MARAWI CITY -- The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) aims to replace the "incompetent" leaders in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) through the creation of the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm), an assemblyman said.
Lawyer Abol Alam Padate, assemblyman of the second district of Lanao del Sur, said in a forum on the BOL for the Barmm held at Mindanao State University-Marawi, said the replacement of the former unitary government of Armm to parliamentary is a means to "replace people" currently leading the Bangsamoro region.
"If the same people (former leaders) run Barmm, no change in the region would happen, that is why there is a need to replace people," Padate said.
One of the salient features of Barmm is the party-list election where members of the parliament will be voted not based on persons, but the cause of every party.
This was in order for voters to no longer patronize people, but the causes of the parties instead, said Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) Commissioner Ammal Solaiman in the same forum.
Aside from the multi-sectoral parties, there will also be reserved seats for some sectors to ensure that all identities will have representation in the new government, even if they are not able to form a party or run for the election.
These reserved seats include two seats for the representatives of the settler communities and the youth.
The chief minister of the region will also come from a sub-region and the other two deputy chief from the other two sub-regions in order to reduce the propensity for monopoly of power.
"Armm was good but it changed. We have bad political leaders because we elected them. It hurts me to be told that Armm is a failed experiment," Padate said.
He added that some "big" people have started to endorse their relatives and children to the BTC.
The 25 removed Armm officials because of the transitions shall become members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the interim government of the new region, until their terms expire on June 30, 2019.
In the forum, there were also questions about the capability of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members to govern in the region.
Padate said the three years of leadership given to them will show what kind of leadership MILF will be.
"A member of the MILF told me that there are no guarantees (about the success of their leadership). But I am hoping that because this is the last chance of the Bangsamoro. I hope our living in the jungle for 50 years would pay off. Hopefully, we were not corrupted," Padate said.