DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/08 July) – Alistair MacDonald, former Ambassador of the European Union to the Philippines, is the chair of the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT), the body that would “review, assess, evaluate and monitor” the implementation of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) of the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and its annexes.
MacDonald and four other members of the TPMT attended the opening session of the peace talks between government (GPH) and the MILF Monday morning, July 8, upon the invitation of GPH peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and MILF chair Mohagher Iqbal.
The other TPMT members are Dr. Steven Rood, representing The Asia Foundation (TAF); Omar Kesmen, representing the Turkish İnsan Hak ve Hürriyetleri ve İnsani Yardım Vakfı (IHH; which in English means “The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief); lawyer Zainuddin Malang, representing the Mindanao-based Mindanao Human Rights Action Center (MinHRAC), and Karen Tanada, representing the Manila-based Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Foundation.
According to the FAB, the TPMT will be composed of “international bodies, as well as domestic groups to monitor the implementation of all agreements.”
Under the Terms of Reference (TOR) signed by both parties on January 25, 2013, the TPMT will be composed of a chair, two representatives of local NGOs, one nominated by the GPH and the other by the MILF; and two representatives of international NGOs, one nominated by the GPH and the other by the MILF.
The chair, according to the TOR, shall be an “eminent international person.” The chair shall serve as convenor and spokesperson for the TPMT.
As EU Ambassador to the Philippines, MacDonald is familiar with the GPH-MILF peace process.
In their January 25 Joint Statement, the GPH and MILF peace panels said they will identify the members of the TPMT “within one month.”
No announcements were made about the TPMT’s membership and although a July 5 article in the website of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said Ferrer announced that members of the TPMT were invited to join them in Kuala Lumpur next week “for introductions and to convene for the first time” as TPMT, the members were not named.
The TPMT’s functions, according to the TOR are: “to monitor and evaluate the implementation of All agreements;” review and assess the progress of the implementation of commitments by both parties and submit comprehensive periodic reports and updates to both parties for their appropriate action” and “communicate to the public the progress and developments in the implementation of the agreements.”
The TOR also provides that at the end of the transition period, “upon the regular operation of the Bangsamoro government, the GPH and MILF peace panels, together with the Malaysian Facilitator and the TPMT, shall convene a meeting to review, assess or evaluate the implementation of all agreements and the progress of the transition.”
An “Exit Document” officially terminating the peace negotiations “may be crafted and signed by both parties if and only when all agreements have been fully implemented.”
The TPMT is supposed to convene every two months “and as they deem necessary.” (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)