Bangsamoro, the Muslim community of the Mindanao, Philippines, has been constantly misunderstood, neglected and beleaguered with armed conflicts. They are in fact historically a separate sovereign entity from the Philippines. When the United States wanted to grant independence to the Philippines islands, the Bangsamoro leaders expressed their strong opposition to be annexed as part of the Philippines. Rather, they preferred to be part of the United States, in the hope that eventually, the United States would decolonize its colonies and grant a separate independence for Bangsamoro. Such aspiration, regrettably, never transpired. Instead, the region was “illegally given” to the Philippines republic. Distinct identity as well as widespread economic and social injustice of the Bangsamoro people has fuelled their political awareness to continuously fight for secession from the Philippines. Decades of bloodbaths and armed struggles have led to many things except for peace in the region.
Forged by hard-won peace agreement between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Bangsamoro Basic Law was therefore introduced and proposed to the Congress – in anticipation that it would bring a lasting peace in the region. Such law will create an autonomous region of Bangsamoro akin to Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) but with a larger territory, greater power and full fiscal autonomy.
The creation of new Bangsamoro autonomous political entity should not be confused as creation of sub-state within Philippines or as a way to dismember the nation. Such an establishment is not equivalent with a right to statehood and as per explicit statement in the draft BBL – “the Bangsamoro territory shall remain a part of the Philippines”. Critics however speculate that the move could shift Philippines to a federal form of government as other regions such as Visaya may make similar claim on greater territory, inhabitants, and powers for themselves. Once founded, the Bangsamoro region would be the focal point of example for other region to demand decentralization of power.
Full fiscal autonomy is crucial for Bangsamoro to thrive: the region cannot be fully autonomous if it still has to beg for money from Manila. The Bangsamoro region is renowned for its abundant untapped resources such as mining, forest and water products, which could sustain the region in the long run. However, in the first year, the central government will have to deliver block grants to Bangsamoro to let them rise from being “the poorest of the poor” to a same playing field with the rest of the Philippines. Domestically, full fiscal autonomy would allow the Bangsamoro government to effectively formulate strategy and policies in addressing the social and economic grievances of its people. While representatives from Mindanao greet such allocation of power and resources positively, there is a monetary jealousy from the rest of the Philippines, whom argued that the move would reduce the fiscal support from the central government to other region, influencing the voting in the Senate.
Despite the good faith of BBL, its passage would not be easy. The killing of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) police officers in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last 25 January 2015 has implored a nationwide outcry, resurrected the deep-seated mistrust on MILF and effectually disrupted the Congressional action. It was discovered that failure of coordination as the main cause for the miss-counter between the police groups and the MILF. Nevertheless, the Congress accusation that MILF was harboring the terrorist prior to the conclusion of the investigation has rather soured the situation. In the wake of the Mamasapano incident, some of the members of the Congress renounced their supports to BBL and doubts on MILF’s commitment to peace process run high. Notwithstanding the incident, to simply abandon the peace process would be a gravely erroneous action and conceivably would trigger another series of armed conflicts.
On 20 June 2015, by vote of 50 in favour, 17 against and one abstention, the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Bangsamoro passed the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) albeit the overwhelming complaints that it was being railroaded by the administration and the Mamasapano incidents. It was described as a “historic vote,” an “affirmative action to fully correct centuries of neglect and injustice” by Committee chair Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro.
While most of the substantial parts of the BBL are retained, there are some amendments made during the Committee meeting. The “Bangsamoro Basic Law” is renamed as “The Basic Law of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region”. Adding to this is the removal of the titular head of “Wali”, which the Committee regarded to be unnecessary and unconstitutional as it is a characteristic of a substate. Being a political figure and under the direct supervision of the President, proponents of the provision argued that a Wali would then be able to ensure the balance of power in the parliament. If there is a vote of no confidence, the Wali could dissolve the parliament and announce a re-election. The Wali would also be the one who would be resolving the dispute between the members of the parliament such as in the appointment of the chief minister.
Another key amendment of the bills was on the opt-in provisions of contiguous territories near Bangsamoro autonomous region through plebiscite. While initially the provision was proposed for deletion: fearing that it would render the Bangsamoro territory “as indefinite and keeps the organic act in constant flux”, the Committee voted to maintain the provision. It was amended to permit at least 10 provinces outside the core territory of the ARMM to join the new Bangsamoro region through plebiscites. Concern was expressed on that provision saying that it would lead to creeping territorial expansion of Bangsamoro region. Congresswomen Sema clarified that the law is rather very explicit: BBL will only affect the contiguous area. Theoretically, if the region is not contiguous, they stand no chance to be part of the Bangsamoro autonomous region. Zamboanga and Palawan are in fact not contiguous but is subject to negotiations due to the Tripoli Agreement. The provision provide an optimism to Bangsamoro communities outside the core territories to one day join their counterparts should Bangsamoro triumph.
The discussion at the Senate level is scheduled for Wednesday, 27 May 2015 but time is running out. The Congress need to approve the bill by June 11, 2015 before it adjourns. Albeit the passage at the Committee level, it is unclear whether the bill would pass the Senate. There have been red flags on the constitutional issue of the bill. Even if it is passed, it is expected to be rather a different and diluted version of BBL.
BBL is the cornerstone for peace, security and progress in Bangsamoro region and is an important piece of legislation. Fallout of this proposal could be catastrophic. The leaders of MILF however has voiced out that an all out war should not be an option. History has taught us that peace in Mindanao could not be attained through bloodshed. A possible alternative route for peace is perhaps for MILF to seek international recognition of Bangsamoro from the United Nation and settle the mess once and for all. The upcoming weeks are crucial moment for BBL deliberation. The future of the Muslim South is now rest in the hand of Congress.
Ariff Hafizi Radzi is an Analyst at IRIS Institute as well as an independent journalist. His main area of interest include regional integration of ASEAN, international affairs and politics within Southeast Asia, international law, security as well as public policy. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) with Honours from University of Bristol, United Kingdom.