Unfinished agenda
The incoming administration is inheriting a load of concerns over the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) left unfinished by the exiting administration. These consist mainly of the so-called “Annexes” spelled out in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, or peace agreement between government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which paved the way and culminated in the enactment of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). This includes, inter alia, the decommissioning of the 12,000 rebel troops (in four phases), their training and eventual integration into the security forces of government, the conversion of the rebel camps into communes of peace and social progress, etc. These are continuing processes already started but not fully completed, which is the reason why the negotiation panels of parties were not officially disbanded yet.
Recall likewise that the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) are often heard complaining about the incomplete implementation of some of the terms of the peace pact it signed with the Ramos administration in 1996. This is a problem often confronting parties after a peace agreement is signed. This accounts also for the fact that the so-called “exit document” officially terminating the negotiation has not been signed by the parties.
On top of these concerns is the appointment of the members of the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) whose term of office will expire on 30 June 2022. Recall that under the BOL, their election was scheduled to be simultaneous with the 9 May elections but was postponed with the amendment of the relevant provision of the BOL. Now, the burden of appointing new members or reappointing the present members has been shifted to incoming President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
“There
are many of the present members who deserve reappointment, especially the lady lawyermembers.
A throwback in time when there was a raging debate whether or not to postpone the BARMM election, the stakeholders were heavily divided. For a while, there was fear that it will not pass the gauntlet of the congressional mill and the imprimatur of the President. There was a last-minute approval of the measure after the differing versions of the Senate and the House of Representatives were reconciled. One of the contentious issues was: Who will appoint the members of the BTA now that their term of office will end on 30 June 2022, will it be President Duterte or the incoming president? The Joint Congressional Conference Committee resolved this by allowing President Duterte to either appoint members of the BTA or leave it to the incoming president. President Duterte opted not to make the appointment, passing the burden to PBBM .
In other words, PBBM will have to do the vetting. One of the factors that he will probably consider is the performance of the present members of the BTA. Were they able to perform the mandate demanded by their office? He probably will reappoint those deserving members or replace them. One thing though is certain -- majority of the members of the BTA should be members of the MILF and nothing can be done
“Recall
that under the BOL, their election was scheduled to be simultaneous with the 9 May elections but was postponed with the amendment of the relevant provision of the BOL.
about it because it’s in the black letter of the BOL.
The ones who will represent the MILF in the BTA is the problem of the leadership of the rebel group. Whether they will be retained or replaced is not a government concern.
Let me say this: There are many of the present members who deserve reappointment, especially the lady lawyer-members.
They have contributed in no small measure to themodestsuccess of the parliament. The enactment of a basic code of governance like education, civil service, administrative, election and local government, etc., which the BOL has mandated to be prioritized, was mostly their labor. I was given a copy of Reports of some of the BTA members, complete with pictures, graph and illustrations in a glossy colored magazine and I am impressed with the works they are doing, which are mostly unheralded.
Sad to say the messaging by the BTA is dismal. Most of their public are in limbo of what they are doing.