Philippine official expects 'spoilers' of peace process to continue with their agenda

While gains have been achieved in the Mindanao peace process, a senior Philippine government official admitted Monday that there are still enormous difficulties that could be encountered. "Spoilers still abound. There are those who will persist in their own agenda for self-serving or ideological reasons. They shall be dealt with through means of political consolidation or limited security operations," Secretary Teresita Deles of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said before the foreign press. The official was apparently referring to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest Muslim rebel group in the country which is expected to sign a comprehensive peace agreement soon with the Philippine government. Another spoiler that Deles was apparently referring to is the faction of the Moro National Liberation Front of Nur Misuari, which staged a bloody Zamboanga siege in September last year. The BIFF and Misuari group have been opposing the peace process of the Philippine government and the MILF. Deles also confirmed that the administration expects a rigid scrutiny of the prospective Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in Congress. "We shall fight for the bill with utmost transparency and professionalism, and with only the national interest in mind. In this, we have the full support of the national leadership," she said. The BBL is part of the peace deal between the government and the MILF.