Background
On March 14-15, 2024, Peace Accords Matrix-Mindanao (PAM-M) hosted a workshop for civil society actors in Mindanao to further develop the methodology for civil society involvement in the PAM-M monitoring structure and share perceptions and concerns for the normalization process in general. It was the fourth in the series of interaction and collaboration between PAM-M and Mindanao-based civil society actors. While members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Government of the Philippines (GPH) in various mechanisms participated in previous workshops, only civil society actors were part of the fourth workshop. This brief summarizes the key takeaways from the workshop that signatory parties and broader stakeholders of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) implementation process may find helpful for understanding the broader Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) community’s perspectives and devising and prioritizing policies in implementing the Normalization process. General civil society sentiment reflected the value of PAM-M and the willingness of organizations to participate in the monitoring structure. Civil society actors recognized the value PAM-M brings to the peace process as an instrumental platform, which they hoped all stakeholders would find helpful to understand the status of the normalization process and discuss achievements and challenges more objectively. Clarifications were also made regarding the scoring process, data collection and storage, and relations with the MILF, GPH, and other bodies on that level like the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT). Regarding the PAM-M reports from the Joint Normalization Committee (JNC) process, civil society actors noted that public visibility is not necessarily important; rather, it is more valuable for the parties to utilize the tool as it is most useful for them in advancing normalization implementation. The uniqueness of the civil society contribution was also emphasized, as it makes PAM-M more valuable than other similar monitoring tools. CSOs expressed their willingness to collaborate with PAM-M in monitoring Normalization stipulations as developed initially in previous workshops.