As the Bangsamoro interim government reaches its midterm, key personalities from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) tackled issues concerning the region through the 4th edition of the BangsaForum series entitled “Bangsamoro & Beyond.”
“One of the most important aspects of the implementation phase is the normalization track. We have to normalize the situation in Mindanao, and we have to transform the life of each combatant from a combat life into a productive civilian life. More importantly, we need to have peace, justice, and development in Mindanao,” said BARMM Minister of Education Mohagher Iqbal during the recent forum held by The Asia Foundation and British Embassy in Manila, in partnership with BARMM and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).
Iqbal was referring to one of the major aspects of the normalization track of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) which is the decommissioning of the 40,000 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Iqbal who is also the MILF Implementing Panel Chair said, “We have hurdled the most difficult and the most arduous part of the search for peace and justice in Mindanao, and we are now in the implementing stage,” adding that the interim Bangsamoro administration is also requesting to extend the transition up to 2025 to ensure the success of the peace process.
The televised policy forum was convened for the purpose of strengthening community engagement in the Bangsamoro through public awareness campaigns about the new parliamentary system and voting rights. Participants included members of underrepresented groups such as women, youth, and non-Moro indigenous peoples which have reserved seats in the Bangsamoro parliament that is composed of 80 representatives.
Social Services Minister Raissa Jajurie said that the reserved seats will allow “vulnerable sectors” such as the non-Moro indigenous peoples, settler communities, youth, women, traditional leaders, and the ulama to be part of the parliament. “The political parties should also have their women’s agenda, and they should ensure that women and the youth are actively participating in the nomination process,” she added.
On ensuring the rights of women, Atty. Laisa Alamia, Member and Minority Floor Leader of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), said that there are several provisions in RA 11054 (Bangsamoro Organic Law) that promote and protect the rights of women. “There are many avenues upon which women are able to participate,” she said.
In an interview, Maguindanaon youth leader Suwaidi Ebrahim expressed that it is important to have a representation of the underrepresented sectors since they are the most knowledgeable about their needs as a sector. “The voice of the youth is important because we compose a big chunk of the population. It is only right to give us a platform to relay our needs to the parliament,” he said.
For Reymon Tenorio of the United Indigenous Peoples Youth Organization (UNIPYO), it is comforting to know that they are putting into action the advocacy of inclusivity of BARMM. “We feel that we belong because we now have a greater chance to raise our issues and concerns,” he said in an interview.
Atty. Nabil Tan, another BTA member, said that extending the transition period is not for the term of the members of the interim parliament. “Everyone is appointed by the President, so we can all be replaced,” he stressed. He also reported that the parliament has passed the Administrative Code and is now deliberating the Bangsamoro Civil Service Code as well as the Local Government Code. There are also the Electoral and the Revenue codes that are still in the Cabinet level but will have to be deliberated by the interim Parliament hence the need for extending its legislative sessions.
No comments:
Post a Comment