PUNONG barangays and representatives of 26 out of the 37 barangay governments of Cotabato City met in a roundtable discussion last November 24, 2014 to discuss the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) with representatives of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Much of the discussion was focused on what I would describe as interrogating and imagining barangay governance in the Bangsamoro.
Perhaps expectedly, the overall message of the representatives of the MILF in the roundtable was that of appealing to the residents of Cotabato City to support the BBL and to thus vote yes during the coming plebiscite. The appeal was made not only by referring to Cotabato’s past -- its glory days as part of the Maguindanao Sultanate, and the undivided Cotabato Province; and its being involved in the Bangsamoro narrative despite not being formally part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), which is part of the Bangsamoro core territory. But also the MILF pointed to the possibilities of the future -- that Cotabato City might become the seat of the Bangsamoro, and the benefits that would come from the anticipated massive inflow of support to the new region.
In the written message of BTC Chairman Mohagher Iqbal to Cotabateño participants, “you have everything to gain, and nothing to lose.”
The organizers United Youth of Philippines-Women (UnYPhil-Women) and the GIZ Civil Peace Service (GIZ-CPS) sought to highlight topics that were considered to be of interest to local government officials such as potential changes and implications on local governments, as well as the Shari’ah justice system, public order and safety, basic rights and women’s rights as articulated in the BBL. Nevertheless, barangay local government and barangay-related matters were visibly areas of strong interest to the participants.
The Cotabato barangay officials were keen on finding out whether there would be barangay elections, whether barangay governments would be under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and what would happen to newly created barangay LGUs who currently are not receiving internal revenue allotment (IRA) shares, among others.
The barangay officials also asked about rights of women, youth, and senior citizens, and specifically the issue of violence against women and children (VAWC) under the Bangsamoro. They were concerned about the non-mention of Iranuns and Badjaos in specific provisions, and asked what would happen to those who were imprisoned or killed in the course of the struggle. Although informed that normalization would be pursued as part of the transition process without necessarily being covered by the BBL, there was also interest from the participants about MILF fighters, the support that would be provided to them, and whether these would be sufficient to convince the combatants to lay down arms, and thus lessen the risks of renewed violence in the future.
Perhaps, the strong attention to rights, services and peace and order and public safety came from the nature of the participants as frontline responders in their respective barangays. The roundtable participants had been part of the community dialogues also carried out by UnYPhil-Women and GIZ-CPS. But the roundtable was a venue dedicated to conversations among the elected barangay officials.
The lead discussants from the BTC and the MILF responded as best they could, given time limitations to the clarifications sought and sentiments offered by the participants. That the BTC could only provide the fundamentals and that the details would have to be worked out in the future by the Bangsamoro parliament had to be reiterated a few times. The lead discussants also took the high road by not fueling speculation, and by directly quoting from the BBL text.
Nevertheless, it would be more helpful if future similar information efforts would not only provide information about the BBL contents, but also do so in a manner that directly speaks to the concerns of the participants.
Specifically, barangay officials would likely be interested not just in the general provisions in the BBL about local governments, but more importantly on how they would impact on barangays and barangay local governments.
For instance, barangay governments currently have responsibilities with respect to VAWC and women’s rights, and peace and order and public safety that could serve as more concrete entry points for discussing the BBL with them.
Beyond the questions raised, the different sentiments aired in that roundtable about the BBL could be captured in four “voices”. One voice thought that many of the provisions in the BBL had already been provided for the Philippine Constitution and other laws. Another voice held that the BBL had already been decided on -- “niluto na” -- even before being subjected to consultations, and that it had sections that contradicted the laws of the country. The third voice established itself to be allied with the MILF and asked the front “hanggang dito na lang ba tayo?” The fourth voice expressed the sentiment that the BBL is responsive to the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people, and promised a resounding yes to the plebiscite and a warm welcome to the Bangsamoro government.
Each locality is distinct, even if it shares commonalities with others of a comparable nature. The politics of place of Cotabato City is interesting to observe even if it is usually grouped with Isabela in Basilan -- the other city included in the proposed core territory of the Bangsamoro. (It can be recalled that Isabela also rejected inclusion in Armm in the past; it has a sizeable Christian population, and is host to substantial economic transactions in that locale.) Though it has been hosting the offices of the Armm regional government and the mechanisms that preceded it, Cotabato City is not part of Armm, having declined being made part of the region in a previous plebiscite. The roundtable participants were composed of Muslims, as well as Christians; and any observer could see that there were women leaders along with men. As evinced by the questions, a few participants obviously had a degree of familiarity (and perhaps affinity) with the history of the Bangsamoro struggle that concerned the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the 1996 Final Peace Agreement that it had with government. And based on their open declarations during the roundtable, at least two of Cotabato’s barangay leaders have connections with MILF armed elements.
Notwithstanding the diverse composition, politics and standpoints of the Cotabato City barangay officials, I think Commissioner Froilyn Mendoza’s message that “it is up to us” resonated with everyone. But it is a message that would be more powerful if addressed to people who are informed well enough that they can meaningfully and adequately participate in interrogating and imagining the Bangsamoro.
This underscores the need for more candid conversations about the BBL involving different groups and sectors at varying levels and spaces. The ongoing deliberations in the Philippine Congress and the lead-up to the plebiscite constitute a window of opportunity that we should not miss.
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