Peace council wants more seats allotted for women, IP in Bangsamoro parliament

MANILA, Philippines–The Citizens’ Peace Council on Tuesday said more seats in the proposed Bangsamoro parliament should be allotted for indigenous peoples and women.

Bai Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman, founder of Teach Peace, Build Peace Movement and youth representative in the council, told senators during a hearing on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that their consultation with other sectors and groups resulted in that recommendation.

“They (groups consulted by the peace council) are of one voice…to ascertain that their rights under the [Indigenous People’s Rights Act or] RA 8371 and other laws are reasserted, recognized and protected under the BBL,” she said.

Sumndad-Usman explained that while the draft BBL, a product of the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), has provisions promoting “genuine representation in the Bangsamoro parliament,” there should be more women and indigenous peoples (IP) representatives.

“Expanding the number of reserved seats is commended,” she said.

Under the draft BBL turned over by President Aquino to Congress, there will be 60 seats in the Bangsamoro parliament–40 percent of the representatives will be elected from the districts, 50 percent chosen from political parties and 10 percent will come from various sectors.

Of that 10 percent, two seats will be reserved for non-Moro indigenous communities and settler communities while another seat will be allotted for women.

However, Sumndad-Usman said non-Moro IPS and women should be given more seats while the youth should have at least one.

“We feel the non-Moro indigenous peoples and women need more seats to represent the multivarious concerns,” she explained. “Several non-Moro IP communities should be considered as well.”

Despite their recommendation, Sumndad-Usman said the peace council “wholeheartedly endorses the BBL and recommends its passage as an act of social justice and reparation to the Bangsamoro people of Muslim Mindanao to rectify all the injustices inflicted upon them in the past.”

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