News9th Hen Antonio Luna Colloquium Tackles BOL
The National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), in partnership with the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines – Office for Strategic Studies and Strategy Management (AFP-OSSSM), hosted the 9th Heneral Antonio Luna Colloquium Series on Wednesday, October 3.
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.