Senate urged to follow House panel’s OK of draft BBL
DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Mujiv Hataman on Thursday urged the Senate to follow the example of the House of Representatives and pass the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
“We urge our lawmakers in the Senate to take their cue from the House, and take the BBL into the homestretch,” Hataman said in a statement.
On Wednesday, the House BBL committee voted 50-17 to approve the proposed Bangsamoro autonomy law, the centerpiece of the peace agreement signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) last year.
“[The House committee] has spoken for peace for the Bangsamoro. This is a great step toward the self-determination we have long been fighting for,” Hataman said.
The measure, as amended at the committee level, is now called the Basic Law of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. It next goes to the House committees on appropriations and ways and means then to the full House for debate and approval.
No rush in Senate
The Senate local government committee, however, is calling two more meetings before putting the bill to a vote.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes has finished hearings on the BBL, finding it cannot be just passed by Congress because the establishment of a new autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao requires the amendment or revision of the Constitution.
Race for peace
That finding could delay the completion of the peace deal between the government and the MILF.
Malacañang wants the deal to be completed before President Aquino steps down at the end of June next year.
Hataman, however, hopes the new Bangsamoro autonomous region will be established sooner.
“This is a race of hope, a race for peace. When the finish line is crossed, we, not just the Bangsamoro but the entire country, will all be winners,” Hataman said.
“The BBL—much debated, reviled by some, discussed heatedly even by those who have not even read it—is much closer to becoming the law by which we Moros will build the foundations of peace, security and progress,” he added.
Ferrer thanks
When the basic law is enacted and ratified by voters in affected localities, the ARMM will be abolished and replaced by Bangsamoro. Hataman will become the last governor of the ARMM, which was established in 1989.
Chief government peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer on Thursday thanked the House BBL committee for retaining what she described as the “substantive elements” of the proposed autonomy law.
In a statement, Ferrer said the bill, even with the amendments, remained faithful to the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the peace agreement between the government and the MILF.
The Inquirer tried but failed to reach MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal for the MILF’s comment on the changes to the measure.
According to Ferrer, the substantive provisions retained in the approved bill are the structure of Bangsamoro government, automatic block grant; and the layered voting process where the majority vote in the six Lanao del Norte municipalities and 39 North Cotabato villages will be determined at the level of the local government.
The third refers to Article III Section 3, which requires a plebiscite for “geographic areas” that want to join the Bangsamoro region.
The 39 villages of North Cotabato and the six Lanao del Norte municipalities had previously voted to join the ARMM but were unable to because the rest of the two provinces voted to stay out of the region.
The term “geographic areas” is a catch-all phrase for the municipalities and villages that want to join Bangsamoro, such that it does not have to require the entire province to be part of the new autonomous region.
Fiscal, economic matters
Ferrer also noted that the “fiscal and economic matters” in the proposed Bangsamoro region were also preserved by the House committee.
“We are thankful that substantive parts and the spirit of the BBL to address the Bangsamoro aspiration for political and fiscal autonomy were heeded by our lawmakers in their voting on the provisions of the Bangsamoro law,” she said.
While some indigenous peoples from the Bangsamoro core territories did not approve of the inclusion of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (Ipra) in the Bangsamoro law, Ferrer welcomed it.
“The welfare of the indigenous peoples has been enhanced. The same is true with the protection of women’s rights and welfare. While there were cutbacks on the jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro government over natural resources, the wealth-sharing from the exploration, development and utilization of these resources were not changed,” Ferrer said.
‘Nothing to fear’
In a separate interview, Maguindanao Rep. Sandra Sema told the Inquirer that there was “nothing to fear” in the “opt-in” provision of the draft law.
The section has been amended to allow at least 10 provinces outside the core territory of the ARMM to join the new Bangsamoro region through plebiscites.
“There is nothing to fear because the law says it should be contiguous areas. Zamboanga City and Palawan were areas subject to negotiations in the Tripoli Agreement but they are not contiguous to the new Bangsamoro region,” Sema said.
Moreover, Sema said that it would still be the majority that will decide whether they want to be part of the Bangsamoro region in the fifth and 10th year of the bill’s passage.
“This is for the Moros residing outside the ARMM, to tell them that they have not been left behind, that they were not neglected. But if they do not win [the plebiscite], then their areas will not be included in the Bangsamoro region,” Sema said.
