Duterte ‘happy’ with BOL ratification

BULUAN, MAGUINDANAO — President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday he was glad the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), which would give Muslims full autonomy in Mindanao, has succeeded.

Speaking during the distribution of certificates of land ownership for farmers at the gymnasium here, the President said one of the most significant developments in the country today is the BOL.

“I’m glad that it has succeeded and I am inviting everyone here to join us in government. It’s not only mine, but it’s all for us,” Duterte said.

READ: Yes votes have it: Law creating Bangsamoro region ratified

“Be a part of it. Your firearms, bury it [if] you don’t need it anymore,” he added.

On January 21, the people ratified the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) creating the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the final step in the 2014 peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The law aims to give the impoverished south an expanded autonomous area, offering self-determination to the nation’s four million Muslims by empowering them to elect their own parliament.

The law would also give the people in parts of the southern Philippines that have Islamic majority control over many local government functions, including taxation and education. It will likewise allow Muslim Filipinos to incorporate Sharia law into their justice system.

Duterte said the Liguasan Marsh, a broad swath of mud, water, sandbars, and lands, which covers an area of 220, 000 hectares in Mindanao, belongs to the people.

“If there’s oil in it, that’s yours, but don’t forget us and share it with the Filipinos,” Duterte said. /ee

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