As I stood before our honorable members of Congress last week, I felt a familiar weight on my shoulders. But this time, it was heavier. It was the weight of the promise we made to a people who have long awaited to fully govern themselves and chart their future.

As I presented OPAPRU’s position on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) elections, I knew we had to make a stronger case on why the BARMM elections could no longer be pushed back.

At this crucial juncture, time is of the essence for the Bangsamoro’s roughly five million residents. That is why our message was clear: Congress must urgently pass the legislation that will finally set the date of the highly-anticipated political exercise.

As a former soldier and now a peace worker who has spent decades working in conflict and post-conflict environments and studying the peace efforts of other countries, I have learned one important lesson: peace agreements must be protected and sustained at all costs.

If not, these accords will erode slowly due to a sense of uncertainty, implementation delays, and the loss of trust between the parties and the public. We cannot afford that to happen to the Bangsamoro peace process, which we have painstakingly built over the years.

The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) laid out a clear political pathway that would enable members of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to make the transition from armed struggle to democratic self-governance.

However, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) was not intended to be permanent. It is just a bridge that would allow the MILF to learn the affairs of governance. The elections are the final and most critical step in completing the political track of the agreement.

And so, every postponement of the BARMM elections weakens that bridge.

In the House of Representatives, lawmakers emphasized that legislating the election date requires clarity, firmness, and credibility. They described the elections as the lifeblood of democratic legitimacy. We could not agree more.

In the Senate, Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri warned that further delays could lead to unrest and disillusionment. As someone who has seen how quickly frustration can turn into instability, I share that same concern with the good senator from Bukidnon.

In communities across the Bangsamoro, residents are asking when they can finally choose their own leaders, while former combatants who have laid down their arms are waiting for political normalization to be completed.

And the young people, who have grown up being at the center of armed battles, running for their lives, and living in cramped evacuation centers, are now clamoring for the day they will be finally able to cast their vote and help build the government they deserve.

We must remember that the major gains we are now enjoying today in the BARMM — improving peace and security conditions, better infrastructure, increasing livelihood opportunities, and renewed investor confidence — are rooted primarily in people’s trust.

And that trust largely depends not only on the leaders that govern them but on the legitimacy of the whole political structure. That legitimacy can only come from individuals who were chosen by the people themselves through a credible, democratic process.

We would like to make it clear that the OPAPRU respects the constitutional role of Congress and the administrative expertise of the Commission on Elections. We defer to their wisdom. But, as we have said, we need to have a greater sense of urgency.

We believe that a clear, legislated election date reassures the Bangsamoro people that the national government remains faithful to the commitments it has made under all signed peace agreements.

The men and women of OPAPRU stand ready to support this historic exercise. We shall work closely with the COMELEC, Bangsamoro government, security sector, civil society, and other stakeholders to ensure that the elections are peaceful, orderly, and credible.

We, therefore, support the legislative efforts of both Houses of Congress in prioritizing the bill setting the date of the BARMM parliamentary elections. You are not only lawmakers, but are guardians of a hard-won peace.

History will remember those who choose courage over caution, who keep their promises, and complete what has been started. This is now the time for our highly-esteemed legislators to take a leap of faith and put their trust in the process.

The Bangsamoro people have kept their side of the bargain. They chose peace over violence, institutions over insurgency, hope over despair. They now deserve certainty and the opportunity to shape their region’s future.

Peace can only be sustained by trust. And this trust can only be preserved when promises are kept. Let us hold the Bangsamoro elections this year, as we continue to build on and sustain the gains of peace and development in the region and beyond.

(Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. is the presidential adviser on peace, reconciliation, and unity.)