SULU PROVINCE flatly rejected the proposed extension of the interim Bangsamoro government for another three years despite its failure to uplift the living standard of Muslims in the volatile region.
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Former rebel chieftain-turned-politician Murad Ebrahim is pushing for the extension of the interim government after the recommendation of the peace advocacy group called Mindanao Peoples’ Caucus (MPC) to extend the transition period.
Ebrahim, now the Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and its armed wing,
the BIAF, said he is backing the MPC recommendation.
MPC’s recommendation is based on
its so-called “rapid midterm review” on the Bangsamoro transition period.
The manifesto also said BARMM’s
response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Sulu, thus far, have been unsubstantial
and wanting, almost negligible; And to allow the extension of the transition
(period) would be tantamount to escape judgment by the constituents of the
BARMM on the performance of the latter vis-a-vis its capability to administer a
region, and would be a blatant denial of the people’s constitutional right of
suffrage to which the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) has been incorporated into,
and thus requiring constitutional amendment or legislative intervention,
failing which possible legal redress maybe sough.
It further said “that the region
and the country in general, should be spared the humility and made a laughing
stock for perpetuating the condescending brand of a failed experiment.”
“The question should be asked to
those who are in the seat of authority in the BARMM on why are they so hesitant
to submit themselves to an election when even before the transition they have
repeatedly boasted of their readiness and preparedness to rule and govern; and
how could they have the moral ascendancy to sit as an authority over a region
when they are devoid of a mandate by the true will of the people, thereby
casting doubts on their platform of so-called “Moral Governance?”, the
manifesto reads.
It also called on the Office of
the President, House of Representatives and the Senate, and Constitutional
Commissions and other concerned groupings and individuals and the BARMM general
populace to disallow and deny all attempts and maneuverers to extend the tenure
of the BTA.
It said that aspiring members of
the Bangsamoro Parliament should be compelled to submit themselves before the
true will of the people to legitimize their mandate through the electoral
process as set and scheduled by the Constitution.
Sulu Governor Sakur Tan said he
received reports that Basilan and Lanao del Sur provinces are also opposed to
the proposed extension of the interim Bangsamoro government.
Congressional Approval
And Ebrahim’s allies in the Parliament also adopted a
resolution November 17 urging the
House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines to extend the
Bangsamoro transition period from 2022 to 2025.
But under the BOL, the BTA will be
dissolved once the new parliament is formed after the first regular elections
in the region in 2022. However, any extension in the BTA’s term would require
congressional approval.
A press statement from Ebrahim’s office said MP Jose Lorena, one of the principal authors of the
resolution, claimed the proposed extension is aimed at providing the Bangsamoro
Transition Authority sufficient time to continue in performing its powers and functions,
and complete its mandate.
Also cited in resolution are the
calls from the League of Municipalities of the Philippines’ chapter in
Tawi-Tawi, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Tawi-Tawi, and Sangguniang
Panlalawigan of Maguindanao to extend the transition period.
MP Mohagher Iqbal said the
proposed extension of the BTA is not self-serving. “I beg to disagree, yung
ibang mga observation, that this is self-serving for our part. Because first of
all hindi naman natin alam na tomorrow, next year or any other day (maaring)
wala na tayo. This is for our people,” Iqbal stressed.
“Just imagine, (after) 17 long
years of negotiation, can we implement what has been in the law for just 3
years?” Iqbal said, noting that three-year transition is too short, and that
the MILF was originally pushing for a six-year transition.
“Pag hindi ho tayo ma-extend,
hilaw po ang implementation ng normalization process. Of course this is not a
blaming game. Hindi natin bine-blame ang gobyerno, neither are we blaming the
MILF. Because we are already partners, not just in the implementation of the
Bangsamoro Organic Law, but even in the implementation of the agreement between
the government and the MILF. Nararapat lang po na itong resolution na ito ipasa
natin not as a self-serving exercise but it is for our people. It is part of
our assertion na kailangan talaga kung anong naumpisahan natin dapat po matapos
nating mabuti,” Iqbal added.
Iqbal also serves as Ebrahim’s
deputy in the MILF, which fought a bloody war for decades for the establishment
of a separate Islamic state in the South until the rebel group signed a peace
deal with Manila in 2014.
Lorena said that his basis for passing the resolution is due to Ebrahim’s
stand on the need to extend the BTA. “I stand by
our Chief Minister, when he declared that in the normalization, there is much
to be sought off,” Lorena said, referring to Ebrahim’s podcast interview on
November 13 with journalist Christian Esguerra on Press One.
Peace Deal
In the interview, Ebrahim said: “Ang
challenge kasi dito is we have two tracks in the peace process – the governance
track and the normalization track. The first track will be the governance
aspect, ito na yung pagpapatayo ng Bangsamoro, pag-organize ng BARMM. There is
that other track na more comprehensive, itong normalization track.”
“Sa normalization, dyan yung
decommissioning ng BIAF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces), dismantling of
private armies, pagpapatayo ng police force for the region. Nandyan yung rehabilitation
ng combatants after they are decommissioned, pati yung amnesty. Maraming naka
tie-up dun sa normalization. Sa tingin namin talagang kapag nagkaroon ng
election (sa 2022 sa BARMM), ang mangyari ma-sideline na yung normalization at
hindi ma-implement. Yun ang magiging problema natin,” added Ebrahim.
According to Ebrahim, the
initially decommissioned 12,000 BIAF combatants are yet to receive the
P1-million each economic package the national government promised in exchange
for them returning to civilian life. “Hanggang ngayon ay di pa naibibigay. So iyun
ang challenge, paano i-convince yun mga susunod na combatants. Sasabihin nila
wala namang nangyari dun sa nauna, bakit mag-decommission pa tayo?’” he said,
noting that the MILF has targeted to decommission some 40,000 combatants.
Ebrahim’s number of combatants
cannot be independently confirmed, but the Philippine military previously
estimated the MILF fighters at around 13,000.
The MILF signed a peace deal with
President Benigno Aquino in 2014. Under the accord, the combatants would turn over their
firearms to a third party, which would be selected by the MILF and the
Philippine government. The MILF agreed to decommission the BIAF and in return,
the government would establish a new Bangsamoro autonomous region and power
sharing was a central point to the autonomy redesign.
Ebrahim said: “We’re very
concerned kasi ang tingin namin, nag-i-start pa lang kami. And then parang wala
pa kaming tangible na accomplishment talaga na maipakita namin. So ‘yun ang
challenge sa amin, na kung mag-eleksyon, baka sabihin ng mga tao, wala naman
ginawa ito.”
He said new transition schedule
might not be enough to complete systemic and structural changes in the region,
including the crucial decommissioning of combatants under the peace deal’s
normalization process. “Kasi nga nakita natin na kailangan talaga na meron.
Halimbawa, mabuti kung talagang siguradong manalo kami (in 2022 elections).
Pero walang assurance ‘yun kasi anybody’s game na pagka-eleksyon na. Pag hindi,
ano mangyayari dun sa other aspects ng negotiation?” he told Esguerra.
“So sana matapos yung term ng
transition, ma-implement na rin lahat nung sa normalization process para
mag-coincide. Kailangan i-push namin na before the election talagang yung
normalization track ay ma-complete natin,” Ebrahim added.
Esguerra’s report said BARMM was allocated
a much bigger budget compared with the old Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao. Its block grant is worth P65.3 billion in this year’s appropriations
law, on top of a P10-billion special development fund it was supposed to
receive. (Mindanao Examiner)
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