(CNN Philippines) — Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. started hearing on Monday (May 25) representatives of the sultanates and various indigenous people of Mindanao who were allegedly not consulted by the government when it created the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Marcos, chairman of the Committee on Local Government, said the support of these people would be important if ever the Bangsamoro bill would be passed and implemented.
“The hearing today is a result of the shocking revelation that the sultanates of Mindanao have not been consulted in any of the negotiations of the government with the MILF,” Marcos said in his opening statement. “If the BBL will be successful, it will need the support of all the sultanates and IPs (indigenous people). We are trying to rectify that mistake.”
“This is a part of the series that this committee is undertaking for the specific purpose of giving voice to the stakeholders of the Bangsamoro. It is better to hear them than to debate with them. They have been left out of the process,” he added.
Among those present in the hearing were representatives from the following groups:
Council of Royal Datus
Council of Royal Ladies
Sultanate of Maguindanao
Iranun Sultanates League of the Philippines
Federation of Royal Sultanate Descendants of Mindanao Sulu and Palawan
The Heirs of Sultan Mohammad Esmael Organization, Inc.
Maguindanao Mandanaue Darussalam
Federation of the Royal Sultanate of Lanao
Sultan Uko Royal Descendants Associations, Inc. (SORODA)
The Royale House of Maharadjah Tabunaway
Bangsamoro Royal Houses Solidarity Conference
Sultanate of Bayang, Lanao del Sur.
Timuay Justice and Governance
Gempa te Kelindaan ne Kamal ne Erumanen ne Menuvu
Mindanao Indigenous Peoples’ Peace Forum
Lumad Mindanawed Peoples’ Federation
Organization of Teduray and Lambangian Conference
Sulu Foundation of Nine Ethnic Tribes, Inc. (SUFONETI).
The Bangsamoro bill is a result of the government peace negotiation with the MILF. The political entity it would create would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
