BBL’s importance to Mindanao peace

We thank the Inquirer for its excellent reporting of the data results from the Bangsamoro Conflict Monitoring System for the years 2011-2013 (“Bangsamoro Conflict Monitoring System,” Front Page, 4/11/15). We also appreciate the news report for reiterating our analysis that putting an end to the conflict between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, “… a major source of rebellion-related violence[,] retires a significant source of political violence with huge costs in terms of death, injury, and displacement, and will impact positively on the prospects for peace and stability across the Bangsamoro.”

However, we would like to stress that the Bangsamoro Basic Law is a crucial ingredient in this equation. The BBL ensures the institutionalization of the gains arising from the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro; it is the single most important instrument for bringing together all other actors—state and nonstate, armed and non-armed—into the political settlement that will bring about a just and lasting peace in Mindanao.

—FRANCISCO LARA JR., country manager, International Alert, UK Philippines Programme