Muslim groups urge Duterte to include BTA extension in final SONA

Several Muslim groups on Monday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to mention the extension of Bangsamoro Transition Authority as an urgent matter in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA).

In line with this, the United Imam of the Philippines, Moro Ako, and the Coalition of Moro Youth Movement (CMYM) organized a caravan in Metro Manila on Monday.

“On July 26, Duterte will deliver his final SONA and we call that the support of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) extension be included in the address as an urgent matter,” CMYM said in a statement.

The group added that coinciding the caravan with the SONA would be “the most opportune time to show the President as well as the lower and upper houses of Congress how the Bangsamoro people utterly commit and support the extension of the BTA.”

According to CMYM, participants of the “Caravan for Peace” gathered in front of the Senate of the Philippines at 8 a.m. and proceeded to the Batasang Pambansa Complex.

The caravan ended with a press conference in Commonwealth Ave. Corner Luzon Avenue, where they encouraged the Filipino people to join their call.

United Imam of the Philippines’ Sultan Alim Saad Amat said the BTA extension will benefit the peace process more and warned against stopping the completion of the Bangsamoro government.

“The Bangsamoro people more than anyone craves for BTA Extension,” he said.

Moro Ako president Atty. Najeeb Taib pointed out that the agreements between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have not been fully implemented.

“What really pushes us to ask for the BTA extension is the fact that the Agreements between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the MILF have not been fully complied or implemented,” Taib said.

The CMYM has been urging the government to extend the BTA by another three years.  —KBK, GMA News