At the end of the three-day hard work, sharing of diverse opinions, and building consensus, the MILF-led Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) unanimously passed its internal rules, logo or seal, organizational structure, calendar of activities with all the 15 commissioners voting favorably during its plenary session held in Tagaytay City yesterday.
The BTC also approved its organizational structure featuring the selection by consensus and appointment of two deputy chairmen, a floor leader, and chairs of the six out of seven committees. Elected two deputies of the chairman of the BTC were Commissioners Robert Maulana M. Alonto, a member of the MILF Negotiating panel and Akmad Sakkam, a diplomat who served as former ambassador to Iraq, Bahrain, and Bangladesh, and elected floor leader was Commissioner Johaira Wahab. The commissioners who hold committee chairmanship are Asani Tammang (Basic rights, culture, social justice, and indigenous peoples’ matters), Johaira Wahab (Transitory provisions, amendments, revisions and miscellaneous matters), Robert Alonto (Political autonomy), and Raissa Jajurie (Fiscal autonomy), and Hussein Munoz (Justice and security matters). A Coordinating Committee, which will be composed of the chairmen of the other committees, will be chaired ex-officio by the BTC chairman.
Mohagher Iqbal, Chairman of the BTC, opened the "Consensus Building Workshop" of the Commission on 16 May 2013 in Tagaytay City.
The workshop, the third gathering of this Commission formed through EO 120 pursuant to the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) was convened with the facilitation of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HDC) and with the support of the European Union.
With the theme “working together for peace through dialogue, the workshop provided space for the 14 Commissioners and Chair Iqbal to get to know each other better, form a solid team and reach a consensus on many principles underlying its work as a Commission.
The workshop started on May 16 to May 18 with various consensus points reached on the functions of the Transition Commission as the drafter of the Bangsamoro Basic law, a body that can propose Constitutional amendments to Congress, and as a clearing house for development efforts in Muslim Mindanao. They also discussed the need to engage a broad range of stakeholders including Congress to ensure inclusiveness and wider consultations. Fr. Albert Alejo of Ateneo de Zamboanga talked about public consultations while Prof. Edmund Tayao, Professor of Political Science at the University of Sto. Tomas and the Executive Director of the Local Government Development Foundation spoke of the need to engage political institutions and individuals. The workshop was facilitated by HD Centre Autonomy Consultant Benedicto Bacani and HD Project Manager Michael Alar with advisory support from Autonomy experts Prof. Yash Pal Ghai and Dr. Jill Cottrell. Ali Saleem, Country Representative of the HD Centre Philippines, expressed optimism in the crucial work ahead of the Commission in laying the foundations for political and structural reform in Muslim Mindanao.
This is the second time in a row that session of the BTC has been supported logistically by the HDC. The first was when the BTC met in Cotabato City from April 29-May 1.
On the closing day of the special session, His Excellency Guy Ledoux, Ambassador of the European Union in Manila tendered a dinner for the Commissioners at the venue of the session. He expressed happiness at the success of the activities and even congratulated them for the fruitful engagement. For his part Chairman Iqbal thanked the good ambassador and the European Union for being supporters of the efforts to find peace in Muslim Mindanao.
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