MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday urged stakeholders to participate in the plebiscite for the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

A crucial step in the peace process, the plebiscite on the Bangsamoro Organic Law will determine whether the people in the affected areas will accept or reject the measure, which aims to grant wider autonomy to the Bangsamoro region.

“I ask my Bangsamoro brothers and sisters, as well as the indigenous communities and Christian settlers living within the Bangsamoro areas, to actively participate in constructive discussions about the law in your homes, in your villages, and communities,” Duterte said in his speech during the ceremonial signing of the law.

“But more importantly, I encourage you to take part in the upcoming plebiscite so that you may express your sovereign will through the ballot.”

The President also asked the stakeholders to “give this law a chance to address the Bangsamoro people’s aspiration for genuine autonomy, while preserving our bond as a single nation and affirming the sovereignty of the indivisible Republic of the Philippines.”

• Bangsamoro Organic Law signals ‘new dawn’ in Bangsamoro region

Duterte signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law on June 27 and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim rebel group, will have 90 days to convince stakeholders to vote for the ratification of the law.

Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, forged the peace agreement with the MILF in 2014 but failed to get Congress to pass the law when he stepped down in 2016.

The 16th Congress halted debates due to public outrage over the deaths of 44 police commandos in a botched anti-terrorism raid in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in January 2015, where some MILF members were accused of involvement.

Some provisions in the Bangsamoro law's earlier versions also faced questions on constitutionality.

Duterte, the first Mindanaoan president, breathed new life into the Bangsamoro law, as he expanded the Bangsamoro Transition Commission which then went back to the drawing board and produced the proposed measure that the 17th Congress tackled and passed.