DAVAO CITY — Two former government peace panelists from Davao urged Congress to make amendments in the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to make it more “connecting” to all Moro groups.
Their proposals called for a “convergence” of two peace agreements and for an extension of the transition period on the Bangsamoro territory as part of the peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Congress is set to deliberate the BBL this month until early 2015 to finalize the law that will carve a new Bangsamoro entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
But former peace adviser Jesus Dureza proposed Congress should make the BBL a “convergence” of government’s two peace agreements – the 1996 Final Peace Agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the recent Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) with the MILF.
The MNLF, particularly the group headed by chair Nur Misuari, had earlier criticized the government for abandoning the review of their peace agreement and questioned the legality of the FAB.
Dureza said that as former peace adviser and a Mindanaoan, he is concerned that government’s direction is to make an agreement with the MILF without looking at the agreements with the MNLF.
“Congress needs to bring the two groups, the MILF and MNLF together. Congress should converge both agreements to provide a roadmap for
peace in Mindanao,” said Dureza.
He said government must consult stakeholders in Mindanao who could give a broader picture on the issues of Mindanao.
“We can’t sit down and let this fail. We hope government will reach out to those experienced in the peace talks,” the former peace adviser said.
He said government should go back to the outputs of a tripartite review held by government, MNLF and the Office of Islamic Countries (OIC) that discussed grievances of the MNLF on the 1996 peace agreement.
Former MILF peace panel member and Mindanao Commission on Women chair emeritus Irene Santiago also agreed with Dureza’s points.
“If peace is about connecting, we have to connect and not divide. Both agreements must be crafted into one in the BBL. The only way for peace
to endure is to connect to many groups,” she said.
Santiago said their proposals seek to change Congress’ perspective of simply deliberating on the legality of the BBL.
“They should not think that it is just a law that they would pass and they would nitpick every provision for its sake. They should see the totality, and think peace in Mindanao,” she said.
Santiago meanwhile, also recommended the transition period outlined in the law be extended for six years instead of two.
The BBL stipulated that a Bangsamoro Transition Authority would take governance of the Bangsmoro entity until 2016 when parliamentary elections will take place to elect officials.
For Santiago, two years is short a time to develop political machineries and maturity among the Moro leaders and voters.
“Parliamentary election is a different ballgame. People vote for parties, not individuals. They should give more time so that by 2020 there is more capacity building and party formations,” she added.
Dureza also said the danger of pushing for the 2016 parliamentary election in Bangsamoro is that the MILF may be overwhelmed by “politically entrenched families”.
Santiago said what they would not go directly to Congress to raise their points, but they are engaging in “strategic conversations” with media and other sectors to bring their message across.
Dureza said that their advocacies could be brought up by the public in events such as public dialogues by the Senate or Congress as part of the deliberation for the BBL. (davaotoday.com)
