An old hand in Mindanao’s peacebuilding and development circles has expressed full support to the extenstion of the transition period of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Gus Miclat, Executive Director of the Davao City-based Initiatives for International Dialogue, said in an exclusive interview that the extension “is a no-brainer. The transition period should have already been determined to be not less than five years at the least in the CAB (Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed in 2014).”
Multisectoral efforts have been underway for months to press government to extend the transition period of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), created two years ago and set to be dissolved next year in time for the elections in Muslim Mindanao. Transition proponents want the new date to be on 2025.
“How can we honestly and practically say that we can achieve even the basics within three years given the enormity not only of the tasks, but of addressing the multiple layers and interplay of contexts and history that is the Bangsamoro,” asked Miclat, who also serves as Secretary-General of the Mindanao Peaceweavers, a coalition of peace activists founded in 2003.
He added that the concerns of the Mindanao indigenous people about the extension “must be addressed by the BTA/BARMM so they can have them more as allies and partners in their common quest for a just, lasting and harmonious peace.”
In March, reports bared that a petition circulating across the internet urging President Duterte to support the transition’s extension has breached the 1 million target signatures.
During that time, thousands of people from Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, and Jolo participated in various peace caravans and rallies calling for the BTA’s extension.
President Duterte had earlier been noncommittal about supporting the extension, repeatedly relegating the decision to the Congress. It is the latter that will approve or reject the transition-related bills now pending before it.
However, in May, Duerte’s spokesperson, Harry Roque, was quoted by media to have admitted that the Chief Executive “continues to be supportive of the initiative for the transition.”
Last June 24, the President granted an audience with key officials of the BARMM. Of that closed-door meeting, Naguib Sinarimbo, local government minister of the Bangsamoro and spokesperson of its chief minister Murad Ebrahim, wrote on his Facebook page:
“I have been resisting since last night the temptation to post in detail what transpired in the meeting with President Duterte in Malacanang last night that lasted for nearly two hours. The meeting started at 8:48 pm and ended at 10:38 pm. In general, it was a meeting where we reported to the President the outcome of the Council of Leaders and the Political Leaders' meetings on June 23, 2021.”
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