Framing the Bangsamoro Construct of Participatory Governance: The Youth in the Governance Framework of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)

Abstract

Governance requires collective decision-making that should involve stakeholders in the making of policy. Hence, participatory mechanisms have to be enshrined in law to ensure meaningful participation, especially by the youth who are active agents in many aspects of governance, inclusive of the peace process. Free participation in political processes is enshrined in Republic Act 11054, the organic law for the BARMM; however, both the Bangsamoro Development Plan and the Bangsamoro Code of Governance are silent on the salience of youth participation in its governance framework. Nonetheless, the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority (BTA)-Parliament passed Resolution No. 19, that legally provided for active participation of the youth in the Bangsamoro government but does not specify how and which entry points can be utilized for civic engagement with the youth. It is further aggravated by the inaccessibility to Resolution No. 6, key legislation that defined the Parliamentary Rules, Procedures, and Practices of the BTA Parliament. In this research, an attempt is made to situate the Bangsamoro youth within the moral governance framework espoused by the Bangsamoro government. It is done by reviewing all the one-hundred and twenty-two (122) resolutions passed by the BTA-Parliament and juxtaposing them to the foundational principles of the rule of law, the promotion of good governance, and democratic values enshrined in the Philippine Constitution while being guided by Constructivism and governance theory as frameworks for analysis. On the one hand, Constructivism as an approach to political science considers politics as driven by the meanings that actors ascribe to their actions relative to their context, and these actions are governed by the rules and norms of that social context. However, these actions are only made meaningful within an intersubjectively understood context; the shared meanings attached to specific actions are defined through institutionalizing structures of meaning and interpretations. On the other, governance theory highlights the vital elements of rules, the collective, decision-making, and authority and coercion. In addition, the governance process is understood analytically and empirically as a set of practices where negotiation in networks is an essential governance activity. The research found that the Bangsamoro governance construct was framed from the governing source rather than focusing on how decisions are made. Being framed from only four sources – the Qur'an, the Sunnah, Qiyas, and the Ijma – shifts the focus from inclusive decision-making to exclusivity. In addition, the study found that moral governance is anchored on the principle of the rule of law, the promotion of good governance, and good democratic values. Moreover, the research found that the Bangsamoro conception of governance is different because of how governance was framed, which redirected its focus from that of inclusion to the problem of how to rule. Furthermore, through the analysis of the 122 resolutions of the BTA, the study found that the BTA members lack a substantive contribution to the real issue of governance – that of collective decision-making. participation is both a social construct and a choice. However, the windows of opportunity to participate in the policymaking body of the Bangsamoro are governed by rules that enable and limit interactions between political actors and networks of stakeholders.