The United Nations (UN) chief gave credit to President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday for the establishment of the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as a landmark achievement on the road to lasting peace.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the ceremonies at Malacañang that formalize the setting up of BARMM were a historic occasion for all people of the Philippines.

“The United Nations will continue to support the Philippines in the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and to help build the capacity of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to achieve peace, democratic governance and respect for human rights,” Guterres said in a statement which was read by UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric in New York.

Guterres also congratulated the Philippine government, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, as well as the civil societies and local communities involved in the push to create the autonomous region.

The successful 21 January and 6 February plebiscites for the BOL have effectively ratified the establishment of the Bangsamoro government, the transition of which is to be supervised by the BTA in 2022.

On Friday, the members of the BTA took their oath before President Rodrigo Duterte at Malacañang Palace. Mr. Duterte personally swore in MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim as interim chief minister at a symbolic ceremony at Malacañang.

Dujarric said the UN “will continue to support the Philippines in the implementation of BOL and to help build the capacity of the BTA to achieve peace, democratic governance and respect for human rights.”

The MILF signed a peace treaty with the government in 2014 and Congress passed a law creating the self-rule area which voters later ratified.

Murad and his transition body will form a Cabinet, as well as pass laws, until the temporary arrangement ends with the election of a regional parliament in May 2022.

During Murad’s term, some of his more than 10,000 armed fighters are expected to gradually disarm under the terms set by the peace treaty.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said bringing lasting peace in Mindanao, all firearms of Muslim rebels should be surrendered to the government.

In a radio interview, Andanar stressed the surrender of firearms by Muslim rebels is a significant step in achieving the success of BOL, noting that having firearms can still pose a threat to the realization of peace in Mindanao.

“One of the ways to make this BOL successful is to have the rebels surrender all their firearms,” Andanar said. “If these rebels still have firearms with them, there is still the possibility of splinter groups that might threaten peace,” he added.

Andanar said the main purpose of BOL is to bring lasting peace in conflict-stricken Mindanao.

“This is what the Filipinos want, to have lasting peace in Mindanao,” Andanar said. “If we can achieve peace, then progress will surely follow,” he added.

The Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy congratulated the 80 newly appointed members of the BTA. “We trust the BTA leadership to lead in the resolution of the issues that have hindered the region in reaching its full potential,” PCID president Amina Rasul said.

The success of the ratification of the BOL brings the necessary framework for a strengthened autonomy that will lay the foundation for just peace and inclusive development crucial to the prevention of violent extremism in Mindanao.

After decades of waging war against the government, MILF commander Abdullah Macapaar, also known as Commander Bravo, has set foot in the halls of power that he once attempted to overthrow.

Macapaar was among the MILF leaders who were sworn into office as BTA members.

“First time,” was Macapaar’s short reply to reporters when asked how many times he has visited the Palace.

Known for his notoriety, Macapaar was tagged as the brains behind the attacks in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte in 2008 after the failed signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the government and the MILF as this was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

But that same feistiness that Mr. Duterte hopes Macapaar will use to make the BTA work, stressing that Macapaar’s presence in the interim government would be “beneficial.”

“Well, he is a revolutionary. We are talking here of ending a revolution. So, you should talk to a revolutionary or a warrior of that war,” Mr. Duterte told reporters after the mass oathtaking of the BTA.

“He took the brunt. The burden was there. Just like my Army, my Armed Forces, my police. They do the dying. They do the talking,” he added.

The BTA will be governing the BARMM until the elections in May 2022.