Monday, 1 January, is the Gregorian calendar-designated start of the New Year. This is followed globally by overwhelming numbers. It is not the new year in Islam. Muslims follow the lunar calendar.  The start of “Amon Jaded” or new year is 6 July.  But for the purposes of our commentary, let’s discuss significant events in the region that happened during this year’s end.

Let’s randomly pick some significant events that mattered to the Moros because they influenced BARMM’s journey to fruition as a local autonomous governing body. These events will help us understand future developments. It might spill over or influence occurrences in the incoming year.

The year’s first quarter was not an auspicious beginning for the BARMM. In February, the ambush of Maranaw political kingpin Mamintal “Bombit” Adiong Jr. shocked the region. The governor of Lanao del Sur, who is known to be amiable and not prone to violence, sustained injuries, but his driver and other escorts died.

What intrigued many was that a camp of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which now governs the BARMM, was proximate to the ambush area but failed to reinforce, nay, provide aid to the convoy of Adiong. This incident caused the uniformed authorities to redraw their regional security blueprint. It likewise revealed the unstable peace in the region despite the peace accord the government had with the rebel MILF.

A few months later, five BARMM governors formed the Bangsamoro Governors Caucus, a powerhouse of regional political leaders whose leadership was proven by the resilient dynasties they had each established. The governors of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi formed the core group that claimed to work for regional development and peace.

To some armchair analysts, this was part of the posturing in the “cold war” between the governors and the MILF-BARMM leadership. They were prepping for the future election, which would pit them against the candidates of the MILF-BARMM’s political party, the United Bangsamoro for Justice Party. That early, the electoral pot in the BARMM was brewing.

The political unease in 2022 that was felt by leaders of the MILF-BARMM about the future of BARMM continued at the beginning of 2023. This was brought about by the choice of the BARMM of a presidential candidate who lost in the election. Some predicted a cold shoulder by the administration to the BARMM.  Subsequent developments proved the naysayers wrong.

The SoNA of the President was a game changer. Whatever doubts about the President’s support for the BARMM were dispelled by the SoNA. Before a national audience, the President unequivocally announced his administration’s support for BARMM. What followed was a series of actions by Malacañang confirming such support.

Another development that caught Moros’s attention was the power squabble in the newly created province of Maguindanao del Norte. The elected vice governor, Aimee Sinsuat, invoking the transitory provision of the law creating the new province, claimed that she was the lawful governor. This was disputed, however, by Senior Minister Abdul Rauf Macacua, who was designated as the governor.

There was an ephemeral détente between the contenders when the President designated Macacua and Sinsuat as the governor and vice governor, respectively, up until the Supreme Court, perhaps unaware of the repercussions, handed down a ruling in a certain case that Sinsuat used as an argument to support her claim. This development ruffled political feathers in the province, considering that both contenders are known political titans. While there was a lull in the debate, the wound it created is hard to heal, which will have repercussions in future polls.

The reshuffle of the BARMM cabinet was news. One of its hard-working top officials, the Minister of Interior and Local Government, was axed, which surprised not a few BARMM watchers.

BARMM was not spared from the wrath of mother nature due to the “rape” by man of its natural resources. A landslide and flood caused the deaths of about 40 people and millions in damage in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte. This triggered a rebooting of government policies to address the degradation of forest lands in the area.

On peace and order, there were reported skirmishes between government troops and IS-inspired dissidents. The bombing at the Mindanao State University was a setback to the peace campaign of the government and peace advocates.

Feliz Navidad, Prospero Año y Felicidad!

amb_mac_lanto@yahoo.com