On Reflection | As Muslims vote on self-rule in Philippines, Duterte’s legacy is in God’s hands
- Referendum on establishing a ‘Bangsamoro’ – or nation of Moros – looks likely to pass
- But as a recent terrorist attack in Jolo shows, the challenge has just begun for a president who promised ‘a Mindanao governed in peace’
More than two million Filipinos flocked to polling stations this month in a historic referendum that will determine the future of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Residents of Muslim-majority regions are deciding on the establishment and precise composition of the so-called “Bangsamoro” (nation of Moros).
The proposed political entity, officially named Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), is ambitious in its scope and objectives. It will replace the three-decades-old Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), a much smaller experiment at granting political autonomy to the Moros.
The ARMM is largely deemed a failure, given its limited geographical scope, covering mostly impoverished provinces dominated by the Tausug ethnic group, as well as the dearth of functioning state institutions in the area, thanks to the prevalence of vicious warlordism and limited support from the national government.