Manila: The presidential palace said the passage into law of an enhanced autonomy measure for the Moro people remains a top priority under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“The President’s message is very clear. It was a campaign promise and it is a commitment from him as President that he will do all that is necessary to rectify what he described as the historical injustice committed against the Muslim population of Mindanao,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said on Tuesday.
During the First Bangsamoro Assembly, which was attended by members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, last Monday, Duterte assured his audience that he would work for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), a measure aimed at providing enhanced autonomy for the people of the predominantly Muslim areas of Mindanao.
“I will work very hard for it. I will ask Congress to a special session just to hear you talk about this in Congress,” Duterte said.
Moros or native Muslims comprise a sizeable portion of the population in Mindanao. In some of the areas, such as Maguindanao, Lanao, Basilan and Sulu, they are considered the majority. The desire for self-determination had been one of the causes of conflict in these areas. Past efforts by the Manila-based administration to forge a peace settlement led to the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which is currently in authority. However, shortcomings in the ARMM led to continued conflict in the South. The area remains one of the most impoverished in the country. Thus, succeeding governments, including the present administration, aim to come up with a socio-economic solution where Moros and other people in Muslim Mindanao could maintain their identity as well as keep religious freedom and partake in the wealth of the area.
The administration of Duterte’s successor, President Benigno Aquino III, was able to hammer out a roadmap on how peace could be achieved in the South through the adoption of the BBL. However, Congress opposed the measure.
President Duterte emphasised that unlike the ARMM and previously submitted amendments to the BBL, this new version is “all-inclusive.”
“It had in mind the MILF, the MNLF and even the Lumads [indigenous peoples],” Roque said as he followed on Duterte’s speech in Maguindanao.
Roque said Duterte is urging lawmakers to pass the law and expedite the legislative process.
The palace spokesman likewise said that the issue on the BBL is separate from the federalism measure being pushed by the administration.
“The BBL can proceed even without federalism, they are a separate issue,” Roque said.
During the meeting in Maguindanao, Duterte noted that the discussions must be geared towards correcting the social injustice suffered by the Moro people and then crafting something that would preserve the Republic.
“I will only work with one thing in mind: There must be one nation for all and one republic for all. A Republic of the Philippines for all of us, Moro and Christians alike,” he said.
“I am doing everything to avoid a breakage or a fissure somehow in Mindanao. I’m going to walk the hundreds of miles, not the mile, as a first step, but there has to be a condition that is for all,” he added.
