Bangsamoro

Nobody wants war. It will be for all our benefit if there is peace & as we have always said, the way to peace is peace. So, after two years hard work, we have a frame & method to peace for Mindanao. This peace deal or framework to be called a comprehensive agreement & to be signed soon by the government of the Philippines (GPH) & the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is a political document which writes the mechanism & paves the way for the creation of legal instruments for its implementation.

What are the issues or problems that our government is trying to address? What is wrong with the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARRM)? Over the years, the ARMM which was enacted as an entity in 1990 (during the President Cory administration) has not been the answer to the historical marginalization of our Bangsamoro in all spheres: political, economic & social. So, the method towards this new structure & function of the Bangsamoro political entity is spelled out in this political agreement between the GPH & MILF.

Autonomous regions as political subdivisions are written in our constitution. The current enabling law for the ARMM is an Organic Act passed by Congress. As any law can be repealed or amended, this peace deal proposes to replace ARMM with a new political entity called Bangsamoro through a new law still to be passed by Congress. According to GPH peace panel Chair Marvic Leonen, the political commitments of the peace deal ensures a process under the auspices of a Transition Commission which will be created by the President of the Philippines through an executive order; the transition commission of 15 members to be appointed by PNoy will take charge of drafting & engaging with all stakeholders towards the passage of a new law (Bangsamoro Basic Law) for the Bangsamoro political entity. The administration of PNoy will shepherd the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law by certifying the bill as urgent. Once passed, this Basic law will be ratified by the qualified voters within the territory. When ratified, the created Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) takes the place of ARMM.

In turn, the peace deal maintains that the central government retains the powers of “defense & external security, foreign policy, common market & global trade….coinage & monetary policy, citizenship & naturalization, & postal service.”

The peace panel says that this peace deal builds on the old Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA- AD) during the Arroyo administration which was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Some of the lessons of that entire process leading to the non signing of the MOA-AD were a deficiency in tactical planning; the MOA-AD as a peace instrument should have been forged as an iconic event and putting as conditions the eventual passage of the legal and constitutional requirements, at some point. Anyway, one of the contentious issues then in the MOA-AD was territory which was deemed expanded. This time, the framework agreement lists the core territory as the current ARMM areas (five province & two cities) plus the areas which voted for inclusion in the autonomous region in the plebiscite of 2001. These areas are 6 towns of Lanao del Norte, towns of North Cotabato, Cotabato City & Isabela City.

What is the proposed governance structure for the Bangsamoro political entity? First, all vested rights of political subdivisions & officials covered by the Local Government Code (RA 7160) will be in effect even after the Bangsamoro law is passed for as long as RA 1760 is not repealed. This means all functions of all governors of all provinces, all mayors & barangay captains of all LGUs under the autonomous region will still be in effect. The peace deal proposes a ministerial form of government for the Bangsamoro. Already, there is a debate now whether the proposed political entity requires charter change. Atty. Marvic Leonen, head of the government peace panel says there is nothing in the article on local government in our Constitution that prohibits a ministerial form of government for the Bangsamoro entity & that anyway, any group of citizens can pursue amendments to the constitution. Still, even if charter amendments are not necessary, one of the functions of the transition commission as written in the peace deal is to be ready to “work on proposals to amend the Phil. Constitution....whenever necessary….”

Who is a Bangsamoro by identity? The framework agreement says all those descendants of the original inhabitants of Mindanao & all those who “identify themselves as Bangsamoro by ascription or self ascription….(but) that the freedom of choice of indigenous peoples shall be respected.”  

One of the important powers listed in the framework agreement pertains to judicial institutions. While the framework agreement recognizes parallel justice institutions such as alternative dispute resolution systems & civil courts, the peace deal writes the “supremacy of the Shari’ah & (that) its application shall only be to Muslims.”  

Bangsamoro women & fellows from PILIPINA Legal Resources Center during a workshop on Gender & Development ( GAD) Programs in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM): A skills building workshop 

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