NEWS

The Asia Foundation Supports National Philippine Conversation on Bangsamoro and Beyond

Photo: ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC)

Manila, Philippines, October 16, 2014 — On October 8, the KaSaMa (Karapatan sa Malikhaing Paraan), an inter-embassy and multi-stakeholder human rights initiative, in partnership with the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), and The Asia Foundation presented “Bangsamoro and Beyond: A National Conversation.” The forum will be aired on ANC in the Philippines on Saturday, October 18 at 8-9pm.

The forum was part of the KaSaMa Dialogue Series, which began in July 2014. The series has covered topics such as human rights defenders in post-disaster work, gender rights, freedom of information, human rights in Islam, and sexual and reproductive health rights. The Bangsamoro forum is the first national forum in the KaSaMa dialogue series.

Around 300 representatives from civil society organizations, international NGOs, academe, business and government attended the forum hosted by journalist Ces Drilon. Resource speakers included Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Deles; First Vice Chairperson of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Ghazali Jaafar; Executive Director of Cabinet Cluster on Security, Justice and Peace General Emmanuel Bautista; Former Undersecretary of Finance and Vice Chairman of KPMG in the Philippines Emmanuel Bonoan; Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ; and Chairperson of the grassroots civil society organization based in Tawi-Tawi Nisa Ul-haqq, Prof. Jurma Tikmasan.

Representatives from KaSaMa included officials from The Asia Foundation’s Philippines office, and embassies of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, the United States, and Delegation of the European Union. The diplomatic community has praised the Philippine Government for arriving at a comprehensive framework agreement on the Bangsamoro last March.

The Bangsamoro forum was a platform for initial discussions on the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro, the Bangsamoro Basic Law, and the road towards its implementation. Join the conversation at #BangsaForum and #KaSaMaNationalConversation.

The Asia Foundation’s programs throughout the Southern Philippines promote better governance to support economic growth, strengthen the rule of law, and foster peace and development in Mindanao. For recent analysis read our Country Representative in the Philippines Dr. Steven Rood‘s In Asia blog pieces on Bangsamoro.

Read more about the Foundation and its work in the Philippines.

Related locations: Philippines
Related programs: Conflict and Fragile Conditions, Good Governance
Related topics: Bangsamoro