Overview of the Business and Investment Climate in the Bangsamoro

From the Sun Star-Davao: Overview of the Business and Investment Climate in the Bangsamoro

BUSINESS and Investments opportunity in the proposed new political entity, Bangsamoro, is a breakthrough in Mindanao. The ongoing peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) holds out the possibility of peace, a responsive government and a better, more prosperous future for their people of the region.

There are several questions we may ask ourselves, how can the communities within the Bangsamoro be described? How can the community be understood? What are its values and priorities? Who should be involved in helping develop and implement in creating a conducive business climate for the region? Who is likely to be a great help and why? Who else can be part of a network of support? Who might hinder the process if not included? These questions were in my mind when I attended the forum, “Overview of the Business and Investment Climate in the Bangsamoro,” last week, November 27–28, 2013, at Waterfront Hotel.

The forum was organized by Foundation for Economic Freedom, Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy, and Australian Aid.

The Framework Agreement and transitional arrangements provides a “golden” opportunity for the partners in the peace process to set in place appropriate policy and institutional arrangements that will enhance governance and capacity, and serve to improve significantly the business and investment climate in the region. Complemented with well directed public sector investments, this would set the foundations for a more robust and productive private sector essential to creating much needed employment and income earning opportunities for the people of the Bangsamoro. (Bangsamoro, Laying the Foundations for a Robust and Productive Private Sector in Muslim Mindanao. 2013)

In my limited experiences in Mindanao and working in the communities in the Armm, I raised the following questions and tried to answer them.

How can the communities within the Bangsamoro be described? How can the community be understood? What are its values and priorities?

The culture of the Bangsamoro is rich and diverse. As early as 10th century, there interaction with Southeast Asian countries, European countries, and even during the 19th century American and Japanese interventions, all left their marks in the way of life of the people. The following are key values system that stems their world view and judgments:

Process of Decision-Making

Like the Filipino culture, the people in the Bangsamoro need to consult their elders, family members, and even the clan before they decide or commit to do anything. The decision of the family is far more important than the individual's judgment or decision on a particular issue or concern. In the process of dealing with people, Bangsamoro needs to know the background of the person that they are dealing with. The family and personal background of the person are vital information before they can give their trust and confidence.

Essence of Maratabat

The Bangsamoro are family oriented and they cling to their clan as a source of support and stability. Thus, they value the honor of the clan/family more than their life. This is the essence of maratabat. An act of a family member is an act of the whole family, thus the whole clan may be shamed by an action or omission of one of their family member. The same goes with the marriage of a member of the family. It is actually a marriage of clans or communities. Thus, there are several rituals and traditions that need to be followed before a wedding is conducted. These factors give stability of life which is connected in their traditions and cultural practices.

Who should be involved in helping develop and implement in creating a conducive business climate for the region? Who is likely to be a great help and why? Who else can be part of a network of support? Who might hinder the process if not included?

Socio-Political Landscape: Understanding the Concept of Datuism

The Datu system is one of the oldest potent institutions in Southern Philippines. Families and clans in Maguindanao, Lanao, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, and in traditional domains of non-Islamized indigenous groups are centered in recognizing the power and influence of the datus. With the introduction of Islam, these datus have confederated themselves in establishing the Sultanate.

Muslims in Mindanao and Sulu have this distinct strong attachment to the datu and sultanate systems because of the existence of the tarsila. Tarsila is defined as the genealogical lineage with particular reference to the succession of hierarchy and exercise of power.

Tarsila is not only a cultural practice but also a religious recognition that a person and his/her family and clan, has a direct lineage to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The founding fathers of Islam in Sulu and Maguindanao were Shariff Makdum and Shariff Kabungsuan, respectively. They were from Sumatra and Borneo of Arab descent related to the prophet of Islam as recorded in the tarsilas. Therefore, a datu or a sultan is believed to be a descendant of the Prophet and because of this, he is a political and a religious leader, thus the official title of sultan is both Batara (lord) and Maulana (religious scholar).

Most present-day traditional and political leaders in the Muslim areas have their respective tarsilas supporting the legitimacy of the power and rule over the people. To this date, most of the tarsilas are kept by the different clans and political and traditional ruling clans have their own keepers of the tarsila. Importantly, we must add that the datu system and sultanate existed exclusively of one another as two separate political structures before they finally converged with the advent of Islam in the Southern Philippines. The old datu system of local overlords merged with the Islamic and Arabic sultanate system in which the sultan “commanded the allegiance of other datus.” Since alliances were formed by marriages (the sultans’ daughter being married to a local datu or his marriage to a daughter of another datu) the tarsila made sure that the precious bloodline of the Prophet remained intact and the sultan’s legitimacy (owing to his direct lineage with the Prophet) was unquestioned by his Muslim constituents or followers.

Therefore, if we really want to engage and have economic development in the Armm or the proposed Bangsamoro New Political Entity, we need to have a complete grasp of the cultural component and the history of Islam in the region. These two are crucial points in the lives of the people.

Unfortunately, these points were not thoroughly discussed during the conference. Another question we may also ask, how will the Bangsamoro handle the datu system?

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/opinion/2013/12/04/lidasan-overview-business-and-investment-climate-bangsamoro-316959