GPH: Bangsamoro political entity to have secular, democratic government

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The government’s peace panel assured on Saturday that the envisioned Bangsamoro political entity will be a secular and democratic government, not one that can become a hotbed of Islamic militancy and extremism.   

“It will promote collective security, not a cradle of threats of religious extremism as espoused by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other violent groups like the Jemaah Islamiya,” Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, the government’s chief negotiator said.

Ferrer said the Bangsamoro entity will respect religious diversity and basic rights of all residents in its proposed territory.

In a statement posted on its website, www.luwaran.com, the leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said it has warned MILF members against sympathizing with any extremist group in the Middle East and elsewhere abroad.

The MILF also condemned the barbarism and savagery of militant organizations now wreaking havoc in several Muslim countries.

The MILF’s chieftain, Al Haj Murad, said members of the front have also been advised to focus on the progress of their peace deal with government instead of paying attention to appeals for support by militant organizations, such as the ISIS.

The establishment of a new Bangsamoro political entity in Moro-dominated areas in Southern Philippines hinges on the enactment of the Basic Bangsamoro Law (BBL).

The proposed BBL, once enacted into law by Congress and ratified through a plebiscite in selected areas, will pave the way for the replacement of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with a new MILF-led Bangsamoro entity.

The draft BBL is now being reviewed by President Benigno Aquino III. The president has promised to certify the BBL as an urgent bill to hasten its enactment into law.

“One of the intentions of the BBL is to put in place a better system that would be able to address security issues, such as those that involve extremist groups that may try to move in and out of its territory,” Ferrer said.