Bangsamoro, the newly created autonomous region in the Philippines, is finally on the map. Yes, its creation produced a death toll of more than 120,000 people in violence that lasted more than 40 years and displaced more than two million. But now a significant political achievement has been realized, which will help the country reach its full and true potential. Under the pact, Muslim rebels agreed to disband guerrilla forces, put down their weapons and rebuild their communities while the government gives them self-rule with wider powers to control their economy and culture. The demand by the rebels for a separate state was always going to be a non-starter and they have realized that. This is probably the most significant part of the accord, that the rebels have come down to earth and have agreed to settle for the next best thing. Bangsamoro is not another country but it will be a more powerful, better-funded and potentially larger region than what it replaced, the five-province Muslim autonomous region. For one, the new Bangsamoro government will receive 75 percent of taxes collected in the region, 75 percent of revenues from metallic minerals and some control of fishing territories. Although Bangsamoro will have broader autonomy in exchange for an end to armed rebellion, much work remains to ensure that the terms of the deal and the political framework it envisages are implemented fully during the remainder of President Benigno Aquino's term which ends in 2016. The next important step is the drafting and passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which Aquino said would be a priority step. Both houses of Congress promised to pass the bill this year to create a new entity and expand the existing autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao. A plebiscite later in Muslim-dominated areas in the south will determine the shape and size of the new region. Aquino said that the government aims to put in place by 2015 the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, serving as an interim government, before elections. For Bangsamoro to work, this schedule must be strictly adhered to. But potential threats to lasting peace remain. There is the radical Islamist Abu Sayyaf group, which is reportedly linked to Al-Qaeda, criminal gangs, feuding clans and Communist rebels, all a reminder to potential investors and inhabitants alike that the region is still volatile. The MNLF signed a similar peace agreement with the government in 1996 but that deal fell through during its implementation. The government insists the current peace deal is different, allowing for broader representation from different forces within the region such as women, youth and indigenous people. The agreement is a feather in the cap of Aquino and that of Malaysia which helped broker the accord. It eluded past presidents, including Aquino's mother Corazon, all of whom tried but failed to resolve the conflict. The agreement brings an end to one of Asia's longest and deadliest conflicts, a situation unacceptable in a sovereign nation with a national economy ranked the 39th largest in the world with estimations of it being No. 14 by 2050. It goes against the grain that these largely peaceful, hard-working people should have on their soil an armed rebellion lasting for decades. That sort of situation is usually reserved for countries of the Third World of which the Philippines is not, as it is classified somewhat closer to a developed country. This new accord will help make the Philippines what it ought to be.
