Bangsamoro autonomy eyes new areas outside ARMM

Mohagher Iqbal, chief MILF negotiator, and Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, head of the government negotiating panel, exchange copies of the peace agreement between the MILF and the Aquino administration they signed in Malacañang on March 27, 2014. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – The proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law will definitely redraw the political map of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and nearby areas because it aims to establish a larger area for Moro governance.

This was made clear this week by Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, chair of the government peace panel in negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), when she talked about the provisions in the draft BBL for the inclusion of areas from outside the ARMM.

Aside from the present-day geographical area of the ARMM, the process of “popular ratification” will also be held in “the municipalities of Baloi, Munai, Nunungan, Pantar, Tagoloan and Tangkal in the province of Lanao del Norte and (in) all other barangays in the Municipalities of Kabacan, Carmen, Aleosan, Pigkawayan, Pikit and Midsayap (that voted) for inclusion in the ARMM during the 2001 plebiscite; and the cities of Cotabato and Isabela,” she said during a forum here on Tuesday.

But Ferrer said the draft BBL has been given several distinct features that would make the envisioned Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) distinct from the ARMM.

“Significantly, the proposed BBL provides that the Bangsamoro government shall be parliamentary in form. This would allow for a broader base of political representation and participation in governance. It would compel the formation of competitive and sustainable political parties in the region,” she said.

She said the BJE would “enjoy significant powers over and above the powers granted to the ARMM today, all on the basis of the powers given to autonomous regions in our Constitution, and the creative spaces or flexibilities found therein.”

Unlike the ARMM, which is dependent on the national government, the BJE will have fiscal autonomy through its revenue-generating powers.

With more powers and resources come more responsibilities, according to Ferrer.

“It is an opportunity that must be made available for the common good,

but also one that must not be squandered,” Ferrer added.

Meanwhile, civil society groups in Mindanao said they would engage in educational debates to ensure that the Bangsamoro Basic Law that Congress would pass would promote the interests of the stakeholders.

“We must be grateful and at the same time, vigilant against spoilers. May we ask the Muslim, Christian, and the indigenous people to engage in spirited discussions and debates,” Samira Gutoc of the People Development Initiative for the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro said.

“Amid our diversity, the Filipino people should be in one alliance for the success of the Bangsamoro accord, which will benefit all through the basic law. We look forward to reading the BBL and participate in its success,” said Datu Alexander Mama-o, president of the Filipino Alliance for Integrity and Reform (FAIR Movement-Philippines).