Tough ahead for MILF-led BTA

• Mar 1, 2019
• Editorial Desk
• HITS: 1280

No one in the roster of the MILF ever thought of an easy picking in leading the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTA). MILF Chairman and now Interim Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, is not excluded.

“We are not trained in governance,” Murad was oft-repeatedly as saying. “We used to fight government in the battlefields,” he added.

The challenges are tough, indeed! But surely, they are not unnerving. We have succeeded in our 47 years of armed struggle, 42 years of hard, harsh, and protracted negotiations, five years of engaging Congress, and the recent two plebiscites. God willing! We will succeed in putting up an initial good governance in the BARMM, because three years transition is too short to make wonders in this entity.

What is to be appreciated in the MILF, however, is the lack of pretention; if they don’t know a thing they admit it. They are also open to learning and to listen to experts and those who have the experiences. Unlike others who bragged for knowing all the trades, but in reality they mastered none. They also failed to show track records of success.

But this lack of knowledge (of governance) cannot justify non-performance in the BARMM. We must learn fast and well, and as soon as possible, we must deliver genuine basic services to the people, as well as provide good and morally-propelled governance.

It has been said that only the MILF is seen as hope for the people. For decades, they want a government of their own, as well as leaders, who are not only leaders, but guardians, and servants. Many of the so-called Moro leaders today are actually feudal masters whose words are laws and therefore must be followed. There is no real democracy in the Moro-dominated areas.

But this early, we must have some hard realizations. Much to our desire, corrective measures in the BARMM will not happen in a flash. This will take some time. In the meantime, it is not a Solomonic decision to rock the boat as early as now. Let the situation settles down smoothly and make appropriate remedies diligently. The human resource audit is a tool to put into place the right person to the right job, and to do away from the misfits.

One reason for this diligent process is the fact that those serving in the ARMM are also our people. Changing one to another haphazardly will lead to regrettable situation later. It is not the person per se that matters much, but how competent and reliable he or she is. Knowing a person is not an easy thing; unless one has been dealing with him or her for a long time, we cannot say he or she is good, competent, and reliable. Subjectivism or recommendations (by people especially powerful personalities) are at times not a good yardstick, as basis for making decision.

In fairness, the Hataman-led Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) had started to cleanse the “dirt” in this entity, but not enough for the incoming BARMM to enjoy and rely on -- and relax. Much efforts are still desired.

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