Advocates and supporters of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) gathered on September 18 in Davao City for a Mindanao-wide discussion on the experience and fate off the law since it was submitted to Congress.
The Mindanao Civil Society Platform for Peace (MCSOPP), through the Maranao People Development Center (Maradeca), Inc. in partnership with the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) conducted the Mindanao-wide “Community Meeting cum Steering Committee Meeting” with the theme: “Revisiting The Bangsamoro Transition Process: Prospects for the Bangsamoro Basic Law in Congress and Related Scenarios”.
The gathering was held at Lispher Inn in Davao City.
The discussion was participated by 25 persons, composed of members of the steering committee, the Fastrac, and the active partners in peace advocacy across the different provinces of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The meeting revisited the transition process that the BBL experienced due to the uncertainties and questions thrown around it as it underwent several grilling in Congress.
Partners from the civil society organizations also shared their experiences, initiatives as well as challenges on explaining and popularizing the BBL in their respective provinces, “especially now that we are entering a very complicated political landscape in the Philippines”, the Maradeca said.
The meeting conducted an activity planning to identify strategies given the limited days remaining to respond with ground activities and the probable outcomes of the BBL in the legislative process.
Maradeca said that “despite the negative forces for the possibility of passing a meaningful BBL, the participants have expressed their hopes and positive views and outlook”.
“To quote Professor Sahie S. Udjah: BBL is not the end of the political tunnel for the Bangsamoro, I knew this is a tunnel but this is not the end of the road”.
“Frustration can come even without the BBL in place but it is not permanent” he added.
– end –