MILF fighters come out to register for 2016 polls

By ALEX D. LOPEZ
More than a thousand fighters and field commanders of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) showed up at the special registration center for voters at the BLMI Training Center in Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao on Saturday, March 7.
BIAF spokesperson Von Al-Haq led his field commanders and men in the process of registration, which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said was part of the manifestation of the sincerity of the MILF to the on-going peace process.
“I am happy. The last time that I voted was during the time of the late President Cory Aquino,” Al-Haq said.
Al-Haq lined up with his men during the verification, receiving and filling out of forms.
Comelec Commissioner Al Parreño together with Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chair Henrietta de Villa and Comelec ARMM regional director Atty. Ray Sumalipao personally witnessed the special registration of the MILF fighters.
In his message, Sumalipao expressed gratitude to the leadership of the MILF for the support that led to the realization of the special registration of MILF fighters.
Sumalipao said the special registration project is a brainchild of both the government and the MILF and was one of the concrete expressions of sincerity of both parties to pursue peace and development in Mindanao.
For his part, de Villa told the MILF fighters that they were making history by registering for the elections in 2016.
“Registration is the most important part of the electoral process. It is the entry point to the right of suffrage and the responsibility to participate in creating a government,” she said.
Pass the BBL first 
The members of the Central Committee of the MILF, however, refused to register themselves.
MILF vice chair for political affairs Gadzali Jaafar arrived at the registration site but told reporters that the members of the Central Committee had decided not to register while the fate of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is not yet decided by Congress.
He said the Central Committee members will only register if “the BBL is enacted into law, and that law is not inutile, not diluted.”
He said the negative statements of some senators and congressmen continue to hurt the Moro people of Mindanao.
“Ang buhay ng BBL ngayon ay 50-50, so the Central Committee has decided to wait further until the enactment into law of the BBL,” he added.
But he also clarified that only the members of the Central Committee will not register during the special registration and that they are not barring their field commanders and fighters from registering.
 The special registration was also witnessed by the members of the Coordinating Committee for the Cessation of Hostilities from both the government and the MILF, members of the International Monitoring Team (IMT), and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).