Reactions on Zambo walkout from Bangsamoro forum mixed

COTABATO CITY, Philippines --- The hostile treatment the 15-member Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) got from local officials during a forum on the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement (FAB) Wednesday received mixed reactions from the area’s various communities.

"We were saddened over the inappropriate behavior shown by some local officials in Zamboanga City, including Mayor Isabelle Climaco, during a forum the local government initiated for the members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC)," said Allan Pasingan of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus.

He said what Zamboanga City local officials did disrespectful of the GPH and MILF, which are both trying to resolve the decades-old “Moro issue” in Mindanao.

Some 50 people booed the BTC panelists headed by MILF peace panel chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal as they walked out of Grand Astoria Hotel celebrity hall while the forum on FAB was being held to signify their opposition to the establishment of the Bangsamoro political entity.

The walk out took place despite assurances made by the members of the BTC that the city is not part of the Bangsamoro region.

"No matter what, we Zamboagueños, are the most civil and promoters of the good and the beautiful, that's why we are still the orgullo de Mindanao. I hope I can still be the embodiment of goodness for other people to admire and emulate," Prof. Ali T. Yacub of the Muslim group called Golden Crescent PeaceBuilders.

The 15-member BTC, led by Iqbal, arrived in this city on Wednesday for an overnight stay en route to the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi for consultations.

According to members of the BTC’s secretariat, the original plan was a courtesy visit to Zamboanga City Mayor Isabelle Climaco.

However, at the last minute, the BTC was informed that the Zamboanga City government has decided to conduct a forum about the Bangsamoro.

In his speech, Iqbal told participants to the forum that they deliberately did not prepare a presentation relating to the GPH-MILF talks since Zamboanga City is not included in the proposed Bangsamoro territory.

“Zamboanga City is not a direct part of the equation in the current peace process,” Iqbal said.

Peace activists in Central Mindanao, among them priests and Muslim missionaries,  are convinced that the organizers of the forum had intended to embarrass the BTC.

The BTC, which is chaired by Iqbal, is composed of eight representatives from the MILF and seven from the national government.

The BTC will draft the Basic Bangsamoro Law based on the October 15, 2012 FAB, for enactment by Congress, to enable the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao before the term of incumbent ARMM officials end on June 30, 2016.