The words delivered by Mohagher Iqbal at the Titayan 2 conference in Davao City last August 19 should serve as a wake-up call — not just for policymakers in Manila, but for every Filipino who values peace in Mindanao.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has made its position crystal clear: the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) is the only formula to resolve the Bangsamoro question. It is not a suggestion, not a flexible guideline, but a binding commitment painstakingly negotiated and signed in good faith. For more than a decade, across three presidencies, both parties have made historic gains under the CAB — the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the establishment of the parliamentary BARMM, and the decommissioning of thousands of combatants.
Yet today, this hard-won peace is being placed at risk — not by the Bangsamoro people, but by the very government that pledged to honor its commitments. The unilateral removal of Chief Minister Al Haj Murad Ebrahim earlier this year and the selective appointment of BTA members outside the MILF-endorsed list constitute nothing less than a betrayal of the agreement. This is not leadership; it is political maneuvering disguised as governance.
Let us be blunt: tampering with the leadership of the BARMM in the middle of transition is a reckless gamble. It erodes trust, weakens institutions, and fuels suspicion that Malacañang is more interested in control than in partnership. Divide-and-rule tactics may have worked in the past, but in the Bangsamoro context, they are recipes for disaster.
The suspension of the MILF’s final phase of decommissioning should not surprise anyone. Commitments on amnesty, socio-economic packages, camp transformation, and transitional justice have been left hanging. How can one expect former combatants to fully lay down arms when the government itself refuses to honor parallel obligations? Trust, once broken, cannot be demanded back — it must be earned.
As the October 13 parliamentary elections approach, the stakes could not be higher. This is not merely about seats in parliament. It is about preserving the legitimacy of the Bangsamoro government, the credibility of the peace process, and the democratic right of the Moro people to chart their own future. The MILF’s willingness to compete in open elections is a powerful signal of its commitment to peaceful struggle. The least the national government can do is to guarantee that these elections are clean, honest, and free from interference.
The Bangsamoro peace process is not a gift from the state; it is a product of decades of blood, sacrifice, and dialogue. To undermine it now is to invite a dangerous unraveling of what Mindanao has painfully built.
The message is simple and urgent: Honor the CAB. Stop the shortcuts. End the political games. Only then can peace in the Bangsamoro truly endure.