Hits and misses in BARMM rallies (2)

As I noted last week, issues of corruption and other forms of fiscal mismanagement were also observed in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) then. One such blatant irregularity was the existence of “ghost schools” and “ghost teachers.” Such issues hounded the leaders of the ARMM throughout its more than two decades of existence, from 1990 to 2018.

It was surprising that the huge rally organized by the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP) in Cotabato City highlighted these issues like they were unheard of before.

But something quite surprising was unraveled during that huge rally. Among the most vociferous in denouncing corruption and massive fiscal anomalies in the present Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao were officials of the interim BARMM parliamentary government.

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I think this was a serious “miss” in that huge rally. As a student during the First Quarter Storm of student activism, I was made familiar with rallies as a vehicle for mass protests—the mantra being, “expose and oppose” all government irregularities, including the draconian martial law under Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

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But this time, as more people have become conscious of what mass actions can do, it is not enough to just “expose and oppose” government irregularities. There is a need to propose alternatives on how these can be addressed, not only by the usual sloganeering and accusatory messaging but also by pushing and advocating for more stringent public fiscal management at all levels of government. This means practicing what several sycophants of the new leadership in the region are always mouthing—”moral governance.”

And this should start by first defining concretely what this means in real, day-to-day governance, and by creating a set of empirical standards how to measure it, not only in the stewardship of public financial resources, but also in how political power is being used or abused. We are seeing this in how power becomes a passport to a top-paying contractual job in the regional government because of family connections. We are seeing it in the assertion of one family’s influence to dominate the political dynamics in the local governments. And we are currently seeing it when a top regional official accuses his critics as being “asal komunista” (behaving like a communist). This is the phenomenon of Red-tagging, the usual strategy of desperate and greedy politicians, many of whom become powerful through their connections to higher levels of political power, or through having accumulated more than enough wealth through dubious means.

I just wonder whether the accuser of his critics as having “asal komunista” understands very well what communism is all about; it takes a higher level of erudition to understand the full range of how communists behave. And not all of them behave in the same way.

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The BFP rally was responded to with another, and perhaps more massive, mass action coming from various civil society groups and individuals, but largely coming from the mass base of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), the political party organized by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Unlike the BFP rally, the UBJP rallies (another one took place in Binidayan, Lanao del Sur) did not focus on corruption issues among regional government officials. Among their loudest demands was for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to address the current impasse in the implementation of the full provisions of the Bangsamoro Organic Law that created the new Bangsamoro autonomous region.

The rallyists claim that Mr. Marcos’ inaction has led to a high level of disillusionment not only among the MILF and their supporters, but among all other constituents of the region as well.

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Is Mr. Marcos’ seeming disinterest to address the current crisis in the region reflective of his lackadaisical leadership brand, or is it an affirmation of the old political playbook of divide and rule? Or is it a strategy to ensure that his political party, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, will be assured of a sweeping victory in the 2028 elections?

The regional version of his political party is already screaming in every tarpaulin poster that all local government units in the region fully support the BFP. One does not need to be a genius to see the link between the BFP with Mr. Marcos’ PFP.

The first parliamentary elections of the region are envisioned to take place on Sept. 14, 2026.

But with the national government’s seeming lack of interest to save the peace process that engendered the BARMM, coupled with all the tensions and irritants in the current political temperature of the region, including the latest reports of random acts of violence in Cotabato City and its nearby areas, still leave us with this question:

Will this fourth postponement of the regional parliamentary elections be deferred once again?

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