Monday, 1 January, is the Gregorian calendar-designated start of the New Year. This is followed globally by overwhelming numbers. It is not the new year in Islam. Muslims follow the lunar calendar.  The start of "Amon Jaded" or new year is 6 July.  But for the purposes of our commentary, let's discuss significant events in the region that happened during this year's end.

Let's randomly pick some significant events that mattered to the Moros because they influenced BARMM's journey to fruition as a local autonomous governing body. These events will help us understand future developments. It might spill over or influence occurrences in the incoming year.

The year's first quarter was not an auspicious beginning for the BARMM. In February, the ambush of Maranaw political kingpin Mamintal "Bombit" Adiong Jr. shocked the region. The governor of Lanao del Sur, who is known to be amiable and not prone to violence, sustained injuries, but his driver and other escorts died.

What intrigued many was that a camp of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which now governs the BARMM, was proximate to the ambush area but failed to reinforce, nay, provide aid to the convoy of Adiong. This incident caused the uniformed authorities to redraw their regional security blueprint. It likewise revealed the unstable peace in the region despite the peace accord the government had with the rebel MILF.

A few months later, five BARMM governors formed the Bangsamoro Governors Caucus, a powerhouse of regional political leaders whose leadership was proven by the resilient dynasties they had each established. The governors of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi formed the core group that claimed to work for regional development and peace.

To some armchair analysts, this was part of the posturing in the "cold war" between the governors and the MILF-BARMM leadership. They were prepping for the future election, which would pit them against the candidates of the MILF-BARMM's political party, the United Bangsamoro for Justice Party. That early, the electoral pot in the BARMM was brewing.

The political unease in 2022 that was felt by leaders of the MILF-BARMM about the future of BARMM continued at the beginning of 2023. This was brought about by the choice of the BARMM of a presidential candidate who lost in the election. Some predicted a cold shoulder by the administration to the BARMM.  Subsequent developments proved the naysayers wrong.