AMONG the tools in support of critical action that I learned from mentors early on is the discipline of asking and reflecting on a series of questions: what (and also who, when, how and where), why, so what, and now what. The questions are designed to elicit discerning answers and lead to well thought-out responses. The status of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) bills as of the end of January 2016 provided an opportunity to use this set of questions again.
The answers I came up with to the what and why prompts were straightforward but disheartening.
January 27, 2016 came and went and with not much comment about the fate of the BBL bills filed before the 16th Congress of the Philippines. Earlier, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro had announced that they were targeting January 27 to put to vote the House’s version of the Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR) bill for approval.
However as cited in the January 27 Mindanews article written by Carolyn O. Arguillas titled “Balindong: ‘This House of Representatives has collectively failed the Bangsamoro people’” as of that date the House had not finished working on amendments while the Senate had yet to resume interpellation.
The lack of quorum, the negative reactions to the MILF and the Bangsamoro triggered by the first year anniversary of the Mamasapano misencounter, and that Muslim representatives constituted a minority among the legislators were among the factors cited to explain the dismal situation.
The so what prompt helped to generate further analysis that highlighted the significance and the consequences of the facts provided as answers to the previous questions.
Because Congress is only three sessions away from adjourning, the lack of legislative action as of January 27 could already be taken as the final status of the “Roadmap to the Creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Political Entity” for the Aquino administration. The roadmap indicated 15 milestone points ending with the formation of the Bangsamoro government, and number 8 being “Congressional action on the bill”. So it would seem that as of January 27, we were past the mid-point.
This roadmap, prompted by the signing of the agreements with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2012 and 2014, does not include the more arduous 15-year journey in the peace talks between the MILF and the Government of the Philippines, not to mention the earlier political process with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that began in 1974.
But of the many measures put forward by the six national administrations in the cumulative 40 years of attempting a political settlement to the Bangsamoro conflict, it is this roadmap that demonstrated realistic commitment to attempting changes in significant areas as opposed to cosmetic ones, and fostering participation beyond the traditional State and non-State armed group configuration in a peace process. With the passing of the administration that championed the roadmap, there are concerns that Filipinos missed going through an important door towards durable peace.
The lament of Rep. Pangalian Balindong, Deputy Speaker for Mindanao, quoted in the Mindanews article as saying that “we have failed the next generation who will obviously inherit this vicious cycle of war and conflict. The BBL should have been our vehicle to peace” captured very well the sentiments of many who were not present in the Batasang Pambansa that day but for whom the Bangsamoro peace process had become a significant source of hope.
Still it needs to be recognized that the BLBAR bills currently in the House and Senate were not unproblematic in themselves as they represented a departure from important aspects of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
And so, now what?
Admittedly there is a variant of the now what that suggests bewilderment and being captive of external developments; but there is also one that indicates stocktaking in order to re-plan.
With the non-passage of a law on the Bangsamoro, we might not have gone through the door. But that door is not forever lost to us. We can still use the roadmap and lessons learnt from its implementation, and figure out how it could lead to a better door next time.
Pundits say that a lot will depend on the leadership provided by the next administration. But the situation in the House as described by Rep. Balindong—“...the wilderness of bias, prejudice and hatred”—suggests that we should not just rely on the pronouncements of those running for president.
And so as part of the now what we will have to make the Bangsamoro peace process, and the other peace processes such as the stalled one with the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front-New Peoples Army (CPP-NDF-NPA), election issues. Voters should ask each aspirant for the presidential, vice-presidential, senatorial and congressional positions—and for Mindanawons even those aspiring for local positions—where they stand with respect to the implementation of the CAB.
The journey to durable peace in the Bangsamoro, Mindanao and indeed the entire country has been extended but we are not without tools to reach our desired destination, and neither have our hopes been extinguished.
*****
Email feedback to magszmaglana@gmail.com