Maguindanaons push for swift enactment of Bangsamoro Law

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines  â€“ Local officials on Monday assured not to stand against peaceful rallies- such as those held in many parts of Mindanao on Sunday- to appeal for the prompt enactment by Congress of the Basic Bangsamoro Law (BBL).

Thousands of Moro folks joined in the series of rallies in key Mindanao cities, where speakers took turns calling on Congress to immediately pass the draft BBL into law once submitted by Malacañang for enactment.

“Peaceful rallies meant to dramatize a common position on anything under the sun, or to air grievances, are far from being bloody and morbid. We will not oppose any peaceful rally in the province in support of the peace process,” Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu told reporters Monday.

Thousands of Maguindanao residents participated in the rallies in the cities of Cotabato and Tacurong, and in parts of North Cotabato, according to reports reaching the inter-agency provincial peace and order council (PPOC).

Mangudadatu, chairman of the PPOC, said encouraging local folks to participate in peaceful rallies that are related to peace-building, and propagation of Muslim-Christian unity, is one way of educating the public on the "backwardness" of using firearms to seek redress.

Maguindanao, which has 36 towns, is host to the main bastion of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Camp Darapanan, in the northeastern part of the province.

Mangudadatu said he was saddened by reports purporting that local officials in other areas had opposed the conduct of Sunday’s supposedly simultaneous rallies in different parts of Mindanao to show support to the enactment of the draft BBL.

The draft BBL had been submitted almost two weeks ago by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) to Malacañang for a final review before its turn over to the House of Representatives for enactment. President Benigno Aquino III will certify the draft law as an urgent bill.

Mangudadatu said he had, in fact, even instructed his younger sibling, Maguindanao 2nd District Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu, to sponsor the BBL if no one would.

“That is how we, residents of Maguindanao, from the political leaders, the employees of the provincial government down to the barangay folks, support the Mindanao peace process,” the governor said.

He said the provincial government will not stand against any conduct of peaceful rallies anywhere in Maguindanao as a public show of support to the government-MILF peace initiative.

Mangudadatu said he was fascinated seeing television footage showing how Moro folks behaved calmly as they converged for Sunday’s rallies in different parts of Mindanao and, subsequently, dispersed and returned to their hometowns peacefully, too.

The BBL, once enacted and ratified through a plebiscite in areas inside the Bangsamoro core territory, will, in effect, replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with an MILF-led, more politically and administratively empowered Bangsamoro political entity.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, in a text message, said he had instructed his executive secretary, Laisa Alamia, and Anwar Malang, who is regional secretary for local government, to let the police secure peaceful rallies in support of the peace process in any part of the autonomous region.

“Mas mabuti ang ganyang mga rallies kaysa gyera. In peaceful rallies we can build consensus together and we can show to the whole nation and the whole world that Moro people adhere to proper decorum and are civilized people. That is one of the reforms we in the ARMM are trying to introduce into the region,” Hataman said in his text message.

Hataman said Islam has extensive teachings on participatory democracy and exhaustion of all peaceful means of resolving community issues and concerns. 

"Sa mga ganyang prayer rallies, mas maganda ang mensaheng nai-papaabot natin sa national government at sa international community. Walang nasasaktan, walang evacuations. Mas maganda ang resulta ng ating efforts," Hataman said.