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Governance has been at the fulcrum of the Bangsamoro’s leadership. Whether it has been—or can yet be—good or moral governance is the question at hand. The discussion of good governance precedes that of moral governance in this article, with the former describing a modern-secular form of good governance as defined by international and multilateral organizations, while the latter propounds the idea of an Islamic-rooted moral governance. The new BARMM autonomous government is the opportunity for the Bangsamoro people to chart up their future in accordance with their distinct beliefs, culture, and aspirations, a shift from the struggle into fighting against oppression, corruption, discrimination, and other malpractices that are worsening the situation of the Bangsamoro people. Its leadership is determined to lead and manage the Moro society based on “moral governance.” However, it is difficult to understand what moral governance means. By using an exploratory design to frame research as inquiry and gain insights on moral governance as the BARMM’s agendum, the research navigated and conceptualized the meaning of moral governance based on a proposed framework that constitutes five immutable principles: Faith, Freedom, Moral Authority, Common Good, and Social Ethics. By constituting these interrelated principles that will map the framework towards practice, within the distinct historical and faith context of Muslim Philippines, an authentic Bangsamoro leadership is envisaged as a tolerant society to various Muslim groups and non-Muslim communities—Christians and Indigenous Peoples in particular. Consequently, the juxtaposed comparison of the ARMM and the BARMM will, in effect, highlight the tasks that were not successfully or satisfactorily implemented by the ARMM. These are areas where the BARMM can build its introductory steps to come up to the challenges of moral governance.

Citation:
Adiong, N.M. & Diampuan, P.D. (2021) “Principles and Practice of Moral Governance in the Bangsamoro.” In: U.S. Malik, ed., Development for peace (In pursuit of sustainable peace through inclusive development: The case of the Bangsamoro). Mindanao State University–Marawi and Maven Media Asia, pp. 31-53.