Five major issues should be at the heart of the forthcoming Bangsamoro Basic Law if the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are to carve a new autonomy and a fresh start for Muslim Mindanao.

Issues pertaining to land, Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), law and order, transparent governance, and accountability to the people were floated by local chief executives from the two districts of Maguindanao Province in a series of consultations conducted by IAG in Davao City in February and March (February 13 for the first district and March 5 for the second district).

The consultations sought to establish a clearer picture of the role of local government units and their relations in terms of governance with the ARMM regional government. It will serve as input to the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) in the formulation of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law. Once enacted by Congress and ratified by the people, the legislation will entrench a new autonomous political entity replacing the ARMM.

At the LGU roundtable, mayors and vice mayors lauded the reforms initiated by the ARMM regional government post Maguindanao massacre. They said LGU-regional relations have been more collaborative recently given the tremendous attention invested by the Aquino administration in the region in a bid to make governance more effective and accountable in the area.

The “reformed” regional government was cited as more responsive now to local government concerns, especially in terms of social service delivery. Collaborative efforts to bring basic services to their common constituents have helped improve the relations and establish talking points between the regional government and LGUs. Good communication has also fostered LGU-regional partnership towards finding workable solutions to deal with common problems. This is no easy feat given the hazy bureaucratic structure in the region brought about by incomplete devolution and a flawed autonomy compounded by a state of politics that treads on patronage.

However, whatever gains the present regional government seems poised to attain, local chief executives believe, are bound to succumb in time to ARMM’s imperfection. The ARMM bureaucracy, they said, will be perpetually plagued by “structural defects.” After two decades of regional-LGU relations in the ARMM, Maguindanao LGUs have come to a conclusion that ARMM’s autonomy is indeed flawed, showing in the many woes afflicting the region, peace instability and poverty topmost on the list.

The LGUs are pinning their hope to the forthcoming legislation for the Bangsamoro, saying that the Basic Law must be able to deliver real autonomy this time around, a task its predecessor – Republic Act 9054 or the Amended Organic Act of the ARMM – came short. They share the view that autonomy in the ARMM is a failure partly because of incomplete devolution.

The LGUs asserted that more powers and authorities should have been devolved by the national government to the ARMM regional government, and by the ARMM regional government to local governments. A case in point is the delivery of services in the education and health sector, a function currently exercised by the regional government that should have been devolved to LGUs.

The LGUs view the establishment of the Bangsamoro as generally positive, but intimated at the same time that the negotiating panels should have consulted with them more closely by requiring their representation in the negotiating table. However, as gleaned from the roundtable series, the feeling of being sidelined is not simmering into palpable discontent. Riding high on its anti-corruption bandwagon, the current administration continues to enjoy high approval ratings and President Benigno Aquino’s political capital can still summon anytime LGU support for the Bangsamoro he wants to entrench.   

As strategic stakeholders of the upcoming Bangsamoro, the LGUs have examined the provisions of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and its four annexes and found the provision on non-diminution of LGU privileges already granted to them under the current ARMM setup a step in the right direction. The text in the FAB on non-diminution reads: “The privileges already enjoyed by the local government units under existing laws shall not be diminished unless otherwise altered, modified or reformed for good governance pursuant to the provisions of the Bangsamoro local government code.”

This non-diminution principle, the LGUs asserted, comes with the caveat “good governance”, hence the conditions under which any of the privileges can be altered, modified or reformed to serve good governance should be spelled out in the Basic Law. This and additional privileges can be provided in the Basic Law to attract inclusion of more LGUs in the Bangsamoro.

However, the LGUs acknowledged that the documents – the FAB and the four annexes – are not completely understood in their circle, something that the two parties – GPH and MILF – should address to level expectations.

The presence of women leaders at the roundtable series was also lauded. The Bangsamoro, the LGUs said, should institutionalize women, youth and children development in the region. It must create and implement policies addressing the vulnerability of this sector. Participation of Bangsamoro women and youth in governance and nation-building must be upheld, they added. 

Five major issues for the BTC

Issues that pertain to land surfaced in the roundtable series as the most recurring concern of Maguindanao LGUs. The widespread voluntary offer to sell (VOS) method of acquiring vast tracts of land in the region has been put into question with the LGUs urging the incoming new regional government to condone all VOS transactions in favor of the Bangsamoro. The plea gained resonance among local leaders when feuds or rido arising from land conflicts were put into the equation.

The LGUs proposed that the Bangsamoro government form an independent commission to look into all VOS land transactions, address land-grabbing issues, and propose corresponding actions.  The agrarian reform department – or its equivalent in the Bangsamoro – should also address this problem head on by plugging the loopholes in surveying and titling.

The issue of land intersects further into issues on delineation of LGU boundaries. Unclear boundaries muddle the LGUs’ economic interests because individual tax payers and businesses along unclear boundary lines do not know exactly where to pay their taxes or register their businesses. The LGUs cautioned that this dilemma is also a potent formula for inter-LGU conflict. They added that clear delineation of boundaries is also essential to facilitate smooth registration of voters and to establish integrity of the voting population.

Another recommendation by Maguindanao LGUs is for the Bangsamoro to establish its own standards in the creation of new municipalities. They lamented that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has been inconsistent in the dispensation of Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) saying that some LGUs while meeting the standards have not received their IRA.

A question was also raised whether there will be a new method for dispensing the IRA to LGUs. There is a provision for a block grant for the Bangsamoro in the FAB and some LGUs believe the Basic Law may opt to incorporate the IRA or lump it in the annual budget for the region coming from the national government. The goal is to make LGUs directly accountable to the regional government on how their IRA is spent. In the ARMM setup, the LGUs receive their IRA directly from the national government.

The next big issue that Maguindanao LGUs want resolved has to do with peace and order. They said that the provision for a Bangsamoro police is a welcome feature in the new autonomous setup but its operationalization is still difficult to imagine at this point e.g. what will be the relationship between the Bangsamoro police and the LGU? More than policing, the LGUs believe that serious attention be accorded to the entrenchment of the Shari’ah law and the establishment of Shari’ah courts to facilitate Islamic governance that thrives on moral values and law and order.

The LGUs also look forward to details on how exactly the normalization process will proceed. Apprehensions were raised especially on disarmament whether its implementation will cover not only MILF combatants but all armed groups including the splinter group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), private armies and lawless elements. The LGUs believe that the full implementation of this aspect of the peace agreement will be the litmus test of the MILF leadership.

Another persistent hurdle to development in the region is graft and corruption. What transparency and accountability measure the Bangsamoro government will exact and if it can actually entrench it will define the success – or failure – of this new autonomy, the LGUs said. They added that conscious effort be really undertaken to fight graft and corruption.

The three layers of governance – national government, Bangsamoro government, and LGUs – and independent commissions like the Commission on Audit (COA) can serve as checkpoints performing checks and balances necessary to effect transparency and accountability.

In the end, the LGUs believe, all this aspiration for effective, clean, and honest governance under the new Bangsamoro will be elusive if public servants continue clinging to power to serve personal interests. The Bangsamoro presents a new brand of politics and governance the LGUs are keen to help fulfill.