By Yasmira P. Moner
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology
We are in no illusion that three more years of extension period for the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority (BTA) will guarantee a more peaceful, stable, and developed Bangsamoro region, so why support the call for the BTA extension?
Over the weekend, on March 12 (Saturday), peace advocates from the Lanao areas (Lanao del Sur including Marawi City and Lanao del Norte) have successfully held a peace caravan of thousands four-wheeled vehicles and motorcycles with an estimated 10 thousand warm bodies joining the 290 kilometers-caravan routes stretching through the national highway of Lanao del Norte and on to Sultan Gumander town in Lanao del Sur to demonstrate the urgency of the BTA extension until 2025. Aware of the legal concerns and issues raised regarding the appeal for the extension of the BTA[i], I see the need to also raise the words of those I have talked with, in both my virtual and actual conversations regarding the controversial issue of the BTA extension. Be that as it may, this piece does not represent the plurality of voices within the Bangsamoro, yet it is a conscious, deliberate, and sincere articulation weighing on the affirmative action in the context of peace-promoting political processes.
In this essay, I have outlined three (3) humble propositions on why there is a need for the Philippine government to consider extending the period of the BTA, as follows: (1) the current MILF-led BTA is a necessary boost in the confidence-building measures and trust-building in the MILF communities which are needed in the course of decommissioning and camp transformation in the Bangsamoro; (2) The extension period serves as a grace period for the civil society stakeholders in the BARMM to mobilize and form their own party list that can compete for the regular elections and; (3) The extended period will provide enough time for the Bangsamoro caretaker government to legislate the remaining priority legislations namely, Bangsamoro Electoral Code, Educational Code, Local Government Code, Revenue Code and Indigenous People’s Code without compromising the quality and processes of needed “mashuwara” (consultations) and public hearings in the spirit of democratic participation and feedbacking from all stakeholders in the region.
Read more:
https://accessbangsamoro.ph/…/making-peace-work-in-the-ban…/
Source: Access Bangsamoro
