CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — A Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) official said they have already obtained a copy of the “Christian policy agenda”, which was submitted by a group of Christian church leaders based in the new Bangsamoro political entity that will be established following the passage of Republic Act 11054, or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF Implementing Panel and commissioner of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), said in forum held here on Wednesday that they received the policy agenda from Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, the archbishop of Cotabato.
Iqbal said he was handed a copy of the document during a meeting with Quevedo in Cotabato City last week.
“Quevedo asked us: How about the injustices that were committed against the Christians? When you’re talking about historical injustices, you are not selective,” he said.
Iqbal assured that addressing “historical injustices” in the new Bangsamoro entity “would be an inclusive process.”
The BOL is set to create the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) that will replace the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), with the MILF taking the helm of leadership.
The “Christian policy agenda” was the result of a series of consultations organized by Christians for Peace (CFP) — a coalition headed by church leaders, in some parts in Mindanao, particularly those that will be affected, after the enactment of the BOL.
Among the points raised in the policy agenda, once BARMM is established, is the security of tenure of Christian employees working in the ARMM regional government, the participation of Christians in the political process, transitional justice, and the status of the Christian educational system in the Muslim-dominated territory.
Included in the agenda is the point on the block grant provision or funding from the national government that a local authority such as BARMM can allocate for a wide range of services.
On the matter of transitional justice, Iqbal said Quevedo put forth the question regarding the administering of justice to Christian residents in the BARMM. Iqbal said the MILF will discuss the Christian policy agenda in a meeting with other stakeholders.
“The MILF will not answer it (Christian policy agenda) alone; of course, with the consultation of the BTC and the [Moro National Liberation Front],” he added.
In a dialogue the CFP conducted in Opol, Misamis Oriental recently, church officials were one in saying that Christian communities must not be left out in the political process of the BARMM, and that they must take a participative and proactive approach rather than just wait on the sidelines.
Catholic priest Father Ramonito Torres, vicar general of the prelature of St. Mary’s in Marawi City, said it is important for the MILF leadership to know the stand of the Christians in the new political landscape.
“Our fear in going through the transition is the fear of having the wrong information and non-preparedness in the changes that will come out and being left out,” Torres. (Jigger Jerusalem/PNA)
