PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has released the names of 21 members of the expanded Bangsamoro Transition Committee (BTC), a body that will draft the new Bangsamoro enabling law.
Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza made the announcement in a Facebook post.
Dureza said the new BTC members were Jose Lorena, Maisara Latiph, Samira Tomawis, Datu Mussolini Sinsuat Lidasan, Susana Anayatin, Hussin Amin, Romeo Saliga, Hatimil Hassan, Firdausi Ismail Abbas, Omar Yasser Sema, Ghadszali Jaafar, Mohagber Iqbal, Abdulraof Abdul Macacua, Ibrahim Ali, Haron Abas, Raissa Jajurie, Said Shiek, Hussein Muñoz, Melanio Ulama, Gafur Kanain, and Ammal Solaiman.
Dureza said the appointment of the new members of the BTC would help end the outcry of Moro people who have long been deprived of peace in beleaguered Mindanao.
"This will signal the start of the work to come up with an inclusive Bangsamoro law that will truly reflect and address the clamor of a genuine political autonomy for the Bangsamoro people in Mindanao," Dureza said.
From the original members of 15, Duterte created the 21-man BTC through Executive Order (EO) 9 signed on November 7, 2016.
The creation of expanded BTC was one of the agreements reached when the government peace panel and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) discussed the new Peace and Development Roadmap for the implementation of the signed peace agreements.
The crafting of the law is part of the implementation process of the peace deal or the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) signed between the national government and the MILF on March 2014.
Under the EO, the consultative body will include 11 members from the MILF and 10 other will be appointed by the government, three of which will come from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
The BTC is expected to submit the draft law to Congress by July this year for deliberation and ratification.
Irene Santiago, chair of government panel implementing the Bangsamoro Accords, said the members were chosen because of their "capacity to listen and their extensive knowledge in Mindanao."
"It is expected that the new members of the BTC will hit the ground running. Their role is vital for us to reach a CAB-compliant enabling law," Santiago said. (SunStar Philippines)