TUBOD, LANAO DEL NORTE—Erstwhile Moro guerrilla leader Abdullah Macapaar, more popularly known as Commander Bravo, of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) participated in a meeting of the provincial peace and order council on Wednesday (March 10), making a public appearance at an official government meeting for the first time. ADVERTISEMENTMacapaar, now a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), was commander of the MILF’s northwestern Mindanao front that maintains base commands in parts of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte which are awaiting decommissioning, in keeping with a 2014 peace deal with the government. At Wednesday’s meeting, Macapaar appealed for support for the proposal to extend the Bangsamoro transition period by another three years so that the BTA can be given enough time to complete the milestones mandated by the Bangsamoro Organic Act. 8222 authored by Lanao del Norte Rep. Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo, asking President Rodrigo Duterte to certify the proposed law as urgent. Four other bills related to extending the Bangsamoro transition period is pending in the House and two in the Senate.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 11, 2021 13:01 UTC