*Dr. Rodolfo John Ortiz Teope, PhD, EdD, DM
Perhaps somebody inside is talking about tomorrow’s meeting. Perhaps someone is checking his phone. Maybe another is thinking about his children waiting at home.
Then suddenly—
gunfire.
In seconds, politics disappears.
There is no Parliament. No coalition. No political party. No platform. No election.
There are only bullets.
And every time a gun speaks in the middle of political rivalry, peace becomes a little quieter.
That was what crossed my mind when I learned about the recent attack on the convoy of BARMM Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof “Sammy Gambar” Macacua. Thankfully, he survived. The authorities must establish who was responsible and what motivated the attack. Until evidence tells us otherwise, nobody has the right to point fingers at any politician, clan, faction, or organization.
I do not want to write about who pulled the trigger.
I want to write about something much bigger.
Why, after decades of struggle, negotiation, sacrifice, and finally autonomy, must political rivalry still threaten the peace that so many people suffered to achieve?
And perhaps the answer requires honesty from both sides—from Manila and from BARMM itself.
Help BARMM—But Don’t Control BARMM
Let me begin with the National Government.
The responsibility of the National Government is enormous.
It must give its full support to the realization of lasting peace in BARMM.
Give them infrastructure.
Give communities economic opportunities.
Support education.
Improve healthcare.
Help farmers and fisherfolk.
Attract legitimate investment.
Complete normalization commitments.
Protect communities from terrorism and criminality.
Help former combatants build dignified civilian lives.
Make peace economically meaningful to ordinary families.
But there must also be a line.
Help—but don’t interfere.
Support—but don’t dictate.
Protect—but don’t control.
When the question becomes who should lead a regional political organization, which faction should prevail, who should form a coalition, who should politically align with whom, or who should eventually govern BARMM, Manila must understand where national responsibility ends and genuine autonomy begins.
The Bangsamoro deserve their autonomy.
They waited too long for it.
They negotiated too long for it.
Too many families suffered because of the conflict that preceded it.
Too many mothers waited for sons who never returned.
Too many children grew up knowing the sound of conflict before knowing the meaning of peace.
Autonomy therefore cannot merely exist in the pages of a law.
It must be felt.
It must be experienced.
And most importantly, it must be respected.
Hindi puwedeng sabihin nating autonomous sila, pero kapag nagkaroon ng political contest, may gustong magdesisyon mula sa labas kung sino ang dapat manalo.
That is not the spirit of autonomy.
Let the Bangsamoro Choose
The President should be able to look at every legitimate Bangsamoro political organization and say:
Compete.
Present your programs.
Convince your people.
Win their trust.
Win your elections.
Form your government.
Govern well.
And whoever the Bangsamoro legitimately chooses, the Republic will work with you.
That is not political weakness.
That is statesmanship.
Because the strongest President is not necessarily the President who controls every political relationship.
Sometimes the strongest President is the one confident enough not to control what does not need controlling.
National political organizations—including the President’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas—would therefore be better served by exercising strategic restraint regarding internal BARMM coalition-building, party leadership, and parliamentary arrangements.
It is not an accusation.
It is institutional wisdom.
Because Presidents change.
Chief Ministers change.
Political parties rise and fall.
Today’s ally may become tomorrow’s opposition.
But BARMM remains.
And the Republic remains.
Let Bangsamoro parties manage Bangsamoro partisan politics. Let the National Government manage its constitutional partnership with the Bangsamoro.
But BARMM Must Look in the Mirror Too
However, fairness requires another truth.
If we tell Manila:
“Respect our autonomy.”
Then BARMM political leaders must also be willing to say:
“We accept responsibility for our autonomy.”
Hindi puwedeng kapag successful ang programa, achievement natin.
Pero kapag may problema—
Kasalanan ng Manila.
That is not autonomy.
Autonomy is not merely the freedom to make decisions.
Autonomy is accepting responsibility for the decisions you make.
And this is where BARMM must confront perhaps its most painful political reality.
Some of its biggest problems may no longer be coming from outside.
They may be coming from within.
Faction against faction.
Clan against clan.
Politician against politician.
Traditional political families.
Former revolutionary organizations.
New political parties.
Old political wounds.
New political ambitions.
Everybody claiming to love the Bangsamoro while sometimes fighting so fiercely over who should control it.
And perhaps this is the great paradox of autonomy:
You can give people the power to govern themselves, but you cannot legislate their willingness to govern together.
A Law Can Create Parliament—But Not Humility
A law can create Parliament.
But no law can create humility.
A peace agreement can silence thousands of guns.
But no peace agreement can automatically silence ego.
Autonomy can transfer authority from Manila.
But autonomy cannot eliminate ambition.
Democracy can give politicians elections.
But democracy cannot force a defeated politician to smile, shake the winner’s hand, and peacefully go home.
That requires something deeper.
Character.
And perhaps that is the missing conversation.
BARMM does not merely need stronger institutions.
It needs political leaders strong enough to control themselves.
Because sometimes the greatest demonstration of power is not defeating your opponent.
It is possessing the power to hurt him—and choosing not to.
Fight—But Fight Differently
I am not asking BARMM politicians to stop fighting.
Fight.
Mag-away kayo for the good of BARMM.
Challenge one another.
Criticize one another.
Expose bad policies.
Question budgets.
Organize opposition.
Run against powerful incumbents.
Debate passionately inside Parliament.
But fight with ideas.
Fight with programs.
Fight with votes.
Fight through performance.
Huwag baril.
There is a tremendous difference between:
“Tatalunin kita dahil mas maganda ang programa ko.”
and:
“Sisirain kita dahil gusto ko ang posisyon mo.”
The first is democracy.
The second is the beginning of its death.
BARMM does not need politicians who stop competing.
BARMM needs politicians who can compete without destroying the Bangsamoro in the process.
Perhaps Another Decommissioning Is Needed
For years, we have talked about normalization and decommissioning.
Weapons are put down.
Combatants return to civilian communities.
Livelihoods are created.
Communities rebuild.
But perhaps another form of decommissioning must happen.
The decommissioning of political hatred.
Put down the belief that every opponent is an enemy.
Put down the mentality that losing political power means losing everything.
Put down the idea that only one faction has the right to represent the Bangsamoro.
Put down the ego that says:
Ako lang.
Kami lang.
Walang iba.
Because BARMM cannot build peace if politicians simply replace one battlefield with another.
The mountains cannot become peaceful while Parliament becomes a battlefield of hatred.
As a Balik-Islam, I Saw Something Beautiful
And here, this article becomes personal.
As a Balik-Islam, I saw how Islam nurtures character and integrity.
I saw something deeper than rituals.
I saw discipline.
Prayer teaches discipline.
Fasting teaches self-control.
Charity teaches responsibility toward those who have less.
Community teaches that we do not live only for ourselves.
And faith reminds a person that even when nobody is watching—
Allah knows.
Think about that principle applied to government.
There may be no auditor inside the room.
There may be no camera.
There may be no journalist.
There may be no political opponent watching.
But character asks:
Will I still do what is right?
That is integrity.
And that is where I discovered a beautiful connection between Islam and something I have long advocated:
Integritocracy.
Perhaps Integritocracy Can Begin in BARMM
Integritocracy is governance anchored upon integrity, character, accountability, and public trust.
Democracy asks:
Who gave you power?
The answer is:
The people.
Integritocracy asks another question:
Now that the people have given you power, what kind of person will you become?
Will power make you arrogant?
Will position make you greedy?
Will ambition make you forget your principles?
Or will authority make you more responsible because you understand that leadership is a trust?
And here I see profound connections with Islamic ethical principles.
Amanah — Trust and responsibility.
Adl — Justice.
Shura — Consultation.
Ihsan — Striving toward goodness and excellence.
These are not merely beautiful Arabic words.
Imagine them becoming a culture of government.
Imagine Amanah Inside Government
Imagine every BARMM official entering office thinking:
This position is not mine. It was entrusted to me.
Imagine every peso of public money being treated as Amanah.
Imagine a governor thinking:
Hindi ko pera ito.
Imagine a minister looking at billions in public funds and remembering:
This belongs to the people.
Imagine politicians remembering that power itself is borrowed.
One day you have it.
One day you don’t.
But your character remains after the title beside your name disappears.
That is Integritocracy.
Imagine Adl in Politics
Imagine justice being practiced even toward political opponents.
You may disagree with him.
You may campaign against him.
You may defeat him.
But you do not destroy him simply because he belongs to another faction.
Because justice loses its meaning when we apply it only to friends.
Imagine Shura Inside Parliament
Imagine disagreement being answered by consultation rather than intimidation.
Mag-usap tayo.
Hindi tayo magkasundo.
Pero pareho nating mahal ang Bangsamoro.
What a powerful political culture that could become.
Imagine Ihsan in Public Service
Imagine government officials no longer asking:
“Ano ba ang minimum na kailangan kong gawin?”
But instead asking:
“How can I serve better?”
Then BARMM would possess something far more important than autonomy written on paper.
It would possess moral authority.
Faith Must Become Stronger Than Faction
Muslims can disagree politically.
Of course they can.
Islam does not erase human differences, and Muslim societies—like all societies—contain different political views, schools of jurisprudence, traditions, and interests.
But beneath political differences is a moral foundation capable of reminding leaders that something exists above faction.
Political parties are temporary.
Faith is deeper.
Political positions are temporary.
Character remains.
Coalitions change.
Principles should not.
If Amanah teaches trust, why betray public trust for political ambition?
If Adl teaches justice, why deny justice to an opponent?
If Shura teaches consultation, why answer disagreement with intimidation?
And if fasting can teach us to control hunger even when food is within reach, perhaps the same discipline can teach a politician to control his hunger for power even when power is within reach.
That, for me, is where faith and governance meet.
What If BARMM Teaches the Philippines?
And here is the dream that I refuse to abandon.
What if someday BARMM becomes one of the cleanest and most respected governments in the Philippines?
Think about that.
A region once associated with conflict becomes associated with integrity.
A region once discussed through insurgency becomes discussed through investment.
A region created through decades of painful negotiation becomes a model of reconciliation.
A people who fought for autonomy demonstrate that autonomy produces accountability.
Imagine officials from Manila someday traveling south and asking:
“How did BARMM do it?”
Imagine universities studying its governance.
Imagine other regions copying its accountability systems.
Imagine young Filipinos saying:
“Tingnan natin ang ginawa nila sa Bangsamoro.”
What a beautiful reversal of history that would be.
Perhaps the Philippines does not always have to teach BARMM how democracy should work.
Perhaps someday BARMM can teach the Philippines how democracy ought to behave.
And perhaps Integritocracy does not have to begin in Manila.
Perhaps it can begin in BARMM.
But First, BARMM Must Win the Battle Within
Before that dream becomes reality, BARMM must win another battle.
Not against Manila.
Not against another religion.
Not against another ethnic group.
Not against another army.
Against factionalism.
Against destructive political ambition.
Against ego.
Against political hatred.
Against the temptation to treat opponents as enemies.
And perhaps this is the hardest battle because the enemy is sometimes not standing across the battlefield.
Sometimes—
the enemy is inside ourselves.
Let Them Fight Over Who Can Serve Better
I still want fierce political competition in BARMM.
But let politicians fight over who can reduce poverty fastest.
Magpaligsahan kayo.
Who can build better schools?
Who can create more jobs?
Who can improve hospitals?
Who can help farmers?
Who can strengthen fisheries?
Who can attract legitimate investment?
Who can complete normalization?
Who can make communities safer?
Who can produce the cleanest government?
That is the political war BARMM deserves.
Imagine candidates telling voters:
Vote for me because I can govern better.
Not because my clan is stronger.
Not because I have more guns.
Not because I have powerful friends in Manila.
But because:
I can give your children a better future.
Then political rivalry stops being BARMM’s weakness.
It becomes its strength.
And I Return to the Sound of Gunfire
And so I return to where this reflection began.
A road.
A convoy.
An ordinary afternoon.
Then gunfire.
Whatever investigators ultimately establish about the attack on Chief Minister Macacua’s convoy, one lesson should transcend politics.
Every bullet that enters political competition wounds more than its intended target.
It wounds democracy.
It wounds investment.
It wounds public confidence.
It wounds autonomy.
It wounds the peace process.
And perhaps most painfully, it wounds the hope of a child who was supposed to inherit something better than the conflict his parents experienced.
For generations, people suffered so their children would not have to fight the same war.
Imagine the tragedy if, after finally achieving meaningful autonomy, another generation begins another conflict—
not against Manila,
but against one another.
Sayang ang dugo.
Sayang ang sakripisyo.
Sayang ang kapayapaan.
Sayang ang autonomy.
The National Government therefore has a sacred political responsibility:
Help BARMM. Protect the peace. Fulfill the commitments. Bring development. But respect their politics. Do not unnecessarily interfere. They fought for that autonomy. They negotiated for it. They deserve it.
And BARMM’s leaders carry an equally sacred responsibility:
Rise above faction. Control ambition. Respect opponents. Reject violence. Strengthen institutions. Honor Amanah. And place the Bangsamoro above yourselves.
As a Balik-Islam, that is why I remain hopeful.
I have seen how Islam can nurture discipline.
I have seen how faith can strengthen character.
And I have seen how Amanah can remind a person that whatever is entrusted to us—money, authority, influence, leadership—does not truly belong to us forever.
One day, every politician will leave office.
The convoy will disappear.
The security escorts will disappear.
The title will disappear.
The office will belong to somebody else.
But somewhere, perhaps in a small Bangsamoro home, a child will grow up living with the consequences of what today’s leaders chose to do with the power temporarily entrusted to them.
That child is the reason peace must win.
That child is the reason autonomy must work.
That child is the reason political ambition must have limits.
And that child is the reason BARMM must succeed.
The Philippines has already answered one historic question:
Can the Bangsamoro be trusted with meaningful autonomy?
BARMM exists because the answer was yes.
Now history asks something harder:
Can Bangsamoro political leaders trust one another enough—and control their own ambitions enough—to make that autonomy work?
I dream of the day when two bitter political rivals fight fiercely during an election.
One wins.
One loses.
No gunfire follows.
No blood flows.
No family mourns.
The loser walks toward the winner.
They shake hands.
Then both go home peacefully to their families.
Perhaps that evening, they kneel in prayer before the same God.
One goes home with the position.
The other goes home without it.
But somewhere in BARMM, a child sleeps peacefully because adults chose democracy instead of violence.
And on that night—
neither politician truly lost.
The Bangsamoro won.
That is where autonomy becomes Amanah.
That is where political rivalry becomes democracy.
And perhaps, in a land once wounded by conflict, that is where the Philippines may finally witness the beginning of something beautiful:
Integritocracy.
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