Three issues critical to the future of Mindanao are on top of the agenda when Kusog Mindanaw Conference 2017 convenes Wednesday until Thursday this week at the Waterfront Insular Hotel, Davao City.

Presented by the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) with the support of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Philippines, this year’s Kusog Mindanaw Conference is expected to draw some 75 participants from government, business, academe, civil society, security and religious sectors who will share insights from their respective fields and areas of expertise to generate recommendations on the three-point agenda: the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), federalism, and extremism.

The conference will feature three panel discussions with expert resource persons providing in-depth discussion on the topics assigned to them.

The first panel discussion on the proposed BBL will have as discussants Commissioner Jose Lorena of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), Representative Abdula Dimaporo of the Second District of Lanao del Norte, and Atty. Ishak Mastura, chairman of the Regional Board of Investments (RBOI) of the ARMM. Moderated by IAG Executive Director Atty. Benedicto Bacani, the panel will focus on core territory, plebiscite, and ARMM personnel – three hot-button issues in the proposed Bangsamoro measure.

For the second panel, MNLF Counsel Randolph Parcasio and Prof. Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform (IPER) and member of the PDP-Laban Federalism Institute Study Group, will help the conference understand the current discourse on the proposed shift from unitary to a federal system. Balay Mindanaw Founder and President Charlito Manlupig will moderate the discussion.

The third and last panel will feature an experts’ discussion on extremism with Fr. Eliseo Mercado Jr., Prof. Mansoor Limba of the Ateneo de Davao University, and Atty. Salma Rasul of the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID) as resource persons. Dr. Ofelia Durante,research  specialist with IAG, will moderate the panel.

Kusog Mindanaw is a platform of dialogue where government, business, NGOs, religious and political leaders and organizations of Mindanao meet with the end view of strengthening the voice of Mindanao in national policies and programs.  Since 1994, Kusog Mindanaw has consistently advocated issues that Mindanao’s leaders have built a consensus on: equitable share and role in the national budget and government, good governance and Mindanao peace and development.