By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter
THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) held its first Bangsamoro Consultative Assembly at Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao Sunday, July 29, amid efforts to acquaint residents and voters in the proposed Bangsamoro Region with the draft Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last week.
The BOL, scheduled for approval in a plebiscite scheduled later this year, will be the basis for the organization of the said region, on the watch of leaders of the MILF and other stakeholders.
“The assembly was expected to gather at least 50(-)70,000 Bangsamoro, tribal communities or IDPs (internally displaced persons), and migrant settlers from all over Mindanao who will decide on the fate of the BOL, which, according to MILF leaders, is 80%-90% compliant (with) the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed between the GPH (government of the Philippines) and the MILF,” the Committee on Information of the MILF Central Committee said in a statement.
MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said in a television interview on July 24 that he is “confident” the BOL “would be acceptable to the Moro people” although he pointed out it is only 80% to 90% compliant with the 2014 peace deal with the GPH.
“We started immediately our consultation. We started from the top level of our organization and the acceptability is quite high because I think they understand that we are in a negotiation and we expected we cannot get all (that) we want,” the MILF leader said.
In a phone interview, University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman law professor Antonio G.M. La Viña said the first test for the BOL “is the plebiscite.”
“For me, the most important is winning Cotabato City, because I think that is needed for the viability of the Bangsamoro. Isabela City of Basilan is not as important as Cotabato City. The six municipalities in Lanao del Norte are important sana pero uphill yan (would have been important but that would be an uphill [campaign]). Kasi it’s the (Because it’s the) whole of Lanao del Norte that has to vote,…the same with the barangays in North Cotabato,” Mr. La Viña said.
Under the law, the Bangsamoro territory includes all the present member-areas of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) such as cities and municipalities in the provinces of Basilan (except Isabela City), Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. The new law also covers the cities of Isabela in Basilan island and Cotabato in the Mindanao mainland, 39 villages in North Cotabato (officially Cotabato province), and six municipalities in Lanao del Norte such as Baloi, Munai, Pantar, Nunungan, Tagoloan and Tangcal, which will have to vote in a plebiscite for their inclusion in the new autonomous region.
Asked about the significance of Cotabato City, Mr. La Viña said, “Cotabato City, obviously, is where the Bangsamoro will be based. It’s just strange that your capital is not a member of (the) Autonomous Region. So, talagang it would be (it would really be) a defeat if Cotabato City is not (included). I think the President has to campaign, help them to get the ‘yes’ vote.”
Cotabato City is the regional center of the ARMM, although it is administratively part of the SOCCSKSARGEN region composed of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Saranggani, and General Santos City.
“Isabela, which is a city in Basilan, is not that important because it’s far….The law says ARMM has to vote as a unit. The current ARMM — you can expect that to be a ‘yes.’ There is no possibility that is a ‘no.’ Because mag-isa lang ang Lanao del Sur (is voting as one). Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Basilan don’t have many people. So, the voters are in Maguindanao and in Lanao (del Sur),” Mr. La Viña said.
Cotabato City Mayor Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi said in an interview with ABS-CBN on July 28: “Kung ano man ‘yung lalabas sa plebisito ng (Whatever the outcome of the plebiscite on) ‘yes or no’ to Bangsamoro Organic Law [will be], we really have to respect it, kaso naniniwala ako (but we believe that) no matter anong (how you) campaign [for it] mo sa residente ng (before the residents of) Cotabato City, they have a mind of their own.”
“I will respect the outcome of the plebiscite, but if elections or the plebiscite were held today, it would not win in Cotabato City,” she added.
The next challenge, according to Mr. La Viña, is the next elections. “Will the MILF win enough seats to have leverage with other parties and the political families of the Bangsamoro? I actually say they have a good chance because the provision in the Bangsamoro Law requires people to vote for an individual and also for parties, and more seats are reserved for parties. The families, I think wala namang (they don’t have) political parties. So, I think the MILF will dominate. So, I think it’s a challenge in getting enough people elected and then having the alliance there,” he said.
“But the real test for the Bangsamoro is the practicality there, when it gets implemented. Will the money flow? Will the promised budget flow? Will they be able to spend it properly? Will the President actually resist intervening or influencing it? Kasi (Because) that is the real autonomy and the law doesn’t really settle that. So, that is the real test, whether they can implement it effectively,” he added.
In an e-mail interview, lawyer and political consultant Michael Henry Yusingco said: “One huge challenge for the BTC (Bangsamoro Transition Commission) and the MILF is how to coax the Misuari faction of the MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) and the sultanates of Sulu to participate in the formation of the Bangsamoro government.”
He added: “Giving these two groups a role in the BTA (Bangsamoro Transition Authority) could be a welcome move but the question remains if such an invitation will be accepted.”
“Also, to what extent will they allow these groups to participate in the formation of the Bangsamoro government? To what extent will they allow these groups to exert influence in the transition from ARMM to BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao)? These are questions that have no clear answers as of now because the Misuari side and the Sulu sultanates have yet to express any unequivocal position on the BOL. We must all keep an eye on this particular matter,” Mr.Yusingco also said.
He added that the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and even Mr. Duterte, “will play a crucial role (as) facilitators.”
He said both “must recognize the hard work put in by the BTC and MILF to shepherd the BOL to its enactment and their privilege to reap the fruits of their labor.”
“At the same time, both these offices must also reckon with the realities on the ground and that is, not all Moro groups participated in the passage of the BOL. And yet these groups must have a place in the new Bangsamoro government structure. Helping the BTA find their place is the big challenge.”
On whether the BOL will get enough “yes” votes in the identified Bangsamoro areas, Mr. Yusingco said: “Around October of last year, the BTC in collaboration with the Institute of Autonomy and Governance (IAG), where I am a fellow, held consensus-building workshops on the then BBL in the HoR (House of Representatives). Those activities intensified early this year. Along the way, a genuine spirit of cooperation and collaboration between the BTC, civil society groups in Mindanao, lawmakers and their staff became palpable.”
He said when the BBL was being deliberated in the Senate last May, “there was no feeling of animosity or anxiety, and all the personalities involved were eager to work together to get the best possible outcome. In the HoR, there were some drama but the consensus built by the workshops held strong and the House heeded the call of the President in the end.”
Meanwhile, in the Bicameral Conference Committee level, “it was obvious that it was not just the lawmakers who were doing the work. The BTC and civil society groups were there to give their 100% support. And personally, I believe the BOL will enable the Bangsamoro to properly exercise self-governance in their region. So taking all of these together, I think the BTC will have a great chance at convincing the Bangsamoro community to vote yes for the BOL,” Mr. Yusingco said further.
For her part, UP-Diliman Department of Political Science chairperson and professor Maria Ela L. Atienza said in an e-mail that “one important challenge for the MILF is the setting up of a new, more responsive and effective Bangsamoro government after the plebiscite and elections if legal questions at the Supreme Court level are hurdled.”
She added: “The MILF has to prove that it is capable to have a good working autonomous government that will be an improvement from the criticisms of the current ARMM set-up and track record. This may address pro-IS (Islamic State) militancy in two ways. First, by addressing the needs of Moro people on the ground, this can decrease Moro dissatisfaction and distrust that often lead them to sympathize and support IS groups from outside. Second, the MILF’s armed forces together with the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) can now pursue and crack down on pro-IS militants like the BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter), ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) , etc. as well as drive out foreign fighters. We must remember that many pro-IS groups are splinter groups of the MILF that broke away after each peace process with the government breaks down.”
An effective and responsive Bangsamoro government, Ms. Atienza also said, “can possibly bring in back to the fold these local splinter groups and their sympathizers.”
“Thus, the MILF has an important opportunity to prove itself, address slowly but more appropriately problems in the area and establish a more viable peace in the area. However, this process takes time. Thus, threats to peace can still continue while the new government is still being strengthened and failure to address problems and distrust among sectors, even if at the level of perceptions, can lead to further conflict,” Ms. Atienza added.
For Mr. La Viña , “We have to deal with them because it’s them who want independence….They will become powerful, more powerful if the Bangsamoro doesn’t work. Basically that is how the MILF became stronger; because, unfortunately, the agreement with the MNLF on the ARMM did not work. [It was] not the fault of the MNLF, [it was] the fault of the government and the Congress. They did not give them the real autonomy which was needed, so they have an excuse why the ARMM was managed badly. They were not given the real autonomy. All the decisions were still made in Manila, in many instances.”
Also sought for comment, UP-Diliman political science assistant professor Perlita M. Frago-Marasigan said: “All I can say is that now that the BOL had already been enacted into law, its detractors will do everything to delay its implementation.”
“Aside from hurdling challenges pertaining to its constitutionality, the majority of the people of the Muslim Mindanao region must also approve the creation of a Bangsamoro autonomous region as defined by its elite crafters. The Muslim Mindanao region does not speak in one voice. Caution must also be taken to ensure that there will be no conflicting provisions in the BOL and the envisioned federal design of the government,” Ms. Marasigan also said.
Mr. La Viña said there are still some objections even from Moro groups, “but from a hundred mistakes, a hundred flaws and problems in the draft BOL when it went to the Bicam, it was reduced to around five political problems remaining.”
“Well, we can never [come up with a] perfect bill or a perfect law. That’s a contradiction in terms to say [that there is] a perfect law,” he also said.
Jerome Succor Aba, spokesperson of the Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Moro), said in a statement that they believe Mr. Duterte’s signing of the BOL “will not help resolve the decades-old conflict in the Bangsamoro areas, but will only enhance national government’s control in resources and territories as the Duterte government continues its implementation of Martial Law and other repressive measures against the Moro people.”
“The MILF’s admission that BOL was not a perfect law also opens the floodgates of doubts and disunity among the Moro people — some saying less was gained compared to the previous ARMM agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Worse, Duterte’s plan for charter change and federalism further divides the Moro people as they question the place and validity of BOL once federalism will come in,” the Suara Bangsamoro also said. “Because of this, Suara Bangsamoro is more inclined to encourage the Moro people who are fighting for the defense of their lands and resources, their economic, socio-political and cultural rights not to lose hope and that if they want to continue to fight for their rights through a peace negotiation that pushes for people’s demands, they should present their proposals to the NDFP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) which is currently negotiating for the agreement on socio-economic reforms,” Mr. Aba added.

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