Is Sulu ready to go solo?

Today marks the end of observance of National Peace Consciousness Month. Through Proclamation No. 675 issued in 2004 by former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, September of each year is dedicated to fostering a deeper awareness of the importance of peace and harmony in our communities. This was intended to instill greater consciousness and understanding among the Filipino people on the comprehensive peace process to strengthen and sustain popular support for and participation in this effort.

The Peace Month serves as a powerful reminder of our responsibility to nurture a culture of reconciliation and mutual respect.

Just like many other multi-ethnic countries, the Philippines has a long history of internal strife since time immemorial. Our country’s leaderships – past and present – institutionalized and further strengthened and empowered the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU). It is currently headed by a retired Armed Forces chief of staff, General and now Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.

Notably, Galvez’s predecessors at the OPAPRU were also retired military officers and gentlemen. The bloody wars they fought have served them well to ultimately become the peacemakers. The late Gen. Manuel Yan, as the first OPAPRU chief, forged the formal peace agreement with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari. It was signed on Sept. 2, 1996 during the term of the late president Fidel V. Ramos. While in transition, Mr. Ramos appointed Misuari as the first governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Subsequently, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) was entered into with the
MNLF’s splinter group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on March 27, 2014. Headed by chairman Al Haj Murad Ibrahim, the CAB with the MILF was signed under the administration of the late president Benigno Simeon Aquino III.

Four years later, former president Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act 11054, or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) as part of implementing the CAB. While the nuts-and-bolts of the BOL were being put in place, Mr. Duterte appointed an 80-man Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) in February 2019 and named MILF leader Ibrahim as interim BTA Chief Minister.

Through decades-long nurturing and painstaking patience of peace advocates and supporters, the arduous trek to the efforts of ending secessionist conflicts in Mindanao are now bearing fruit. These we have seen from the formal peace pacts entered into by these administrations past that culminated in the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on March 2, 2019.

RA 11054 gave the BARMM more control over resources and political power. Among other things, the BOL also authorized them to adopt a parliamentary system. As provided for in the CAB, these representatives will be chosen by the people within the region following our constitutional process of democratic elections.

And for the first time, the 80 members of the BARMM Parliament will be elected alongside the holding of the May 9, 2025 national and local polls. It will be composed of representatives from the different Moro sectors and will also include non-Moro indigenous peoples, ulamas, women, youth and Christian settlers from the region through democratic process of elections. In fact, former MNLF and MILF rebels have registered with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as members of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party.

What could become the ironic dealbreaker is the recent ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) that allowed Sulu to separate from the BARMM. Sulu, along with Basilan (except Isabela City), Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Tawi-Tawi were the original provinces that ratified to be part of the ARMM. Following the establishment of the BARMM, its composition grew with the ratification of Cotabato City as first class independent component city and Maguindanao was divided into Del Norte and Del Sur.

In its ruling, the SC upheld the validity of the BOL but declared as unconstitutional the inclusion of Sulu, where 54 percent of residents voted “No” to BARMM as against “Yes” votes of 46 percent.

During our Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last week, BTA Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Asnin K. Pendatun expressed deep concern to what would happen to their Muslim brothers and sisters once the SC decision becomes final and executory. In particular, Pendatun cited, Sulu will be transferred to Region IX for administrative supervision by the national government.

But Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman – herself a Maranao – called out to the BARMM to hold everything in status quo until the 15-man High Court will decide with finality. Pangandaman also heads the Inter-Governmental Relations Body in charge of strengthening relations for lasting peace and economic development in the BARMM.

Once this SC decision becomes final, the provincial government of Sulu might be excluded from the P70 billion or so in annual “block grant” to the BARMM. Moreover, Sulu might not be able to benefit from the official development assistance (ODAs) and other non-financial grants dedicated to BARMM coming from the international donor community. The Comelec might remove seven legislative districts of Sulu out of the BARMM Parliament elections.

Just last week, some P1.6 billion worth of health services over the next five years was committed to the BARMM by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as well as the Japan and Korea International Cooperation Agencies.

Pendatun noted with great optimism the growth prospects from the very significant economic improvements in the BARMM. In fact, he reported the poverty incidence in the entire BARMM has gone down from a high of 52.6 percent in 2018. Quoting the official report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), he said the BARMM poverty incidence has dramatically decreased to 23.5 percent in 2023.

“Although the BARMM still has significant poverty incidence, we are no longer the poorest region,” Pendatun declared.

Ironically, the same PSA report showed the poorest region in the Philippines is Region IX where Sulu will be annexed if it opts out of the BARMM. Governor Sakur Tan, who petitioned the SC against inclusion of Sulu in the BARMM, should think of what’s best for the province. Is Sulu ready to go solo?