The Bangsamoro Transition Commission attended a 2-day seminar on Ministerial Form of Government and Electoral Systems at the EM Manor Hotel, Cotabato City on August 12-13, 2013 with all 15 Commissioners and their legal staff, executive assistants and experts in attendance.

Dr. Jose Abueva, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and former President of the University of the Philippines, lectured on the relevant parts of the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro and clarifications of the terms Ministerial Form of Government and Electoral Systems.

The Internal Logic of the Ministerial Form of Government, its preconditions, advantages, challenges and mechanisms were handled by Ms. Cristita Giangan, Program Manager of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) in the Philippines. Political Scientist and International Expert on Government Systems and Institutional Mechanisms in Democracy, Dr. Peter Köppinger, discussed in detail the Basic Forms and Impact on Inclusiveness and Stability of the democratic institutions in a ministerial form of government.

He introduced options for different electoral systems in regard of the situation in the future Bangsamoro Region and the relation of the formation of genuinely principled Political Parties.

It can be recalled that KAS develops programs on issue-areas that aim to help strengthening the democratization processes in the Philippines.

Former NDU Dean, Atty Benedicto Bacani, stressed the synthesis between the policies, processes and details of minsiterial system, inclusiveness and stability, relations between the regional parliament and the LGUs, principled political parties, constitutionality and accepatability of the new politics to the constituents in Bangsamoro.

Speaking alternate of each other, these resource persons imparted the nitty-gritties of the different subject matters leading to active participation of the participants through questions and answers.

BTC Chairman Mohagher Iqbal both in his opening and farewell remarks reiterated the importance of truly principled political parties in the Bangsamoro and declared that after the seminars and workshops they would be ready to face the Commissioner's challenges of drafting the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

An original article about the seminar was written by Exective Assistant Atty. Haron Meling and published on the MILF website www.luwaran.com

You can access the original article by clicking on this link