Moro CSOs craft Bangsamoro agenda

(This article had been edited thus it varied from the original piece.)


Over one hundred Moro civil society organizations (CSOs) gathered for the Bangsamoro National Congress on the Right to Self Determination in Davao City from August 15 to 16, and crafted a comprehensive Bangsamoro development agenda.

The written agenda was crafted containing the unified hope of the Moro people in the country. This document has been planned to be included in the matters to be discussed in the forthcoming peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society chair Guiamel Alim said.

The Congress dubbed “Renewed Consensus and Solidarity Towards the Attainment of the Bangsamoro’s Self-Determinaton” collected 100 CSO representatives in the country.

Alim said the agenda consist of 13 themes comprising issues the Moro people want covered by the peace negotiations. The issues include women and children, social services and health, land tenure, environment, economic development, education, youth, peace and security, relationship with non-Moros, human rights, culture, and political system, Alim said.

Alim also said that the Moro CSO wants to be part of the peace talks, which will define what is the future of the Moro government.

“Alam ho namin na ang (MILF) ay ginagawa na nila yung mga paraan para magkasundo sa gobyerno upang ma-define ang political status ng Bangsamoro. Whether ito man ay autonomy or federal yan po ay ipipresent na,” Alim said.

After constituting the agenda, Alim said the CSO will lobby it to the government. “I-aadvocate ito ng Congress for constituent building. This document will serve as a political agreement na it will serve the purpose of everyone.”

“Alam ko po na may mga reaction na naririnig lang ang ‘Bangsamoro’ eh natatakot na. Yan ho ay hindi po dapat mangyari. Ang Bangsamoro po ay katulad rin ng bawat Pilipino. At sila po ay magiging tunay na Pilipino kung sila ay mabibigyan ng maayos na karapatan,” Alim said.

“The right to self-determination does not only cover the right of the people to determine their political status, but also the right to freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development,” Alim said in vernacular.

He said Bangsamoro people also ask the peace panel to reconsider the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) which the Supreme Court discarded in October last year for purportedly being unconstitutional.

Another aspiration is that they opt for the MOA-AD to establish a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity as an alternative to an independent Islamic State for the Bangsamoro People, Alim said.

Mindanao State University of Marawi City professor Dr. Sukarno Tanggol said in a discussion that the Moro do not know where to turn to in case of judiciary matters.

“Hindi natin alam saan lalapit. Wala tayong sistema. Kaya naiisip ko na kailangan nating gumawa ng paraan para ang mga anak natin hindi na mahihirapan,” he said. (from JCZ/ Sun.Star Davao)