THE BANGSAMORO ORGANIC Law (BOL) was approved in a plebiscite last January 21 in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Pursuant to BOL, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will be created to replace the ARMM. Cotabato City will be included in the BARMM, as well as some municipalities of North Cotabato, with Lanao del Norte voting against the province’s inclusion.

The BOL was ratified by the reactionary congress following the negotiations between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). After the BOL’s approval, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority will be created, composed of Duterte appointees and will function as the government in BARMM. Meanwhile, after declaring the end of the war, the MILF will disarm in stages.

However, according to Suara Bangsamoro, the creation of BARMM “will not automatically mean that lasting peace will be attained in the Bangsamoro areas” and that “the Moro people must continue demanding their right to self-determination.”

Meanwhile, the AFP continues to intensify its offensives in different parts of Lanao and Maguindanao against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, which did not support the BOL. These offensives are aimed at controlling the resources of Liguasan Marsh.