Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on October 29, 2014.

In the past few weeks, I spent most of my time in Cotabato City. I met up with friends and relatives discussing the issues and concerns of the Bangsamoro peace processes. It is, to many of us, obvious that dialogue is a necessary response to the socio-economic and political development in the region because of the propose creation of the Bangsamoro political entity.

Last October 21, I met up with Noor Saada, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Education of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and, Prof. Alih Ayoub, secretary general of the National Ulama Council of the Philippines and is now connected with the Bangsamoro Transition Commission -- Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) Joint Project: Comprehensive Capacity Development Project for the Bangsamoro.

Absent in the meeting was Prof. Yusuf Morales and Prof. Mucha Quiling. We call ourselves as modern day "pirates", but not in the negative sense. We are "pirates" mainly because we recognized the glory days of our forefathers, the Iranuns and Sama Bangingi.

James Warren, an anthropologist based in Australia said in his book "The Sulu Zone":

"The Iranun burst quite suddenly into Southeast Asian history in the second half of the eighteenth century with a series of terrifying raids and attacks on the coasts and shipping of the Philippines, the straits of Malacca and the islands beyond Sulawesi. Their primary targets were unprotected coastal settlements and sailing boats that travelled throughout Southeast Asia bringing valuable commodities from China and the West back to the most remote parts of the archipelago. Many of these marauders were sponsored by rulers from the trading states of Cotabato, Sulu, Siak, and Sambas. They were soon described as 'Lanun' or 'Illanoon'-'pirates'-by those who suffered their depredations or either travelled with or hunted them and wrote about their widespread impact on the Southeast Asian world."

Thomas Mckeana in his book, Muslim Rebels and Rulers wrote:

"A key element in the maritime orientation of the Magindanao Sultanate was its relationship with the Iranun populations that resided within its territory.

"European accounts beginning in the mid-eighteenth century identify the Iranun as specialized maritime raiders who channeled large amounts of externally acquired wealth -- in the form of slaves, plunder, and occasionally external tribute -- back into the sultanate. Swift Iranun warships set out south from Ilana Bay to harry coastal villages, merchant vessels, and Dutch settlements in Sulawesi (the Celebes) and Maluku (the Moluccas).

"Larger Iranun raids were directed against Spanish territories in the Philippines. The coastal towns of southern Luzon and the Visayas were the victims of persistent, large-scale attacks from 'Moro' sea raiders. Captives were sold externally, usually to Bugis or Brunei slave traders, or internally along the Pulangi River. Spaniards or other prominent captives were usually allowed to redeem themselves by ransom immediately after their seizure.

"The Iranun occupied an important niche in the socioeconomic system of the pre-colonial Cotabato Basin. They formed autonomous coastal communities headed by datus or petty sultans. Although living in close proximity to the Magindanao Sultanate and often aligned with it, the Iranun were never incorporated into the sultanate as subjects, and they assiduously guarded their political independence. When allied with the downriver sultan, the Iranun provided him with very significant economic and political support. The internal circulation of the wealth seized externally by Iranun raiders was also a vital component of the economic prosperity of the Magindanao Sultanate."

We are the complete opposite of our forefathers. We work for peace and development through inter religious and intra religious dialogue. But we share the same blood and veins as "warriors" for peace. The following are some of the points we discussed.

There are many current issues and concerns faced by both Muslims and non-Muslims in the areas of the Armm. We need dialogue, need the common ground that makes dialogue possible. History tells us that disaster happens when human beings become disconnected from each other, and the process of "Othering", where people with whom we do not speak can become dehumanized. In times like this, we know that dialogue is not the single answer to all the ills of this planet. We asked ourselves, do we have a better option? Can we attain peace without dialogue?

In the discussions of the Bangsamoro, many of us are focusing ourselves with the current issue of passing the law in congress and ratifying it. But our job is not limited to those two important points. We need to understand that once the Bangsamoro is in place, ARMM is deemed abolished. In the Armm, we have at least 35,000 government employees, and 26,000 of these is from the DepEd, they may all seem to become jobless.

The real challenge within the Bangsamoro is setting up the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA). The BTA will have several functions and not easy tasks. One of these is their task to draft the implementing rules and regulations of the Bangsamoro.

We ask ourselves, those who are truly engaged in the BBL, are they aware of the huge task ahead of us? We hope so.

Going back to the issue on inter-religious and intra-religious dialogue, we also ask the civil society organizations and peace advocates of the Bangsamoro, is it clear to them the internal dynamics within the Bangsamoro? Often times we think about the Bangsamoro as one homogenous entity. But in reality it is not.

We work so hard to advocate for the passage of the BBL, but what do we do to prepare our communities and constituents for this new political entity?

We tried our best looking for possible answers. We all agreed that the best way to proceed in the Bangsamoro is through dialogue, not just meeting of the minds, but also the meeting of the hearts.