Maglana: It’s about time

MATTERS concerning time, timeliness and timing were among the themes that resonated during the January 8, 2015 Media Roundtable on the Bangsamoro convened by Mindanews and the Philippine Information Agency in partnership with the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) and the Conciliation Resources-European Union.

The event was the first time ever that three chairs of negotiating panels on the Bangsamoro sat together: Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer who currently chairs the Government of the Philippines panel, Mr. Mohagher Iqbal of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and former Presidential Adviser to the Peace Process and government panel head Atty. Jesus Dureza. It was also one of the few times that Chairs Ferrer and Iqbal sat beside each other, rather than on opposite sides, which was the case during the negotiations.

Carolyn O. Arguillas of Mindanews shared data that highlighted the time dimension of the Bangsamoro peace process — it had taken considerable time for the parties to bring the process to its current stage, but with each day that passes, there is short time left for completing the envisioned Bangsamoro road map.

Seventeen (17) years have already transpired since the time the peace talks between Government and the MILF began in 1997. If viewed in the context of the process involving the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), this political settlement is already 40 years in the making -- that means one generation of Filipinos has been experiencing conflict and marginalization while the Bangsamoro revolutionary forces engaged in peace talks with six Presidential administrations.

Arguillas reckoned that there are only 539 days or 17 months and 23 days until June 30, 2016, which is the end of term of the elected officials of the current administration, and the hoped for start of the envisioned Bangsamoro government. In light of the significant amount of work that have to be done to complete the Bangsamoro peace process, the limited amount of time does have a sobering effect, and might even cause worry.

And yet, the past two years—a relatively short amount of time -- signalled rapid and timely advancements in the Bangsamoro peace process: the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) was signed in October 2012, and later culminated in the approval of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) in March 2014. These documents paved the way for a transition process that included the creation of the BTC, and the formulation and submission of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to the Philippine Congress. The passage of the BBL into law and its ratification through a plebiscite are necessary for the completion of the transition. Chair Ferrer has noted that the drafting of, and substantive discussions and consultations on the BBL (House Bill 4994 and Senate Bill 2408) can be considered one of the fastest in terms of the country’s legislative experience.

Other vital elements of the transition are the creation of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), which is pending; organizing and capacitating the MILF and other Bangsamoro political parties, which is ongoing; and implementing activities related to normalization to “put beyond use” MILF armed resource and address issues concerning other armed groups in the region.

The concern of Atty. Dureza, who now heads the Philippine Press Institute (PPI), was that there would not be enough time from now until June 2016 so that the MILF would be able to sufficiently prove itself through the BTA’s performance in governance and development -- enough to secure the political and electoral support of the Bangsamoro constituents. The perspective then is that it would be better to give more time for the MILF through an extension of the transition period beyond June 2016.

The apprehension about the short amount of time left in the transition was also framed in terms of the critical activities that have yet to be conducted towards decommissioning MILF forces, and tackling other non-state armed groups like the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), other criminal groups, and private armed forces that proliferate in the areas of the Bangsamoro.

Chair Ferrer pointed out however that an advantage to creating the BTA (within the original transition period) and conducting elections in May 2016 for the first set of officials of the Bangsamoro Parliament is that these would be under the mantle of a national leadership that is committed to the success of the Bangsamoro peace process.

The MILF seems to share the view that 2016 is opportune and still the best timing for setting up a “new political entity and provide for its basic structure of government in recognition of the justness and legitimacy of the cause of the Bangsamoro people and their aspiration to chart their political future through a democratic process that will secure their identity and posterity and allow for meaningful self-governance” (Article 1 of the BBL).

As the days progress towards 2016 so will anxiety about time and the timing of the Bangsamoro transition mount.

I would rather err on the side of hope -- to believe that the political and legal changes that are being attempted now with respect to the Bangsamoro are timely; and that it is really only a matter of time before the indications of the much-awaited stabilization in Mindanao begin to take hold.

Email feedback to magszmaglana@gmail.com

Trending

No stories found.

Just in

No stories found.

Branded Content

No stories found.
SunStar Publishing Inc.
www.sunstar.com.ph