Bangsamoro Basic Law: Step Forward on a Longer Road to Peace
By Soliman M. Santos, Jr.
Naga City, 25 October 2014 (slightly revised 1 November 2014)
Having followed as closely as possible, even from a distance, the Mindanao peace process for more than 20 years since 1993, mainly as a civil society peace advocate and occasionally as a peace researcher and consultant, one can perhaps be forgiven for giving occasional unsolicited analysis and advice. There are certain conjunctures in that process that particularly call for this. For me, the achievement of an “agreed version” between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and its submission to Congress as House Bill (HB) No. 4994 and Senate Bill (SB) No. 2408 is one such conjuncture. The trajectory of this must ideally be not only understood but also influenced for the better of the whole process. It is better to say one’s piece now seeking to make a modest contribution to that end, rather than later when it no longer matters because it has been overtaken by events. But of course, one can only offer one’s thoughts in good faith and according to one’s best lights; their use or otherwise is mainly up to the direct and key actors in the peace process.Read More »Bangsamoro Basic Law: Step Forward on a Longer Road to Peace