FORMER REBEL chieftain-turned-politician Murad Ebrahim insisted that running the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region is solely vested on the peace agreement his group Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed with the Filipino government eight years ago.
Then President Benigno Aquino and MILF Chieftain Murad Ebrahim.
Ebrahim, now Chief Minister of the Muslim region in southern Philippines, said the 2014 peace accord was the basis for them to continue ruling the BARMM. He and his allies in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) are pushing and lobbying for the extension of the interim government. It would also extend Ebrahim’s term and BTA members and those holding key positions in the regional government.
But any extension of the interim government would violate the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) which the MILF and the government crafted. Under the BOL, the BTA will be dissolved once the new parliament is formed after the first regular elections in BARMM in 2022 and any extension in the BTA’s term would require congressional approval.
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| Kusug Tausug Rep. Shernee Tambut |
In a recent virtual hearing of the House of Representatives, Kusog Tausug Rep. Shernee Tambut asked this question: “For example, there is an election and then the MILF members who are members of the BTA now do not win, what will happen to the agreement between the MILF and the government? Will the MILF turn away from that agreement, for example you do not win in the election, if you are no longer for example, member of the parliament, will you turn away from that agreement with the government?”
In
his reply, Ebrahim suggested the peace agreement may suffer from Manila's
failure to ensure the MILF-led BTA to stay in power. He did not say whether the
MILF or its members may resort to armed struggle again. “We do not want to
speculate, but then you see the implementation of the agreement is a
partnership between the MILF and the government and the mechanism is the BTA,
and now if the MILF is no longer the BTA then there is no partnership between
the national government and the MILF in implementing, so I do not see how,” he
said.
Ebrahim
also doubted whether the next leaders of the BARMM and new members of the BTA
may be able to honor the provisions of the peace accord after Tambut asked him
what steps would he take if the MILF is no longer in control of the interim
government and the BTA.
“My
next question is assuming that there will be an election for the BTA-BARMM on
2022, and then assuming you will not win, and there will be new set of officers
are you saying that the newly elected officers will not be able to perform the
task you mentioned, that only you can do the things you mentioned meaning
people like (House) Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman cannot performed the task you
have mentioned or seasoned legislators, politicians like Congressman Khalid
Dimaporo na napakagaling (at) hindi nila kaya gawin yun mga na-mention mo at
ikaw, kayo lang mga BTA ngayon ang may kayang gumawa noon?” asked Tambut.
Ebrahim
maintained that BARMM is the result of the peace accord and without the MILF at
the helm of power there is no agreement or partnership between his group and
the government. “I recognize the capability of our leaders, other leaders
but then remember that this is an agreement between two parties and
implementation must be a partnership between the two parties, so that is our
reason,” he said, adding postponing the BARMM election will give them more time
to fully implement the peace deal.
“The
challenge now will be the implementation process meaning the agreement will not
be fully implemented. So now on our side, we are not postponing this just to be
able to hold power, but we are postponing this in order to complete the
implementation of the agreement, once it is complemented we are ready to have
the election,” he added.
But
Tambut posed another question and asked this to Ebrahim: “My question is
what are the matters that you need to accomplish that necessitates the
cancellation of the first election in 2022 and why would they be a hindrance to
the conduct of an election in 2022?”
Ebrahim
replied: “Actually, the transition of the BTA is the mechanism that will be an
agreed mechanism between the MILF and the GRP (Government of the Republic of
the Philippines) in implementing the comprehensive (peace) agreement through
the BOL, so the reason why we are asking for an extension, for the postponement
or moving in of the 2022 election to 2025 is based on our analysis, considering
all the experience we have also, and the challenges we had, so we see that 2022
will not complete the implementation of both the political aspects and
normalization aspects of the agreement.”
“So
basically, if it will not be implemented then the (peace) agreement is not in
place, so we are not sure whether the next government, because the BTA as a
mechanism to implement, is already out of the picture so we cannot be assured
that the other provisions which needed to be implemented both in the political
aspect and the normalization aspect will be implemented.”
At
this point, Tambut, citing Ebrahim's frequent referral to peace in the
troubled region, asked the MILF chieftain why did he refused, even up to now,
to surrender members of the MILF who massacred 44 Special Action Force
commandos in the town of Mamasapano in Maguindanao province.
Tambut
was referring to the January 2015 police operation to capture Malaysian bomber Zulkifli bin Hir, who was eventually
killed in the operation in deep inside MILF territory in Tukanalipao
village. Police commandos were on their way to re-join their more than 300
SAF members after killing Zulkifli and cutting off his finger for DNA analysis
when MILF forces, aided by Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), attacked
them and sparking daylong clashes.
“With
regard to the issue on peace, I am sorry but there is already this agreement
between the MILF and the government. I am sorry to say, but still there is the
BIFF and then still there is this issue about the SAF 44 if you are going to
talk about peace. Now my second point is regarding the unfinished tasks, well
it would be arrogant to say that only the MILF can function, can perform this unfinished
tasks besides you were given an ample amount of time to do everything you
needed to do, in fact it is stated in the (Bangsamoro) Organic Law that by 2022
we will have BARMM election and yet you did not perform so basically that is
your fault,” Tambut said.
“Now,
if we will allow the extension of the BTA-BARMM because BTA was not able to
finish their tasks, well who knows they might just delay and delay and use
their lack of performance as an excuse so as not to hold an election in the
point that I intend to introduce an amendment to all the house bills filed that
there shall be a referendum to submit this amendment to a referendum so we can
hear the voice of the people, anyway we submitted the Organic Law to a
plebiscite and now that we are making an important amendment it is important
that we consult again the people whether they want to extend the election or
not through a referendum,” she added.
But
in previous media interview, Ebrahim admitted that should election in BARMM
pushes through next year, they may not be able to win because they have
accomplished so little. “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.
Ebrahim
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 election). Pero walang assurance ‘yun kasi anybody’s game na
pagka-eleksyon na. Pag hindi, ano mangyayari dun sa other aspects ng
negotiation? 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,”
he told journalist Christian Esguerra.
BARMM's
block grant is worth P65.3 billion on top of a P10 billion special development
fund. (Mindanao Examiner)
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