A GROUNDBREAKING report examines the challenges to the autonomous government in Muslim Mindanao. The Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) recently released an independent assessment of governance in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The report offers the first comprehensive review of the six-year transition under the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)-led Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA). The report examines a pivotal period in Muslim Mindanao’s journey toward autonomous regional governance, peace-building and socioeconomic development.
Co-authored by seasoned political analysts David Timberman and Yasmira Moner, “The Bangsamoro Transition Authority and the Forging of an Autonomous Regional Government in Muslim Mindanao” provides nuanced insights into the complexities of “rebel-to-ruler” transitions, multilayered political identities and the performance of the BTA in delivering on its mandate.
The report draws from over 50 interviews with government and civil society actors, extensive research and a stakeholder validation workshop.
Key achievements
The report identifies six broad achievements during the transition.
First, the MILF-led BTA introduced moral governance and a parliamentary system, setting it apart from typical regional governance models nationwide. Despite crises such as the Marawi siege and Covid-19 disruptions, the BTA showed adaptability, resilience and continuity in leadership. Internal factionalism was contained, avoiding destabilizing splits within MILF ranks.
Another achievement is the establishment of BARMM institutions — including the parliament, 15 ministries and numerous commissions — laid the foundation for regional autonomy. The BTA has enacted six of the seven codes mandated by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) as well as annual budgets and numerous other laws.
Inclusive governance saw gains through representation of youth, women, non-Muslim Indigenous peoples (IPs) and Christian settlers. Poverty reduction and a decline in vertical conflict has resulted in modest but meaningful progress in social development.
Cautionary notes and challenges ahead
The report however warns of persistent challenges that could erode the progress made. The first is the perceptions of Maguindanaon dominance and neglect of the “Basulta” island provinces (Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi) threaten the autonomous region’s cohesion.
Further, the report notes the budget underspending, bureaucratic inexperience and delayed normalization have hampered the delivery of government services, which has placed a drag on the region’s socioeconomic development and damaged the credibility of the government.
Also, heavy reliance on moral governance alone has proven insufficient to address corruption, requiring more robust accountability frameworks, according to the report.
Policies and programs to promote socioeconomic development remain piecemeal and suffer from poor implementation.
The report also underscores that the success of the BARMM government depends heavily on the national government’s engagement. It applauds the successive administrations for their continued support for regional autonomy, including the passage of the BOL, the provision of the block grant and support given for the development of BARMM institutions. And it credits both the national government and the BTA for establishing a useful mechanism for ensuring productive inter-governmental relations. But the report also notes that the national government’s role has been marked by uneven supervision, a tolerance of legal ambiguity, delays in honoring its commitment to support normalization and its willingness to intervene in the MILF’s factional politics.
Transition to regional parliamentary government
The road ahead with Sulu’s recent exit from the BARMM and continuing calls for more inclusive representation, better governance and socioeconomic development, the upcoming parliamentary elections present both a challenge and a chance for renewal.
The new, elected BARMM government will need to successfully address a variety of challenges. These include managing more genuine and complex parliamentary politics; strengthening public financial management and the delivery of government services; and developing more cooperative and productive relations with local governments in the BARMM.
Also needed is the ensuring of the meaningful participation of all Muslim tribes, non-Muslim IPs, women and youth, and designing and implementing pro-poor development strategies and programs.
A call to action
“This independent assessment highlights the successes within BARMM that must be sustained, the challenges that require attention and the opportunities that the new regional parliamentary government alongside national government, the local government units and key stakeholders, must seize to fulfill the promise of peace and development enshrined in the peace agreements and public policies,” said Benedicto Bacani, executive director of IAG.
Funded by the Australian government, this study reinforces IAG’s commitment to informed political dialogue and inclusive governance in Mindanao.
How has the BTA done?
Bacani suggests that the focus must be on the gains and successes, and the gaps that need to be addressed.
According to him, there are at least six ways it has performed well.
First, to the MILF’s credit — and despite the many constraints on genuine autonomy — it has aspired to create a governing entity different from and in some ways better than what exists not just in Mindanao, but nationally. Examples include the parliamentary system, the emphasis on moral governance, the anti-dynasty ban, and the pursuit of truth and reconciliation for past abuses. Some of these aspirations might not be realistic, but they are admirable.
Second, as the MILF transitioned from being rebels to rulers — until the run-up to the regional elections that were supposed to be held in May 2025 — its leadership managed to keep factionalism within the MILF from becoming openly fractious. While Malacañang’s replacement of the chief minister earlier this year changed the relative power of factions within the MILF, to date, it has not resulted in an open split.
Third, the leadership of the BTA deserves credit for being adaptable, resilient and pragmatic. It has responded competently to a series of challenging developments including the disruptions caused by the Marawi crisis, the Covid pandemic, national elections in 2022 and 2025, the transition from the Duterte to the Marcos administration, and most recently, the departure of Sulu province from the BARMM.
Fourth, the BTA has established and operationalized the parliament, 15 ministries, numerous commissions and the BARMM bureaucracy. It has enacted numerous laws and budgets, and has delivered at least some critical social services. In doing so, it has made itself the most important level of government in Muslim Mindanao.
Fifth, the MILF-led BTA deserves credit for complying with the BOL’s requirements that the BARMM government include representatives of non-Muslim IPs, Christian settlers, women and youth. The numerous legally mandated provisions for inclusion included in the BOL and the BARMM codes provide for broad but numerically limited representation — especially for women. But they do recognize the importance of inclusive governance and establish multiple channels for participation, so they should not be dismissed as purely cosmetic.
Finally, there has been a reduction since the inception of the BTA in vertical conflict and a significant (though uneven and possibly transitory) reduction in poverty in BARMM. The BTA deserves some, though certainly not all, of the credit for these positive developments. We also have noted a number of areas where the BTA has been less successful.
With the hopeful note, there is no substitute to the peace process. With much more work to do, there is always hope. Indeed the only way is the way of peace with the strong institutions that will address the root cause of the conflicts.
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SOURCE: The Manila Times