Duyog Bangsamoro, a multisectoral coalition of regional and national civil society organizations convened to safeguard and “accompany” the Bangsamoro peace process, called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to prevent any effort by outside groups to influence the outcome of the Sept. 14 Bangsamoro parliamentary election, whether for or against any regional political party.
The independent coalition made the call on Mr. Marcos in his capacity as President of the Philippines and as chair of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas in a press conference held on Tuesday by its key conveners at the University of the Philippines Hotel in Diliman, Quezon City.
Duyog Bangsamoro has expressed concern over what it described as a persistent perception in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) that the national government is intervening in regional politics to influence the election results and the region’s political landscape beyond the polls.
The coalition said this perception took root with Malacañang’s irregular appointments to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) last year, which resulted in, among others, deepened factionalism within the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
‘Clear assurance’
“A clear assurance from the President that the elections will be free, fair, and credible will give us, the Moro people, the confidence that we are truly free to chart our future as an autonomous region,” said Amina Rasul, president of the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy. “We struggled for decades to have autonomy. The elections are the ultimate test and proof of whether we truly have that autonomy.”
Teresita “Ging” Quintos Deles, former presidential adviser on the peace process, said Mr. Marcos should take leadership on the Bangsamoro process by ensuring that the national government remains an impartial partner, not a political participant, in the election.
Deles added: “The very essence of the Bangsamoro peace process is to enable the Bangsamoro people to exercise meaningful self-government and choose their own leaders. If the national government intervenes to shape the outcome of these elections, it risks undermining the autonomy that the peace agreement and the Bangsamoro Organic Law were intended to establish, and weakening the trust that has been painstakingly built over decades.”
It was during Deles’ tenure as peace adviser during the administration of the late President Benigno Aquino III that the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the government and the MILF was signed in 2014, ending decades of armed conflict in Central Mindanao.
Josua Mata, secretary general of the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, also called on the President, as the Commander in Chief, to ensure that the military will remain nonpartisan. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has deployed more than 10,000 soldiers to BARMM.
“Having this many soldiers may be the government’s way to ensure that the elections will be peaceful,” Mata said. “It may be necessary in terms of security, but there is legitimate concern that parties could use the military’s presence to intimidate voters and their communities. This also goes for the standing down of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF).”
Democratic gains
The BARMM parliamentary election has been postponed four times since May 2022. But Duyog Bangsamoro highlighted the Bangsamoro’s democratic gains as evidence of what the region can achieve if allowed to govern without outside interference.
The coalition said that in stark contrast to the national situation, the Bangsamoro has an anti-dynasty provision in the BARMM Electoral Code and the Local Governance Code, and nominated its two Non-Moro Indigenous Peoples sectoral representatives to the Bangsamoro Parliament last Aug. 25 at the culmination of a participative selection process.
It added that the BTA legislated the country’s first gender quota for the nominees of its regional political parties, and held the first BARMM parliamentary electoral debate organized by the Institute of Autonomy and Governance last Aug. 27. The debate placed party and platform at the forefront as a result of the expansion of proportional representation in the region’s electoral system.
At the instance of Duyog Bangsamoro, the 13 regional parties also signed a covenant after the debate to commit to peaceful, honest, and credible elections and to the fulfillment of the CAB provisions regardless of the election results.
“We have to work together to support BARMM to sustain this momentum,” said Tindig Pilipinas co-convener Kiko Aquino Dee. “As members of civil society from different sectors, our role is to show the Bangsamoro people that we share and support their aspirations for a future of just peace and equitable development, one finally free from the insecurity and uncertainty they have endured for decades.”
Duyog Bangsamoro also urged the President to assure all regional political parties that the national government will continue to support the full implementation of the CAB and the Bangsamoro Organic Law, as well as the BARMM regional and local governments, regardless of the election results.
The coalition likewise called on the national government and the MILF to urgently work toward the fulfillment of the CAB’s remaining milestones on normalization after the election.
These include the decommissioning of the remaining armed BIAF members; amnesty and socioeconomic development for BIAF members beyond BARMM’s annual block grant; redeployment of AFP personnel currently assigned to the region; detection and clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance; disbandment of private armed groups; and establishment of a national transitional justice program.
Duyog Bangsamoro traces its roots to the Multisectoral Peace Coalition, which first gathered last March to bring together leaders and organizations.
Its 15 convener organizations are: Balay Mindanaw, Caucus of Development Non-Government Organization Networks, Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society, GZO Peace Institute, Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services, International Center for Innovation, Transformation and Excellence in Governance, Initiatives for International Dialogue, Kusog Mindanaw, League of Bangsamoro Organizations, Philippine Business for Social Progress, Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy, Phinma Foundation, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Tindig Pilipinas, and Women Engaged in Action on 1325.—CONTRIBUTED
