MANILA -- More business leaders are getting excited on the business and economic opportunities that are expected to open up with the establishment of the Bangsamoro.  
 
“What the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have done together to push for peace and development is a commendable achievement,” said Dr. Jesus Estanislao, chairman of the Institute for Corporate Directors (ICD). “We have to make this work. Let’s make this work!”
 
The ICD, an independent and autonomous organization that upholds the principles of modern corporate governance, held on October 10 its monthly gathering of fellows for a briefing on the Bangsamoro peace process.
 
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles and government panel member Senen Bacani were the resource speakers for the session.
 
“The Mindanao business community recognizes the need to support the Bangsamoro because it sees the tremendous opportunities that are going to be unleashed when peace and security in the south is finally achieved,” Philippine Council on Islam and Democracy (PCID) director Amina Rasul-Bernardo said.
 
“This is why there is a need to ensure that the peace pact between the government and the MILF goes beyond the level of the draft bill, the level of what is only a ‘paper agreement.’”
 
Deles delivered an overview of the Bangsamoro peace process with the Philippine government and the MILF, as well as of the various other efforts to settle conflicts elsewhere in the country.
 
“While the Bangsamoro may be the best known peace process at present, the reality is that it is the ambition of the Aquino government to end all internal armed conflicts,” Deles said, explaining the context of the government’s work to install lasting peace and development not only in Mindanao, but across the entire Philippines.
 
Bacani, for his part, discussed the salient provisions of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law to the audience of senior corporate leaders.
 
The fellows of the ICD in attendance–who represented various business and civil organizations such as the Asian Institute of Management, BDB Law, Center for Excellence in Governance, Filminera Resources Corporation, First Metro Investment Corporation, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, Philippine National Bank, and the Punongbayan & Araullo Law Office, among others–were in full agreement that the proposed Bangsamoro transition is an arduous but worthwhile challenge for stakeholders across all sectors.