Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex, Office of the Regional Governor Compound, Cotabato City
January 18, 2019
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte attended the Peace Assembly for the Ratification of Republic Act No. 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex (SKCC), Office of the Regional Governor (ORG) Compound in Cotabato City.
The Government of the Philippines (GPH), through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) are jointly conducting several Peace Assemblies in key areas within the proposed territorial jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The BOL is scheduled to be ratified through a plebiscite on January 21, 2019 in areas within the ARMM, Cotabato City, and Isabela City in Basilan; and on February 6, 2019 in the province of Lanao del Norte (except Iligan City), specified municipalities in North Cotabato, and other areas whose petition to join the plebiscite would be granted by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
In his speech, President Duterte said that the people’s approval of the BOL would serve as an expression of their desire to end more than half a century of armed struggle in the region. More importantly, it would also serve as a testament to their determination to bring genuine peace and development in Muslim Mindanao through an autonomous government that truly represents and understands the needs of the people.
The President also shared his hopes for the ratification of the BOL, saying, “I am very hopeful that with the ratification of the BOL, Mindanao can finally enjoy lasting peace and inclusive growth that will benefit the entire Philippines, not only you.”
“I am therefore issuing this call to my fellow Moros: let us use this plebiscite as a peaceful means to finally correct the historical injustices committed against the Moro —Bangsamoro people or the Moro people of Mindanao. Let us forget the bitterness of the past and look forward to the future,” President Duterte emphasized.
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