Groups hold caravan to press Duterte for BTA extension

Participants to a caravan calling for the extension of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority assemble along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City on Monday, July 26, 2021. Photo courtesy of CMYM

MANILA, Philippines — Moro elders and youth launched a caravan on Monday to stress their appeal for an urgent certification on the proposed extension of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), which is set to expire on June 30, 2022.

The United Imam of the Philippines, Moro Ako, and the Coalition of Moro Youth Movement (CMYM) pressed on their call hours before President Rodrigo Duterte makes his final State of the Nation Address (Sona) at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

The groups, which held the motorcade from Pasay City to Quezon City, said the BTA’s mandate should be extended until 2025.

“What really pushes us to ask for the BTA extension is the fact that the Agreements between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have not been fully complied or implemented,” MoroAko president Najeeb Taib said in a statement.

Speaking to INQUIRER.net, MoroAko head secretariat Macacuna Macadato Jr. said their caravan participants were 1,402 onboard 228 cars and 490 motorcycles. The assembly area of the caravan was supposed to be along Diokno Boulevard but they were dispersed by the Pasay City police.

He said they were told to do a U-turn and hold their assembly along Macapagal Boulevard instead.

As for the Coalition of Moro Youth Movement (CMYM), they support BTA extension because: “We believe that the extension is an essential part of the peace process and necessary for the attainment of lasting peace and development in the BARMM region as well as the entire country in order for our young generation not to have the same fate and experience during the time of war.