Saying that the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will establish an inclusive new political entity and “not an Islamic state where non-Muslims will be discriminated”, the lone migrant settler representative in the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) – the body that drafted the BBL – called for support to the proposed basic law now in Congress.

BTC Commissioner Peter Eisma was one of the panelists at the IAG talkshop on Wednesday in Cotabato City where he urged skeptics to “open [their] hearts and minds.”

“We are advocating for peace. This is the time for us to participate,” Eisma said, adding that he himself used to be an “oppositionist” but that he “made a paradigm shift because there is no other way except to move forward.”

No attached entitlement to Bangsamoro identity

Wednesday’s panel also allayed fears that only a few sectors will benefit from the establishment of the Bangsamoro.

Citing provisions in the BBL on the allocation and classification of the seats in the Parliament under the proposed new political entity, Eisma asserted that the Bangsamoro is “a government for all” and “there is no prohibition that if you are not Bangsamoro you cannot run” for office.

“This government is not exclusive for Muslims or the MILF… Even a non-Muslim can put up a party list because fifty percent of the seats will be allocated for party list. Even in the districts, a Christian can run… and forty percent of the seats in the Parliament are for district representatives,” Eisma said.

The BBL proposes that forty percent of the Members of the Parliament will be district representation, fifty percent party representatives, and ten percent reserved seats.

Fr. Eliseo Mercado, senior policy adviser at IAG, said that the Bangsamoro identity contained in the BBL has no attached entitlement, hence, non-discriminatory.

“The basis of the identity is historical to recognize the struggle of the Bangsamoro. There is no special treatment if you are a Bangsamoro,” Fr. Mercado said.

“It’s up to you whether you want to ascribe or not. If there will be no self-ascription by non-Muslims, that’s fine. But that does not mean that you are not part of this government or you are not part of this territory,” Eisma clarified.

Fr. Mercado also noted how the BBL progressed significantly. The inclusion in the preamble of the Bangsamoro as well as “other inhabitants of the Bangsamoro” shows attempts to be inclusive, he said.