“As I’ve said before, we are looking for a candidate that is a friend of the Bangsamoro. Such friendship and sincerity is sealed by (overt) acts since then and up to now. As a person, she never let us down, not once she made us feel that we are less a person and as a Bangsa.”
— UBJP VP for Central Mindanao Mohagher M. Iqbal
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Short link: https://wp.me/paaccn-ibi
By EDD K. USMAN / @edd1819 / @bluestar0910 / SDN — Science and Digital News
(SDN) April 23, 2022 — No more suspense. It is Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo for the political party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The United Bangsamoro Justice Party (MILF-UBJP) headed as president by MILF Chairman Ahod Balawag “Al-Hajj Murad” Ebrahim today, Saturday, anointed and declared its support for VP Leni Robredo’s presidential candidacy.
Leaders of the MILF under Chairman Ebrahim formally established the UBJP in 2015 to participate in the country’s political process and expand inclusion.
The BARMM which is presently being governed on a parliamentary mode by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) abolished and replaced the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Comprising the Bangsamoro autonomous region are Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi as well as 63 villages designated as Special Geographic Area (SGA) in North Cotabato province (which itself is not part of BARMM). The 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) gave birth to the BARMM through the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
At present there are various UBJP groups, aside from the BARMM areas, in Butuan, Bukidnon, Davao City, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, and Davao Oriental, among other areas in Southern Philippines.
According to https://reportr.world the BARMM collectively has around 2.5 million registered voters.
VP Leni Robredo traveled to the BARMM to receive her anointment from the UBJP held at Camp Darapanan, Crossing Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao. Camp Darapanan was the headquarters of Ebrahim, a few kilometers to the MILF’s Main Stronghold of Camp Abubakar As-Siddique.
At the event, Ebrahim as UBJP president raised the right hand of VP Leni Robredo, signaling the MILF party’s endorsement of the presidential candidate from the Bicol Region for the May 09, 2022 national and local elections.
UBJP Vice President for Central Mindanao Mohagher M. Iqbal said the Vice President’s delegation included Davao del Norte Congressman Pantaleon Alvarez, and Governor Edwin Jubahib, among others. Also present, among others, were officers of the UBJP led by Ebrahim, incumbent local government chief executives, local candidates of the UBJP, and many others who joined the event.
He gave credits to two Presidents without naming them, but apparently referring to the late former President Benigno S. Aquino III and his successor incumbent President Rodrigo R. Duterte for their strong will in their respective support for the Philippine government and MILF peace process.
“We are fortunate to have had Presidents who are and were friendly to the Bangsamoro during their terms of office. Without their strong political will and follow through to their campaign commitments, it is hard to imagine where the Bangsamoro peace process would be today.
“Words and promises, indeed, are a politician’s powerful weapon. In the case of the 10 Presidential candidates for 2022, we are appreciate hearing the words and promises from two candidates about their hopes and dreams for the Bangsamoro,” Iqbal pointed out.
Recall that Aquino made a stunning and brave unannounced move when he met informally with Ebrahim in Tokyo, Japan, in August 2011, which — with the benefit of hindsight — decisively revived the then sputtering peace negotiations.
Duterte, on the other hand, used all the powers he could summon in navigating both chambers of Congress for the enactment of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). It was good the President from Mindanao has majority supporters in both chambers. The rest is history, as they say.
Iqbal emphasized the struggle of the Bangsamoro continues as the MILF though its UBJP participates in the coming elections. “Still we do not lose sight of the end goal, which is to achieve genuine and lasting peace and development in the region, and in the Philippines as a whole.”
Iqbal’s emphasis of a continuing Bangsamoro struggle for “genuine and lasting peace and development” finds acceptance with the Vice President.
VP Leni Robredo, clad in her fighting pink topped with a black “hijab” (Muslim head covering), laid down her commitment and support for the ongoing implementation of the CAB in a speech titled “Declaration of Commitment to Faithfully Implement the Peace Agreement and Address the Remaining Gaps in the Bangsamoro Transition Period.” She signed the two-page document.
She opened her remarks at the event recalling her stint at the House of Representatives as a member of the 16th Congress for the 3rd District of Camarines Sur, Bicol Region.
“I was a co-author of the original version of the Bangsamoro Basic Law and was actively involved during the committee hearings and congressional deliberations. Our legislative intent at the time was how to pass an enabling legislation that will be faithful, compliant and consistent with the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro,” VP Leni Robredo said.
The 14th incumbent Vice President of the Philippines, she was born on April 23, 1965, in Naga, Camarines Sur. Her anointment by the MILF-UBJP came on her day of birth, which marked her 57th summer on Earth.
She hammered on the importance of a strong partnership between the Philippine government and the MILF, which signed the CAB on March 27 eight years ago.
Robredo presidency: Friend of Bangsamoro and champion of peace process
“It is important to emphasize the fact that a peace agreement can only be successfully implemented and completed if there is a good partnership between the National Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as parties to the agreement. This partnership needs to be constantly cultivated and developed because the peace agreement cannot be implemented unilaterally,” she stresses.
VP Leni Robredo also underscored the need for continuity of support– which she described as “critical to success” — of the BTA’s extended transition by whoever wins in the forthcoming presidential political exercise. “What can I assure the Bangsamoro people is that a Robredo presidency will be a friend of the Bangsamoro and champion of the peace process,” she assured.
Following is her platform of actions if she wins as president:
- Hasten the CAB’s implementation that includes the political track and normalization track
- Fully implement provisions of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and continue the momentum of the intergovernmental relations body in due regard and recognition of genuine autonomy
- Include the Transitional Justice Bill’s immediate passage in Congress
- Activate the Amnesty International and fast track the appointment of its members
- Complete the rehabilitation of Marawi City and allow the safe return of the internally displaced persons (IDPs)
“With these commitments, I put myself before you as a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic of the Philippines and hope to be your partner in working for peace in Mindanao,” VP Leni Robredo says as she offered herself to the Bangsamoro people as their candidate.
Iqbal cited why VP Leni Robredo is a true and sincere friend of the Bangsamoro people.
“As I’ve said before, we are looking for a candidate that is a friend of the Bangsamoro. Such friendship and sincerity is sealed by (overt) acts since then and up to now. As a person, she never let us down, not once she made us feel that we are less a person and as a Bangsa.
“As a group, we will treasure what you have shown to us. Because those who stick by our side during our hard times deserve to be with us during our best times. Indeed, according to Ali ibn Talib, ‘a friend cannot be considered a friend until he is tested in three occasions: in times of need, behind your back, and after our death.”
The MILF-UBJP official said VP Leni Robredo is “the one and only Presidential candidate whose values, principles, and characters align with those we uphold as a regional justice party.”
Thus, the Declaration of Support of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party to the Candidacy of LENI ROBREDO for President, which came on her day of birth.
Members of the UBJP made known that it was not the Bangsamoro autonomous government that anointed VP Leni Robredo, but the MILF-UBJP. (✓)
Story was updated with more information and pictures (04/24, 12:20 p.m.)
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Featured image credit to Bobby Alonto.