Question And Answer
Publications
Articles, publications, books, tools and multimedia features from the U.S. Institute of Peace provide the latest news, analysis, research findings, practitioner guides and reports, all related to the conflict zones and issues that are at the center of the Institute’s work to prevent and reduce violent conflict.
Marcos Meets Biden Amid Tightening Security Ties
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is in Washington this week, capping off a period in which Washington-Manila ties have seen a sharp turnaround. During former President Rodrigo Duterte’s six-year tenure, he sought to align Manila closer with Beijing, but with ultimately little to show for it. Since taking office last June, Marcos has moved to reverse course, dramatically deepening the 70-year-old U.S.-Philippines security alliance amid China’s increasingly coercive actions in the South China Sea. It is expected that Marcos and President Joe Biden will announce this week plans for stepped up military coordination.
Three-Year Bangsamoro Transition Extension Seen as a Critical Opportunity
Engr. Mohajirin Ali is the director general of the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA), which coordinates the formulation of the Bangsamoro government’s socioeconomic development policies and plans, and monitors and evaluates those plans. Aliah Adam, who serves as the coordinator for local NGO Singanen O Mindanao and as a consultant for USIP, recently interviewed Ali to discuss the BPDA’s role, the major achievements of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority and the importance of the three-year extension of the transition period of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. The following are edited excerpts from the interview.
Bangsamoro Peace and the U.S.-Philippines Alliance
The election in May of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the 17th president of the Philippines presents an opportunity to reset U.S.-Philippines relations after six rocky years while President Rodrigo Duterte held the office. After Marcos’s sweeping election victory, President Biden called to congratulate him and then dispatched a series of U.S. officials to Manila, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Any concerns that the Marcos family’s corruption and lingering legal issues in the United States would hold up relations have been pushed aside due to the enormous interests the United States has in a functioning U.S.-Philippines alliance.
Philippines’ Bangsamoro Peace Process Normalization Track Hits Some Bumps
The normalization track of the Bangsamoro peace process involves the decommissioning of 40,000 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants and their firearms, as well as their transformation to civilian and productive members of society through the provision of socioeconomic development programs and other peace dividends, extending to their families and communities.
The Importance of Settling Clan Feuds for Peace in the Philippines’ Bangsamoro Region
Clan feuds, or rido, are a constant threat to peace and stability across the territories of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in southern Philippines. Armed conflict displaces tens of thousands of people in Mindanao each year and rido is one of the causes of these displacements. The persistent cycles of rido contribute to other forms of social issues and violence, ranging from child exploitation to violent extremism.
Philippines: Seizing the Opportunity Offered by the Bangsamoro Transition Extension
On October 28, 2021, Rodrigo Duterte, then president of the Philippines, signed into law a three-year extension of the transition period of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. The region’s first parliamentary elections are now scheduled for May 2025, alongside the national elections. In 2021, the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) actively campaigned for the extension of the transition period to provide more time for the Bangsamoro Transition Authority and the Philippine government to fully implement and deliver the commitments they made in the 2014 peace agreement between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The agreement grants greater political autonomy to the southern Mindanao region.
The Philippines’ Bangsamoro Transition Authority’s Expectation Management Challenge
A crucial component of the success of any peace process is winning the support of local populations. This was particularly important in the southern Philippines where the progression of recent peace efforts depended on the result of the 2019 plebiscite. After decades of war and endemic poverty, expectations are high for what the peace dividend will deliver in socioeconomic, education, security, infrastructure and political reforms. The Bangsamoro Transition Authority’s (BTA’s) expectation management challenge may prove decisive in maintaining popular commitment to the peace process. The Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO) has a central role to play in these efforts.
Examining the Military’s Soft Power Challenge in the Southern Philippines
This is a moment of both real and potential transition for the AFP, as the prospect of sustainable peace in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and at least wearying of non-state threats could enable a transition in force posture from a focus on internal security operations to broader regional defense.
Examining Women’s Critical Role in Peacebuilding in the Southern Philippines
Peace is the new battle cry for the island of Mindanao. Situated in the southern Philippines, the region is among the poorest in the nation despite natural resources and promising agrarian assets. Mindanao is also prone to calamities, from clashes between the military and armed groups and violent clan feuds to seasonal natural disasters, that regularly displace entire communities. These unrelenting disruptions to our social, political and economic lives have impacted generations.
Examining Local Grievances and Militant Groups in the Southern Philippines
The 2017 Marawi siege was devastating for my city and its people. For five long months, Dawlah Islamiyah, known locally as the Maute-ISIS group, battled the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), resulting in the displacement of more than 300,000 people. Large parts of Marawi remain uninhabitable to this day. As a result, many of the city’s residents are forced to live in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) almost five years since the end of the siege.