion: After Decades of Communist and Separatist Insurgency, Will Peace Agreements Ever Happen? |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/89147694/The-CenSEI-Report-Vol-2-No-13-April-2-8-2012#page=3 |magazine=The CenSEI Report |volume=2 |issue=13 |via=Scribd}}</ref> in MNLF leadership, leading to the formation of a breakaway group in 1977 by Hashim Salamat and 57 MNLF officers. The group was initially known as "The New Leadership". Misuari expelled Salamat in December 1977, after which Salamat moved his new organization first to [[Cairo, Egypt]], and then, in 1980, to [[Lahore, Pakistan]], where it engaged in diplomatic activities. This organization was formally established in 1984 as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).<ref name="abuza2003pp39-40" /> Muammar Gaddafi became a longstanding supporter of the MILF after its emergence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Simons |first=Geoff |title=Libya: The Struggle for Survival |page=281 |author-link=Geoff Simons}}</ref>{{Year missing|date=September 2022}}<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mandel |first1=Daniel |last2=Afterman |first2=Gedaliah |date=February 2003 |title=A Rogue Returns: Libya Quietly Makes a Comeback |url=http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2003/282/Libya-return.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030301031212/http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2003/282/Libya-return.html |archive-date=March 1, 2003 |access-date=February 27, 2011 |website=Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Davis |first=Brian L. |title=Qaddafi, Terrorism, and the Origins of the U.S. Attack on Libya |date=1990 |publisher=Praeger |location=New York |language=en}}</ref>

In January 1987, the MNLF accepted the Philippine government's offer of semi-autonomy<ref name="scribd.com" /> of the regions in dispute, subsequently leading to the establishment of the [[Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao]] on November 6, 1990. The MILF, however, refused to accept this offer and continued their insurgency operations. A general cessation of hostilities between the government in Manila and the MILF was signed in July 1997, but [[2000 Philippine campaign against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front|this agreement was abolished in 2000]] by the [[Philippine Army]] under the administration of President [[Joseph Estrada]]. In response, the MILF declared a [[jihad]] against the government, its citizens and supporters. Under President [[Gloria Arroyo]], the government entered into a cease-fire agreement with the MILF and resumed peace talks.<ref name="Huang 2002" />

Despite peace negotiations and the cease-fire agreement, the MILF attacked government troops in [[Maguindanao]], resulting in at least twenty-three deaths in January 2005. The combined armies of the MILF and [[Abu Sayyaf]] were involved in days of fighting, which necessitated government troops using heavy artillery to engage rebel forces.

The bombing incident in [[Davao Airport]] in 2003, which the Philippine government blamed on MILF members,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Guinto |first=J. |date=May 13, 2003 |title=President: MILF Has until June 1 to Cut Terror Links |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer}}</ref> raised speculation that the peace negotiations would be ineffectual in bringing peace to Mindanao if the MILF was unable to control its operatives. The MILF has denied ties with terrorist group [[Jemaah Islamiyah]], although Jemaah Islamiyah is considered to have provided them with training facilities in areas they control.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Group Profile: Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) |url=http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=3631 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227141113/http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=3631 |archive-date=December 27, 2007 |access-date=June 4, 2010 |website=MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base}}</ref><ref name="Huang 2002">{{Cite web |last=Huang |first=Reyko |date=February 15, 2002 |title=In the Spotlight: Moro Islamic Liberation Front |url=http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/moro.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620045337/http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/moro.cfm |archive-date=June 20, 2010 |access-date=June 4, 2010 |website=Center for Defense Information }}</ref> The MILF has also continued to deny connections with [[Al-Qaeda]], though it has admitted to sending around 600 volunteers to Al-Qaeda training camps in [[Afghanistan]] and that [[Osama bin Laden]] sent money to the Philippines, though the group denies directly receiving any payment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Abuza |first=Zachary |date=2002 |title=Tentacles of Terror: Al Qaeda's Southeast Asian Network |journal=Contemporary Southeast Asia |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=427–465 |jstor=25798610}}</ref>

From June 28 to July 6, 2006, conflict between the MILF and armed civilian volunteers under Maguindanao provincial governor [[Andal Ampatuan, Sr.|Andal Ampatuan]] who were supported by the Philippine Army had been reported. The fighting began after Ampatuan blamed the MILF for a June 23 bomb attack on his motorcade, which killed five in his entourage. The MILF denied responsibility, but Ampatuan sent police and civilian volunteers to arrest MILF members connected to the attack. Four thousand families were reported displaced by the fighting that followed, which was ended by a cease-fire agreement signed on July 10 and 11.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Arguillas |first=Carolyn  |date=July 10, 2006 |title=Buffer Zones Set up to Prevent CVO-MILF Clashes in Maguindanao |work=Mindanews.com}}</ref>

Talks between the MILF and the government collapsed in 2008 after a [[Supreme Court of the Philippines|Supreme Court]] decision in [[Sema vs. COMELEC]] rejected a preliminary accord that would have expanded the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. In 2011, the MILF withdrew their demands for independence, instead saying that they would pursue substate status, likened to a [[Federated state|U.S. state]] instead of independence from the Philippines.<ref name="Teves 2010" />

==Struggles==

===Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain===
On August 4, 2008, the Supreme Court of the Philippines issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the government and the MILF from officially signing the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), which would conclude all dispute and begin formal talks that would lead to the drafting and eventual signing of a Final Comprehensive Compact between the two groups.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jurand |first=Deirdre |date=August 4, 2008 |title=Philippines High Court Blocks Signing of Regional Peace Agreement |url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/08/philippines-high-court-blocks-signing.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603093406/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/08/philippines-high-court-blocks-signing.php |archive-date=June 3, 2010 |access-date=June 4, 2010 |website=Jurist |publisher=University of Pittsburgh }}</ref> The court accepted motions by the southern provincial governments that objected to the extended boundaries for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao envisioned in the peace deal. The MOA-AD would have allowed the Moro people to gain control of the region under the concept of [[human rights]] with the right to establish a [[police]] force and to control [[natural resource]]s.<ref name=wpraug2008>{{cite news|last=Parameswaran|first=Prashanth|title=Preserving the Southern Philippines' Threatened Peace Deal|publisher=World Politics Review|date=August 18, 2008|url=http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=2579|access-date=January 14, 2009|archive-date=October 2, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002085605/http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=2579|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The MOA-AD was initialed by former governor and peace panel chair Rodolfo Garcia and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process [[Hermogenes Esperon]] and MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal on July 27, 2008, in Malaysia. It was scheduled for formal signing on August 5, but the Supreme Court issued no negotiation preventing the executive department from signing the agreement.<ref name="Arguillas" /> The MOA-AD was the last of several agenda items under the 2001 agreement of the GRP-MILF, after security and relief and rehabilitation, prior to the discussion on the political settlement.<ref name="Arguillas">{{Cite news |last=Arguillas |first=Carolyn O. |date=November 22, 2008 |title=SC Affirms Oct. 14 Ruling on "Unconstitutional" MOA-AD |work=MindaNews |url=http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5515&Itemid=190 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 14, 2010 |archive-date=April 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413161158/http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5515&Itemid=190 }}</ref>

The [[Young Moro Professionals Network]] (YMPN) appealed to the public not to be afraid of the MOA-AD and to "open your hearts to the Moro grievance".<ref name="YMPN" /> The YMPN said in a statement dated August 21, 2009:
<blockquote>In these times of hardship, we hold hands as one, with our Christian and Islamic neighbours, in the name of peace, acceptance and justice. We are committed to democratic and peaceful resolution of the conflict. Do not be afraid of the MOA-AD. To the national public, open your hearts to the Moro grievance.<ref name="YMPN">{{Cite news |date=2009 |title=Young Moro Group Appeals to Public: "Open Your Hearts to the Moro Grievance" |work=MindaNews |url=http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5037&Itemid=190 }}{{deadlink|date=September 2023}}</ref></blockquote>

Over the next month, several MILF commanders were tagged by government officials as having initiated an offensive campaign. The [[Armed Forces of the Philippines]] responded to the allegation by immediately deploying ten battalions composed of a total of 6,000 soldiers into Mindanao under the command of Lt. Gen. Cardozo Luna.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2009 |title=Military Starts Operations Against Bravo |work=MindaNews |url=http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5003&Itemid=190 |url-status=dead |access-date=April 15, 2009 |archive-date=September 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905173733/http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5003&Itemid=190 }}</ref> The violence displaced over 600,000 people and left about 300 dead.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gallardo |first=Froilan |date=March 18, 2009 |title=Thousands Line up Road for Mindanao Peace Power Day |work=MindaNews |url=http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6100&Itemid=190 |url-status=dead |access-date=April 15, 2009 |archive-date=April 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410132749/http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6100&Itemid=190 }}</ref>

On October 14, 2008, the court conducted a series of divided votes declared "contrary to law and the Constitution" the MOA-AD of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and Moro Islamic Liberation Front [[Tripoli Agreement]] of Peace on 2001. [[Conchita Carpio-Morales]] ruled: "In sum, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process committed grave abuse of discretion when he failed to carry out the pertinent consultation process. The furtive process by which the MOA-AD was designed and crafted runs contrary to and in excess of the legal authority and amounts to a whimsical, capricious, oppressive, arbitrary and despotic exercise thereof. It illustrates a gross evasion of positive duty and a virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rempillo |first=Jay B. |date=October 14, 2008 |title=SC Declares MOA-AD Unconstitutional |url=http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/news/courtnews%20flash/2008/10/10140801.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017064214/http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/news/courtnews%20flash/2008/10/10140801.php |archive-date=October 17, 2008 |access-date=October 15, 2008 |website=Supreme Court of the Philippines}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rufo |first=Aries |date=October 14, 2008 |title=Palace Loses Ancestral Domain Case with 8-7 SC Vote |work=ABS-CBN News Online |url=http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/14/08/palace-loses-ancestral-domain-case-8-7-vote |access-date=June 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522115427/http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/14/08/palace-loses-ancestral-domain-case-8-7-vote |archive-date=May 22, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Torres |first=Tetch |date=October 14, 2008 |title=SC: MILF Deal Unconstitutional: Arroyo Can't Enter Pacts Needing Charter Change |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20081014-166307/SC-MILF-deal-unconstitutional |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522111909/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20081014-166307/SC-MILF-deal-unconstitutional |archive-date=May 22, 2011 |access-date=June 4, 2010 |website=Inquirer.net}}</ref>

Civil society organizations such as [[Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society]] submitted a motion for reconsideration. However, on November 21, 2008, the Supreme Court affirmed its October 14 ruling that declared unconstitutional the MOA-AD between the Philippine government and the MILF.<ref name="Arguillas" />

MILF soldiers offered to help free the Irish priest father Michael Sinott, who was kidnapped in the Philippines on October 14, 2009, and sought permission to deploy about 100 of its soldiers in the area where Sinnott is believed to be held. However, this was turned down by the Philippine government.

===Modification of demands===
On September 23, 2010, Mohagher Iqbal said that the MILF would pursue a substate, likened to a [[Federated state|U.S. state]], instead of independence from the Philippines. The Muslim substate would not exercise power over national defense, foreign affairs, currency and coinage, and postal services, which the central government would continue to exercise. Iqbal further added that the substate would not have its own armed forces but instead would have troops for internal security.<ref name="Teves 2010">{{Cite news |last=Teves |first=Oliver |date=September 23, 2010 |title=Philippine Muslim Rebels Drop Independence Demand |work=ABC News International |agency=Associated Press |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=11707054 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 28, 2020 |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628201524/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=11707054 }}</ref>

===Peace talks===
{{Main|Peace process with the Bangsamoro in the Philippines}}"Moro women were initially disenfranchised in the peace talks, even if they are equal stakeholders in the war making and peacebuilding in Mindanao, and that "the war years took their toll mostly on women and children" (Arguillas 2014)." Jopson said.<ref name="jop01">Jopson, T. L. (2023). Moro Women’s Participation and Legitimation in the Bangsamoro Peace Process. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 42(2), 143-167. https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034231178327</ref> There were no Moro women publicly involved in the peace talks. The all-men panels reflected the military framework of the earlier talks.<ref name="jop01"/>

Emily Marohombsar was the first Moro woman negotiator for the GPH from 1998 to 2004.<ref name="jop01"/> The rounds of peace talks from 2010 was more diverse in terms of participation and leadership.<ref name="jop01"/> Women's involvment in peace talks justified the limited scope and narrow focus of gender content in the peace documents, since securing the BARMM was the main goal and the Moro identity was important.<ref name="jop01"/>

On October 7, 2012, President [[Benigno Aquino III|Benigno Aquino]] announced [[Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro|a peace deal]] with the MILF and that "This framework agreement paves the way for a final and enduring peace in Mindanao". MILF vice-chair [[Ghazali Jaafar]] said, "We are very happy. We thank the president for this." The deal was signed on October 15, 2012. Its aim is to pave the way to enduring peace between the two parties by officially envisaging an autonomous region in Mindanao.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 16, 2012 |title=Rebel Leaders, Filipino Officials Sign Landmark Peace Deal |language=en |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/10/15/world/asia/philippines-peace-agreement/index.html |access-date=June 27, 2022}}</ref>

According to the framework, this semi-independent Muslim area would have a more just share of revenues from the extraction of its own plentiful resources, budgetary autonomy, its own police, and [[sharia law]] only for Muslims.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 17, 2012 |title=The Bangsamoro Roadshow |url=http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/12/peace-plan-philippines |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214181555/http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2012/12/peace-plan-philippines |archive-date=February 14, 2013 |access-date=March 19, 2013 |newspaper=The Economist |url-status=live }}</ref> In exchange for this, the MILF would be willing to stop armed movements against the government for autonomy and allow the national government to retain its control of [[national security]] and [[foreign policy]].<ref name="BBC News 2012">{{Cite news |date=October 7, 2012 |title=Philippines and Muslim Rebels Agree Peace Deal |language=en |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-19860907 |access-date=June 27, 2022}}</ref> The autonomy agreement to be gradually implemented would also rename the region ''[[Bangsamoro]]'', after the Moro people.<ref name="BBC News 2012"/>

Chief peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said that the government was cautiously optimistic for a final agreement soon following six days of talks on July 13, 2013. She said: "This signing indicates that both sides are really committed to finish the peace negotiations. Nobody wants this not to reach its fruition." The agreement would see government allowances for the MILF to have a 75 percent share of earnings from natural resources and metallic minerals in a proposed autonomous region. For other energy resources, earnings would be split equally in accordance with Malaysia-brokered talks.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 14, 2013 |title=Philippines and Rebels Reach Deal |language=en |work=Al Jazeera |agency=AFP |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2013/7/14/philippines-and-rebels-reach-wealth-deal |access-date=June 27, 2022}}</ref>

===Peace agreement===
On January 24, 2014, Philippine government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferrer and MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal signed a peace agreement in [[Kuala Lumpur]]. The agreement would pave the way for the creation of the new Muslim autonomous entity called ''Bangsamoro'' under a law to be approved by the Philippine Congress. The government aimed to set up the region by 2016. The agreement called for Muslim self-rule in parts of the southern Philippines in exchange for a deactivation of rebel forces by the MILF. MILF forces would turn over their firearms to a third party selected by the MILF and the Philippine government. A regional police force would be established, and the Philippine military would reduce the presence of troops and help disband private armies in the area.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 25, 2014 |title=Philippine Peace Breakthrough |language=en |work=Bangkok Post |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/most-recent/391473/moro-rebels-take-major-step-toward-peace |access-date=June 27, 2022}}</ref> President [[Rodrigo Duterte]] signed the law, a key step to ending a Muslim rebellion in the south of the mainly [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] Philippines.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 29, 2018 |title=Philippine Muslims Hope New Law Brings 'Dream of Peace' |language=en |work=Al Jazeera |agency=AFP |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/7/29/philippine-muslims-hope-new-law-brings-dream-of-peace |access-date=June 27, 2022}}</ref> In early January 2020, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process announced progress exceeding its target for the decommissioning of MILF fighters, noting that "8,879 out of the 12,000 MILF combatants were decommissioned from the last quarter of 2019".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gita-Carlos |first=Ruth Abbey |date=January 17, 2020 |title=OPAPP 'Exceeded' Target in Decommissioning MILF |work=Philippine Canadian Inquirer |agency=Philippine News Agency |url=http://www.canadianinquirer.net/2020/01/17/opapp-exceeded-target-in-decommissioning-milf/ |access-date=June 27, 2022 |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225074620/http://www.canadianinquirer.net/2020/01/17/opapp-exceeded-target-in-decommissioning-milf/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some former rebel fighters have joined the police and military to protect certain areas of the Bangsamoro region until an elected government is established in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gotinga |first=J. C. |date=November 24, 2019 |title=150 More MILF Soldiers Join Bangsamoro Security Team |url=https://www.rappler.com/nation/245679-more-milf-soldiers-join-bangsamoro-security-team/ |access-date=June 27, 2022 |website=Rappler |language=en}}</ref>

As of 2023, the MILF is steering the BARMM and started decommissioning in 2019, and the peace negotiators are preparing for an exit agreement.<ref name="jop01"/>

==See also==
* [[List of Islamic political parties]]
* [[Bangsamoro Basic Law]]
* [[United Bangsamoro Justice Party]]
* [[Insurgency in the Philippines]]
* [[Moro National Liberation Front]]
* [[Moro people]]
* [[New People's Army]]
* [[Bangsamoro peace process]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.luwaran.com/}}
*[https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/645776  MILF REBELS - CAMP ABUBAKRE - FEBRUARY 11, 1999] - video montage of MILF marching around Camp Abubakre in Cotabato (Reuters)
* [https://fas.org/irp/world/para/milf.htm FAS.org: Moro Islamic Liberation Front]
* [https://www.start.umd.edu/baad/narratives/moro-islamic-liberation-front-milf Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Narrative – National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism; University of Maryland]
* [https://archive.today/20121209053936/http://www.usip.org/events/moro-islamic-liberation-front-milf-and-security-southeast-asia The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Security in Southeast Asia]
* [http://www.ezania.net/library/articles/philippines/moro_muslims_engage_usa_army.htm Moro Muslims engage US-Army: battles of Bud Dajo and Bud Bagsak] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110423102529/http://www.ezania.net/library/articles/philippines/moro_muslims_engage_usa_army.htm |date=April 23, 2011 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130530203102/http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2008/october2008/183591.htm  GR Nos. 183591, 183572, 183893, and 183951, The Province of North Cotabato v. Republic, October 14, 2008]
* [https://www.scribd.com/doc/89147694/The-CenSEI-Report-Vol-2-No-13-April-2-8-2012#page=3 The Long Struggle to Silence the Guns of Rebellion: A Review of the Long and Winding Trail to the Elusive Peace Agreements by The CenSEI Report]
* Jopson, T. L. (2023). Moro Women’s Participation and Legitimation in the Bangsamoro Peace Process. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 42(2), 143-167. https://doi.org/10.1177/18681034231178327

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[[Category:Rebel groups in the Philippines]]
[[Category:Guerrilla organizations]]
[[Category:1977 establishments in the Philippines]]
[[Category:2014 disestablishments in the Philippines]]
[[Category:Military history of the Philippines]]
[[Category:Moro conflict]]
[[Category:Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization]]
[[Category:Islamic democracy]]
[[Category:Moro Islamic Liberation Front| ]]
[[Category:Islamic political parties]]