COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 23 May) – “Put women at the center – and not just an afterthought – of the Bangsamoro peace process.”
A group of Moro women issued this call following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive on Thursday for his Cabinet secretaries to tender their courtesy resignations in line with his efforts to recalibrate his administration.
In an open letter to Marcos, a copy of which was furnished to MindaNews, 13 women leaders under the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) expressed their strong sentiment over the exclusion of a MILF woman representative, Engr. Aida Silongan, in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA.
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“For several decades, Mr. President, Moro women in the MILF have assumed multiple burdens as we fought for freedom and justice alongside our Moro brothers in arms. We carried multiple burdens because the right to representation, based on our experience, is not something that is readily given but is a demand that needs to be constantly asserted and struggled for,” their letter stated.
Silongan served in the BTA as MILF nominee since it was established in 2019 during the Duterte administration, and was reappointed by Marcos in 2022. She was also appointed Minister of Science and Technology.
In the BTA 1 and 2, there were 16 women out of the 80-seat parliament. In the BTA 3, only 10 women have been appointed as BTA members. The BTA is the interim body tasked to govern the BARMM, led by the MILF with 41 nominees.
During the appointment of the BTA 3 members last March 3, Silongan was replaced by an individual who is neither a woman nor officially endorsed by the MILF.
“In one stroke of ill-advised presidential prerogative, Mr. President, you have consigned Moro women back to the dark period of political oblivion and invisibility. We have been stripped of the much-needed representation in the transition government during the most crucial part of the transition period,” the letter said.
As Marcos called for the courtesy resignation of the Cabinet secretaries, the letter appealed to him to appoint “competent men and women with integrity who can successfully steer the Bangsamoro peace process back on track.
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In a related development, MILF chairperson Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim called on Marcos to ensure “that this effort at renewal within his Cabinet extends to a deeper commitment to the peace process in Mindanao.”
“We hope that the changes he envisions will pave the way for a more coherent and principled partnership between the national government and the MILF,” Ebrahim said in statement posted on his Facebook page.
“Let this also be an opportunity to repair the trust strained by past decisions — particularly the appointment of individuals to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority who were neither endorsed nor consulted with the MILF,” he added.
“That episode weakened the spirit of partnership that has been the foundation of our peace agreements,” Ebrahim stressed.
(Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
