4. Making Peace in the Southern Philippines: Negotiated Settlements and the Search for a Durable Peace

The long-running Muslim insurgency that emerged in the 1970s in the Southern Philippines has preoccupied successive Philippine governments. Previous attempts at negotiations between the leaders of the minority Muslim community and the Philippine government have not succeeded in bringing about durable peace. While the government achieved important milestones in peace negotiations with one Muslim group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), with the creation of an autonomous Muslim region in 1990 and the signing of a peace agreement in 1996, long-term grievances over territory, economic and political marginalisation continued to persist. This chapter addresses the various attempts made by the government to engage the other large Muslim group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and focuses on peace negotiations between 1997 and 2014 culminating in the signing of a major peace agreement, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. It explores the dynamics of peace negotiations through several stages in the conflict and the calculations of actors in crafting formulas for continued engagement. The inherent nature of the conflict puts enormous pressure on the various actors, undermining their ability to seize opportunities, improve their bargaining position and resolve their differences.