For senior members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the revolutionary group’s foray into political party building signals the beginning of an entirely new kind of struggle amid the pursuit of peace and development in Muslim Mindanao. They said Philippine politics is already familiar, but new “weapons” are needed if the MILF is to stay ahead and relevant in the new political landscape the creation of the Bangsamoro will bring.

Senior MILF members from its central committee, political committee, Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) – its armed wing, and professional group expressed confidence that the ministerial form of government the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will entrench in the proposed Bangsamoro territory is a step closer to a new brand of politics that is markedly different from the patronage system, which they said, is the staple of national politics. Forty of them attended the Basic Training on Political Party Building and Development organized by IAG with Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in Marawi City on November 17^th to 19^th.

Participants in the training in Marawi City posed with IAG Executive Director Benedicto Bacani, KAS Country Representative Benedikt Seemann, and BIAF Chief of Staff Sammy Al-Mansoor.

The proposed BBL provides that the Bangsamoro government will adopt a ministerial form of government. It envisions an electoral system that will “encourage the formation of genuinely principled political parties.” Congress is expected to pass the bill by February next year.

The MILF confirmed earlier it has formed a political party called United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) that will serve as its vehicle for participation and representation in the administrative and governance processes in the Bangsamoro.

The Marawi training marked the fourth collaboration on trainings related to political party building and development among IAG, KAS, and the MILF. A similar training was conducted twice in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao in 2013. This was followed by the trainers’ training in Manila in March this year. Two Manila-trained MILF participants were among the resource persons in Marawi.

IAG Executive Director Benedicto Bacani thanked the MILF leadership for giving IAG the opportunity to provide technical assistance to UBJP. However, he clarified that this engagement is limited only to showing the MILF different courses of actions and alternatives for good decisions. The direction of the party is up to UBJP, he said.

(L) Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Country Representative Benedikt Seemann talked on the role of political parties in a parliamentary system, using Germany, his home country, as a model. (R) IAG Executive Director Benedicto Bacani urged participants to stay focused on their "north star" based on their values.

Bacani advised the budding party to “stay away from ‘business-as-usual’, elevate policy discussions to new levels, and cultivate motivation, internal discipline, and faithfulness to the rules and regulations of the party”.

“The arena is changing, but this is a continuing revolution in the new parliamentary system”, Bacani added. He urged the UBJP to find a framework to make politics and governance work together to bring sustainable development.