From the Mindanao Examiner (Feb 14, 2021): Exclusive: Sulu Sultans protest BARMM extension, call for election
The Sultans of Sulu are protesting the proposed extension of the interim Bangsamoro government for another 3 years, and called on Muslims in the country and President Rodrigo Duterte and Congress to disallow all attempts and maneuver to extend the tenure of those trying to hold on power.
Influential Sultans Muizuddin Bahjin, Ibrahim Bahjin and Vennizar Julkarnain said that aspiring members of the Bangsamoro parliament should be compelled to submit themselves before the true will of the people to legitimize their mandate through the electoral process as set and scheduled by the Constitution.
Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim, of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and his allies in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) are pushing and lobbying for the extension of the interim government. It would also extend Ebrahim’s term and BTA members and those holding key positions in the regional government.
Ebrahim, also chieftain of the former rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said he is pushing for the extension of the interim government based on the recommendation of the so-called peace advocacy group Mindanao Peoples’ Caucus following its “rapid midterm review” on the Bangsamoro transition period. Ebrahim has met several times with Duterte to lobby the proposed extension even without public consultations, not even a meeting with the governors and mayors of the volatile region.
But House Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman and former governor of the Muslim autonomous region, also wanted to review the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), but this too was quickly rejected by BARMM and it also asked lawmakers to audit the previous Hataman administration.
Manifesto
Both Sultans also issued a signed manifesto on February 13 enumerating the reasons for their opposition to the extension. A copy of the manifesto was obtained by the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner and it reads: “Royal House of Patikul, Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, after having gone through series of consultation to gauge and register the pulse of our Ra’ayats viz-avis the performance of the BTA, conscious of the fact that Sulu registered a majority NO votes in a (2019) plebiscite to ratify the BOL forming the so-called Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, hereby make a stand arrived at in a consensus based on common observations.”
It listed the following issues with BARMM and BTA: “That since its inception, the BTA which constitutes the so-called Bangsamoro Parliament and Regional Government have been markedly slow in the delivery of government services as mandated to Sulu, and for almost 2 years, all it delivered were the retrenchment and separation from services of regional employees causing a great distraught to the affected and their families, and rather spent long working hours if only to deliberate and enact codes and bills while the administration of component localities, in particular, the insular provinces, were left to fend for themselves.”
“That, BARMM’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Sulu, thus far, have been unsubstantial and wanting; That, gauging from the general observation on the operation and performance of the BTA, it can be construed as deliberate delaying maneuver to justify the plan they seemingly hatched from the very star, that is, to ask for an extension, accordingly for as long as 7 years.”
And “That, to allow the extension of the transition (period) would be tantamount to escape judgment by the constituents of the BARMM on the performance of the latter viz-a-vis its capability to administer a region, and would be a blatant denial of the people’s right of suffrage that is enshrined in the Constitution to which the BOL has been incorporated into, and thus requiring constitutional amendment or legislative intervention, failing which possibly legal redress maybe sought; That, the region, and the country in general, should be spared the humility and made a laughing stock for perpetuating the condescending brand “failed experiment.”
Other Sultans of Sulu - Muedzul-Lail Kiram, Julkarnain Jainal Abirin and Phugdalun Kiram have rejected the BOL.
Then Sulu Governor Totoh Tan (extreme right) and respected political leader and philanthropist and now Governor Dr. Sakur Tan (4th from right) pose with Sultans Ibrahim Bahjin, Muizuddin Jainal Bahjin, Muedzul-Lail Kiram (2nd from right), Mohammad Venizar Julkarnain Jainal Abirin and Phugdalun Kiram during the signing of the unity covenant among the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu; and Grand Mufti Abdulbaqi Abubakar. Dr. Tan is a key figure in the unification of the sultans which is unprecedented and historical and will further strengthen the unity of all heirs to the Sultante of Sulu and North Borneo. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
Rejected
Governor Sakur Tan said municipal mayors and their constituents are also opposing the extension of the interim government and the BTA. “People are now protesting here (in Sulu) because they are opposing the self-serving proposal to extend the interim Bangsamoro government for another 3 years,” he said.
Sulu has previously cited various reasons for rejecting the proposed extension, according to a manifesto passed November 17 by the Provincial Board after consulting with municipal mayors and peoples’ organizations, among other sectors. The manifesto said the Bangsamoro Parliament and the Regional Government have not delivered even the most basic of government services, as mandated, to Sulu. And for almost 2 years, all it delivered were the retrenchment and separation from services of regional employees causing a great distraught to the affected and their families.
It said that after almost 2 years, “all they can afford to banner is but the passing of an Administrative Code while the administration of component localities, in particular, the insular provinces, was left to fend for themselves.”
The manifesto also said BARMM’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Sulu, thus far, have been unsubstantial and wanting, almost negligible; And to allow the extension of the transition (period) would be tantamount to escape judgment by the constituents of the BARMM on the performance of the latter vis-a-vis its capability to administer a region, and would be a blatant denial of the people’s constitutional right of suffrage to which the BOL has been incorporated into, and thus requiring constitutional amendment or legislative intervention, failing which possible legal redress maybe sough.
It further said “that the region and the country in general, should be spared the humility and made a laughing stock for perpetuating the condescending brand of a failed experiment.”
“The question should be asked to those who are in the seat of authority in the BARMM on why are they so hesitant to submit themselves to an election when even before the transition they have repeatedly boasted of their readiness and preparedness to rule and govern; and how could they have the moral ascendancy to sit as an authority over a region when they are devoid of a mandate by the true will of the people, thereby casting doubts on their platform of so-called “Moral Governance?”, the manifesto reads.
It also called on the Office of the President, House of Representatives and the Senate, and Constitutional Commissions and other concerned groupings and individuals and the BARMM general populace to deny all attempts to extend the tenure of the BTA.
Fears
Ebrahim admitted last November that he fears he may not win should the elections push through in 2022 and that is why there is a need to extend the term of the interim government. “We are very concerned kasi ang tingin namin, nag-i-start pa lang kami. And then parang wala pa kaming tangible na accomplishment talaga na maipakita namin. So ‘yun ang challenge sa amin, na kung mag-eleksyon, baka sabihin ng mga tao, wala naman ginawa ito,” he said in a podcast interview on November 13 with journalist Christian Esguerra on Press One.
He said new transition schedule might not be enough to complete systemic and structural changes in the region, including the crucial decommissioning of combatants under the peace deal’s normalization process. “Kasi nga nakita natin na kailangan talaga na meron. Halimbawa, mabuti kung talagang siguradong manalo kami (in 2022 elections). Pero walang assurance ‘yun kasi anybody’s game na pagka-eleksyon na. Pag hindi, ano mangyayari dun sa other aspects ng negotiation?” he told Esguerra.
Esguerra’s report said BARMM was allocated a much bigger budget compared with the old Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Its block grant is worth P65.3 billion in this year’s appropriations law, on top of a P10-billion special development fund it was supposed to receive. (Mindanao Examiner)
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