Malacañang on the ratification of the BOL

(statement)

The sovereign voice of the participating voters in the just concluded plebiscite has spoken,
ushering a ray of hope to that war weary, poverty stricken, long neglected and much heralded
promised land of the fifties.

The Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) has been officially ratified, it behooves the discordant
voices to yield to the rule of the majority.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will be in place as soon
as the President constitutes the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority that will oversee
the interim government of the BARMM, unless the Supreme Court rules in favor of the present
petition questioning the constitutionality of the BOL.

The ruling however remains in the realm of imponderables. We cannot be waylaid in the
meanwhile in the race to peace and progress.

The quest to lasting peace in that region saw not only the bloody encounters among the Muslim
combatants but spawned more conflicts as well, giving birth to more armed groups and violent
hostilities to the sufferance of the Bangsamoro people and the Christian inhabitants.

To the credit of the Muslim warriors, they made way to another thrust for the elusive peace as
they participated in a democratic process weighing in their collective voice.

The President hopes that the ratification of the BOL will commence the process of correcting the
historical injustices committed against the Bangsamoro people.

It is in this light that all the stakeholders must join their hands in unity and harmony to craft an
autonomous government that will be responsive to the needs of the Bangsamoro people and other
citizens within the jurisdiction of BARMM.

We urge the people in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to give their
new leaders their support and cooperation but at the same we implore them to be vigilant and
assertive of their rights. We also call on the mandated leaders to be fealty to their oaths of office.

We look forward to another orderly plebiscite in the provinces of Lanao del Norte and North
Cotabato on February 6 even as we await with enthusiasm a favourable result.

Salvador S. Panelo
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel
& Presidential Spokesperson