Identity politics within the Bangsamoro
LAST week, I wrote in my column my insights regarding the May 2018 Barangay and SK elections. I focused on discussing the problems of our democratic and electoral process due to vote buying and election offences.
I also mentioned “Reilly and Reynolds, where they say that “the electoral system that is most appropriate for initially ending internal conflict may not be the best one for longer-term conflict management. In short, while electoral systems can be powerful levers for shaping the content and practice of politics in divided societies, their design is highly sensitive to context.” I then ended my piece by raising these questions: “What then is the context within the Bangsamoro communities? What set of leaders do we have? What election system best suits our people?” I will try to answer the first question. The Bangsamoro communities are part of the Muslim communities in Southeast Asia. The Islam in this part of the world has historical links with the Islamic traditions in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The Muslim population in our country is a significant minority similar to Burma/Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. Because of the internet and access to social media, the Bangsamoro can be described as having an evolving Islamic awareness (from folk/traditional Sunni Islam to strong influence of Wahhabism). The long, protracted, violent conflict in the Bangsamoro also affected the maturity of its people to appreciate and value the essence of democracy.
The Bangsamoro, like any other community in the Philippine archipelago, belongs to a post-colonial society. The political system used in building the Filipino identity was constructed using a top-bottom approach. This system faced violent resistance in Mindanao. Different administrations of our government failed to effectively integrate the Bangsamoro people because of its diverse historical background, cultures and traditions, ethnicity, and religious groups.
Moreover, identity politics has a strong influence in the conflicts and socio-political dynamics within the Bangsamoro. This revolves around the families/clans, ethnicity, religious groups, political ideologies, and the conflict of being a Bangsamoro and not a Filipino. These different layers of identity cloud the Bangsamoro’s definition of the common good. Unless we truly understand these issues surrounding the Bangsamoro communities, it will be difficult to initiate lasting peace and development in these communities.
To understand further, I would like to quote an article written by Hannah Neumann entitled, “Identity-building and Democracy in the Philippines: National Failure and LocalResponses in Mindanao”. In the said article it describes further the identity politics within the Bangsamoro. Neumann wrote, “Centuries-old clan and ethnic structures strongly persist beneath this overarching identity vision and surface from time to time. Asking Muslims about their identity, a clear and surprisingly consistent hierarchy appears: The most important level of identification is that of clan affiliation or kinship ties. Second is ethnic group (being a Maguindanaoan, a Maranao or a Tausug), third is religious identity (being a Muslim), fourth, closely interwoven with third, is being a Moro, based on political activity as a Muslim, and in fifth place finally comes being a Filipino, resulting from the historical process of attempts to integrate and assimilate Muslims into national political bodies (Guilal 1998: 161).”
She further wrote, “Filipino identity is seen as a byproduct of alien domination. Many Filipino Muslims see themselves as “Filipinos only by document”. They feel they have no choice but to write Filipino as their citizenship in processing legal papers such as birth and residence certifi-
cates, particularly in applying for jobs in government or private agencies. In fact, many people in far-flung communities do not even have such certificates because for them, these are just pieces of paper which legitimize government intervention in their lives (Guilal 1998: 163)”.
This is the sad reality of current context within the Bangsamoro communities. Comprehensive interventions are needed to address this concern. These interventions may include the immediate passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. Unfortunately, most of our legislators do not see the gravity of the problem. It seems that in our current political landscape, the politics within Congress is also a challenge that we need to address.