February 22, 2026 – Long before the modern borders of the Philippines were etched in stone, a young man named Abd ul-Bagui Butu Rasul walked the shores of Jolo, carrying a lineage that stretched back to the 14th-century ministers of Raja Baginda. Born in 1865, the man who would become known as Hadji Butu was destined for more than just local prominence. By the age of sixteen, his sharp intellect and deep Islamic education propelled him to the role of Chief Minister to the Sultan of Sulu. He was a master of the “long game,” navigating the treacherous waters of a sultanate torn between internal power struggles and the encroaching shadow of Spanish colonial rule.

As powers shifted from Spanish to American rules, Hadji Butu remained a constant, grounding force. He was a diplomat who understood that while military government was obeyed through fear, civil government is obeyed through love. Whether he was negotiating the Kiram-Bates Treaty or serving as an assistant to legendary figures like General Leonard Wood and John Pershing – the one appointed him as the Deputy District Governor of Sulu in 1913. His goal was simple: to preserve the dignity of the Moro people while weaving their destiny into the broader fabric of a rising Philippine nation.

In 1916, Hadji Butu became the first Muslim Filipino to sit in the Philippine Senate. He wasn’t just a symbolic figurehead. He was a visionary, who originally advocated for the creation of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and the Naval Academy, believing that a nation’s strength lay in its ability to defend itself. He stood side by side with his Christian brothers in the fight for independence, famously declaring that they were all bound by a common tie and a shared ideal for the welfare of the Philippines. His voice was one of the few that bridged the deep cultural divides of the archipelago, proving that faith and Philippine identity could walk hand in hand.

Even in his final years, his mind remained dedicated to the soul of the country. In 1937, President Manuel Quezon appointed him to the Institute of National Language to help define a unified tongue for the diverse people of the Philippines. When Hadji Butu passed away on February 22, 1937, he left behind a legacy that was much more than a list of titles. He was a noble man, a historian, a peacebuilder, and a real patriot who spent many years proving that the heart of the South beat in perfect rhythm with the Philippines as a whole.

Sharing an Article on “The BARMM timetable: Another COVID casualty?” 18 April 2021

Introspective
by: Amina Rasul

The Philippines today faces dire challenges from the COVID-19 and regional security — violent extremism and Chinese incursion in the West Philippine Sea, among others. We from Muslim Mindanao worry that the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will again be the last priority. This will surely be counterproductive.

Last Thursday, the World Bank hosted a Technical Working Group (TWG) on “Knowledge Sharing and Training Capacity” focused on Public Finance Management in the BARMM. Members of the TWG include development partners and selected organizations that are operating in BARMM in the field of knowledge and training. The TWG first met in October 2020.

We were honored to be joined by no less than the Chief Minister of BARMM, Ahod “Al Haj” Murad Ebrahim, a clear signal of the Regional Government’s prioritization of Public Finance Management.

BARMM’s challenges for transition are much greater now than before, particularly as precious time has been lost due to the pandemic. At the outset, we already knew that a three-year transition period was extremely tight as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leadership had to learn how to manage and steer the ship without the benefit of years of training in governmental processes and bureaucracy. They were “inheriting” the poorest, most conflict-affected and least served region of the country.

Over a decade ago, as the negotiators focused on the nitty gritty of the peace process, we at the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID) realized that it was important to start focusing on the economics of the region — business and investment, fiscal management, and introduce the MILF leadership to the private sector leaders of the country. No one, at that time, was working on this critical area. We convinced a distinguished group — the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) — to help. Former Finance Secretary Gary Teves agreed to lead the initiative. This led to a fruitful partnership among FEF, the MILF, and PCID. We had a two-year project which focused on business and investments, fiscal matters, land issues, agriculture, and labor issues among others, including capacity building for the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) management staff.

Our two-year project led us to the following observations:

• Weak fiscal management of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), resulting in poor performance as an autonomous region, was attributed to little control over fiscal resources from the National Government and expenditures as well as weak governance and accountability in ARMM.

• Poor implementation of available taxing powers complicated by politics and clan relationships interfering with local tax collection since taxation would erode the standing of local politicians.

• Revenues generated would be insignificant in a conflict-affected war-torn economy with a high poverty incidence dependent on a largely underground and informal economy.

• Budget processes in the ARMM were fragmented, complicated and thus unsound. Non-integration of the ARMM budget processes with the national budget processes leading to difficulties in promoting coherent policy goals through budget allocations.

• ARMM has a history of poor governance and accountability marked by misuse of funds and the lack of effective expenditure control systems and reporting.

Achieving fiscal autonomy is critical for overall autonomy to be effective. Institutions and capacity need to be in place to ensure that fiscal resources are mobilized efficiently and with transparency and accountability; and spent wisely, reflecting the needs for sustainable and inclusive growth in a still conflict-affected and war-weary region. (FEF and PCID had actually prepared a follow through proposal for this and other economic issues in 2019 but COVID-19 intervened.)

The TWG discussions also picked up the issues raised above, particularly as we were focused on Public Finance Management in a fragile state.

However, the BARMM Regional Government seems to have fared better than expected, less than two years after taking over with the budget left by the previous administration. BARMM was able to access the block grant only in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged. According to the Chief Minister’s Report last January, the Regional Government has:

• strengthened revenue collection with the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy’s P306-million collection in 2019 which is P101 million more compared to the highest annual remittance of ARMM.

• 28 Seal of Good Local Governance Awardees in the region, five more than ARMM achieved, making BARMM the No. 1 region in Mindanao and 5th in the entire country.

• increased level of transparency in infrastructure work with the Expanded Bangsamoro Advanced Road Mapping and Management (E-BARMM) System — an online repository of Ministry of Public Works (MPW-BARMM) projects using geotagged photos for data validation.

• registered an amount of P4.153 billion in 2019, exceeding the Regional Board of Investments (RBOI-BARMM) target by 180%.

• 5.9% growth rate in terms of Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), ranked 2nd among the regions in Mindanao and ranked 7th in the country.

All these accomplishments and more were attained even as the Chief Minister and his administration were learning the ropes of governance and bureaucracy. What makes these even more remarkable is the fact that the implementation of major programs and plans of the various ministries and offices were greatly affected by the pandemic, in the first year that BARMM accessed the block grant.

Clearly, the Chief Minister and his administration should be allowed more time and support to implement the transition. As the world, particularly South East Asia and the Philippines, still face security challenges due to violent extremism extension, the success of the peace agreement between government and the MILF is critical to ensure Muslim Mindanao’s resilience to the lure of extremism and terrorism.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte should certify as urgent the extension of the term of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority and Congress should act on it before the political winds slow down legislative action. Government needs to ensure the success of the transition not only for the sake of regional security but because it is obligated to address the needs of the most conflict-affected, least served region of the country. Government is best served to support the extension, bearing in mind that the transition mechanism is also designed to ease the MILF from revolution to bureaucratic evolution.

For inquiries:

Ms. Amina Rasul
President
Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy

Source: https://www.bworldonline.com/the-barmm-timetable-another–covid–casualty/

The colloquium discussed the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), its challenges and prospects.

The main speaker was Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) Commissioner Jose Iribani Lorena.

The discussants were Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID) President Amina Rasul-Bernardo and Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) Executive Director Atty Benedicto Bacani.

The colloquium was held at the NDCP Honor Hall inside Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, in Quezon City.

More than 160 participants from the military, government agencies, private sector, civil society organizations, the diplomatic corps and academe participated in the event. Members of the 54th Regular Course of the Master in National Security Administration (MNSA) program also attended the event.

Commissioner Lorena highlighted the salient points of Republic Act No 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) including the features of the autonomous region like the parliamentary form of government, fiscal autonomy, and inclusivity.

Atty. Bacani emphasized the importance of commitment from the government and Muslim rebel forces to adhere to democratic process of attaining the goals of the BOL.

Meanwhile, Ms Rasul-Bernardo indicated the major challenges confronting the BOL namely, lack of fiscal autonomy, people empowerment, and violent extremism.

In his remarks, NDCP President Radm Roberto Q Estioko AFP (Ret) PhD MNSA said, “The signing of the BOL is not a panacea but rather an imperative to roll our sleeves to work together towards long-term approaches to the decades-old challenges in Southern Philippines.”

The Heneral Antonio Luna Colloquium Series, jointly organized by the NDCP, OSSSM-AFP and FSI, provides a platform for free academic discussion of issues affecting Philippine defense and security.

JICA president Shinichi Kitaoka, third from right, shakes hands with MILF vice-chair Ghadzali Jaafar in the province of Maguindanao on March 2.

MANILA — With a population of 20 million and a wealth of natural resources, the growth potential of Mindanao has never been in question. But 40 years of armed conflict between Muslim separatists and the central government have meant it has largely gone untapped.

Sometimes referred to as Asia’s “last frontier,” the southernmost major island in the Philippines may finally be showing signs of development under private sector initiative.

Development grant

Under a scorching hot sun on March 1, the head of Japan’s aid agency made the hourlong journey along the bumpy, palm-lined road from the city of Cotabato to the town of Alamada. Shinichi Kitaoka was in town to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for a new road in the vast fertile area funded by grant-in-aid of 442 million pesos ($9.42 million) from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The project marks the first time that JICA has funded infrastructure development in a conflict area. Alamada Mayor Virginia Concepcion said the farm road should contribute to local economic development.

JICA’s move to provide the aid was due to the delays to infrastructure-development projects caused by the prolonged armed dispute.

Some 90% of the 100-million-strong Philippine population are Christian. Muslims account for roughly 5% and are concentrated in parts of Mindanao. Armed disputes began to intensify in the early 1970s after increased Christian settlement of the island. More than 100,000 people have reportedly been killed as a result of the conflict.

Mindanao has an area of 100,000 square kilometers and is believed to be rich in resources of gold, copper and nickel. But the armed struggle for an autonomous Muslim region has held back any efforts to exploit those resources.

In 2014, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or MILF, the main separatist group, signed a comprehensive peace deal with the Philippine government.

This came after years of tortuous negotiations, often conducted in secret. One meeting was arranged in 2011 by the Japanese government near Tokyo’s Narita Airport

The Muslim population hopes for greater autonomy for the region based on the 2014 accord. And the Bangsamoro Basic Law, a bill that would have paved the way for the proposed new political entity, appeared to be making headway.

In January 2015, however, a clash between the MILF and a special police unit left 44 police as well as a number of MILF fighters and civilians dead. The renewed mutual mistrust led to the Philippine Congress rejecting the basic law’s passage.

Even so, the peace process remains largely on track. Despite the bill failing to go through, both the Philippine government and the MILF are still intent on seeing through the 2014 accord. In addition, the emergence of business startups has raised hopes that the fighting may finally come to an end.

Big retailers

Major Manila-based department stores and supermarkets are beginning to set up shop in Cotabato, a city with a population of 300,000 lying close to MILF strongholds.

Centro Department Stores opened its first Mindanao outlet in the city in September 2015. “Our store offers goods that until recently were only available in Manila,” an official said.

Supermarket operator Puregold Price Club, which has tied up with Japanese convenience store chain Lawson, opened its first store in Cotabato last year, with a second one underway in 2016.

Since the Bangsamoro legislature was scrapped, no major violence occurred in the affected areas. And the benefits of economic growth brought about by businesses thriving will only further local people’s resentment of armed conflict.

On March 2, Kitaoka met MILF leaders and pledged JICA’s continued support for the peace process.

“If peace is not achieved in Mindanao, it cannot be achieved anywhere in the world,” Kitaoka said at a press conference. “We will continue support so as to show dividends of peace to people.”

Although the organization is not in a position to provide direct support to private companies, logistic support, such as the construction of roads in areas hosting businesses, is possible.

The Bangsamoro legislature is “no more than part of the peace process,” said Takayuki Nakagawa, an official dispatched by the Japanese government to the International Monitoring Team in Mindanao. “Support from the international community is necessary to prevent the process from going backward.”

If order is restored in Mindanao, the island becomes an attractive destination for foreign investment. National elections in May will decide the next president and how the new leader will handle the peace process remains uncertain. What is certain is that economic growth under private sector initiative can only drive forward the process.