First look at the second quarter 2014 issue of the IAG quarterly Autonomy & Peace Review

 

The signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signals the start of setting up the infrastructure and processes for its implementation. We at IAG have no illusion that the implementation of the agreement will be a walk in the park. Already, bumps have surfaced along the way. The passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) has encountered a snag over serious disagreements between the government and MILF-led Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) on the draft BBL that the President will submit for legislation to the Philippine Congress. The delay in the passage of the BBL is skewing the projected timeline to give the MILF-led Bangsamoro Transition Authority at least a year to prepare for the establishment of the Bangsamoro government in 2016.

 

Photo: FIRST READ ON IAG APP:Download the IAG Android App to your smartphone or tablet to read the 2nd quarter 2014 issue of IAG's Autonomy & Peace Review*This issue outlines some crucial elements in order to make the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro a true instrument for sustainable peace and development in Mindanao.The IAG App is now available for download in Google Play.*131 pages, also available in print soon

FIRST READ ON IAG APP: Users of IAG App can now read this issue on Android devices. The IAG App is available for download in Google Play.

 

The passage of the BBL that is acceptable to both the GPH and the MILF is only one of the many hurdles that will come along the way in implementing the peace roadmap under the CAB. It is to the credit of the parties that they are not backing down and are working to address difficulties however limited their options are.

 

This issue of the Autonomy and Peace Review outlines some crucial elements in order to make the implementation of the CAB a true instrument for sustainable peace and development in Mindanao. Fr. Joel Tabora, S.J. , president of Ateneo de Davao University, calls for developing a brand of education that plays a key role in faith, justice, cultures, inter-religious dialogue and the environment. The implementation of a peace roadmap that divides than unites people cannot be a true vehicle of peace and justice.

 

The importance of inclusivity in the instruments and process of implementing the CAB is highlighted by former BTC Commissioner Johaira Wahab who asserts that people need to feel that they own the process.

 

The status of the indigenous peoples (IPs) in the Bangsamoro is a complex and difficult issue that hounded the negotiations and the crafting of the BBL. BTC Chair and Chief MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, provides the roadmap for the bright future of the IPs in the Bangsamoro. This roadmap is initially analyzed in a paper produced by IPDEV. Prof. Rudy Rodil further deepens the discourse by examining the meaning of ancestral domain from the perspectives of the MILF and IP.

 

National Artist for literature F. Sionil Jose, in a short piece, exhorts the Bangsamoro leaders to seize the opportunity to prove that Moro leadership can usher peace and good governance in the Bangsamoro.

 

We are also featuring a mapping of political institutions whose political support must be acquired for the successful implementation of the roadmap. We hope that this map can help the parties and domestic and international supporters of the peace process in planning their campaigns and advocacies.

 

Finally, we are republishing an article from the APR archives on the role of constitutional change in the search for Mindanao peace.

 

We hope that this issue can help raise awareness on the obstacles along the path to Mindanao peace and ways in addressing them.  131 pages. Also available in print soon. -- IAG 

 

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