MANILA (ABS-CBNnews.com/12 July) – The latest round of talks between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government peace panel ended on Thursday without reaching an agreement on the sensitive wealth-sharing annex.

 

Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, said both sides did not reach an agreement on the sharing of wealth in the yet-to-be created Bangsamoro region.

 

Jaafar said the government wants a 50-50 percent wealth sharing, but the MILF is asking for a 75-25 percent sharing favoring the rebel group.

 

"Fifty-fifty ang gusto ng gobyerno, but I believe we cannot accept that sapagkat ang 50 percent ay masyado ng malaki para sa partehan. Kailangan ito ng Bangsamoro," Jaafar told ANC.

 

Jaafar said the MILF is seeking a larger share in the resources of the Bangsamoro region to ensure a good future for the next generation of Bangsamoro people.

 

"Masasabi ko na ang isa sa mga pinakamalaking dahilan kung bakit nananatiling halos pulubi ang mga Bangsamoro people sa loob ng napakahabang panahon ay sapagkat kontrolado ng central government ang yaman ng Bangsamoro people at politically marginalized ang Bangsamoro people," he said.

 

"Napaka-importante, napakahalaga nito para sa Bangsamoro people. Paano sila mabubuhay kung malaking bahagi nito ay mapupunta sa central government?" he added.

 

Wealth-sharing was one of the contentious issues in the mothballed agreement between the government and the MILF in 2008, where the proposed sub-state was named the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

 

The two sides returned to the negotiating table on Monday to hammer out the details of the three remaining annexes on wealth-sharing, power-sharing and normalization.

 

Together with the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities, the three annexes will comprise the comprehensive agreement on the Bangsamoro. -- Dharel G. Placido/abs-cbnnews.com