MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim. AP FILE
MANILA, Philippines – Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim on Wednesday said they were confident that the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) would “stand the constitutional test.”
Murad spoke in light of a recently filed petition in the Supreme Court (SC) to strike down as unconstitutional the charter of a proposed new autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao.
“We are very confident that the BOL will stand the constitutional test because it has been processed many times during the negotiations, during the crafting of the law, during the passing of the law in Congress,” Murad said in an interview over ABS CBN Channel.
“Everybody made sure that the law will be constitutional,” he added.
The Philippine Constitutional Association (Philconsa) filed a petition on Dec. 11 asking the SC to issue a temporary restraining order to stop Malacañang and Congress from enforcing the law that would establish the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to replace its 28-year-old predecessor.
READ: Stop Bangsamoro, law group asks Supreme Court
The MILF chief said that if the BOL would not pass the constitutional test, extremist groups could use this as a justification to continue their cause.
“Ang tingin namin, it will be capitalized by extremist groups. Now, for the meantime, when the BOL succeeded in passing Congress, they have no more justification in their campaign,” he said.
“Now, if BOL will not pass, they will again capitalize on its failure in order to campaign for more adherents to their campaign,” he added.
On the other hand, if the BOL was enforced, Murad said the nation would benefit from the peace and justice that it would bring.
“A vote for the BOL is a vote for peace and a vote for justice. The peace and justice will be enjoyed not only by the Bangsamoro people, it will be enjoyed by everybody and it will ultimately be a development for the Bangsamoro area. Everybody will benefit from it,” he said.
The plebiscite to ratify BOL is set to take place on Jan. 21 and Feb. 6 next year. /cbb