MANILA, Philippines — Amid the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said on Sunday that it might not entirely solve the conflict in Mindanao.
According to Enrile, he sees no “complete unity” among the members of the Islamic faith, and that “disunity” may still continue despite the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
“Knowing the problem of the area, knowing the dynamics of the problem of Islam around the world and even in Mindanao, I have my own pessimism that the solution might not be enough,” Enrile, who eyeing for a Senate comeback this midterm polls, said during the Balitaan sa Maynila press conference.
“[Kung] sila sila mismo nag-aaway, dito pa kaya? Kaya nakita natin na doon sa plebisito, ‘yung mga taga-Sulu, hindi na sumama. ‘Yung mga taga-Isabela at Basilan, hindi sumama. ‘Yung mga taga-Cotabato, ayaw din sumama pero, by slim votes, sumama. Anong ibig sabihin niyan? There is an endemic latent disunity in the area, and that may heighten because other forces are operating in the area that may impinge on the peace and order of Mindanao,” he added.
Despite this, Enrile said that he would support the ratification of the BOL but with reservations.
“I will support it. But, as I said, the mere fact that the law was passed by Congress does not solve the problem. It has to be tested on the ground whether it will work or not. And I hope that it will work although I have my reservations,” he said.
According to the tally of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the BOL plebiscite held last Monday, the city of Isabel voted against its inclusion for the BARMM with a vote of 22,441 against 19,032 ‘Yes’ votes.
Meanwhile, the Cotabato City voted for inclusion in the BARMM with 36,682 ‘Yes’ votes the 24,994 dissenting votes, or with more than 10,000 difference.
The votes of Basilan and Sulu provinces, however, were not fully disclosed as these were already added to total votes garnered by the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Both Basilan and Sulu were part of the said region.
In the final tally of Comelec, 1,540,017 voted in favor of BOL while 198,750 voted against the decree that would establish the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). /je
READ: Yes votes have it: Law creating Bangsamoro region ratified