Arroyo bill on ARMM overtaken by ‘framework agreement’

Former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo quietly came up with her own recipe to resolve the armed conflict in Mindanao, prior to the government’s signing of a preliminary “framework agreement” with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

But her proposals, contained in a bill seeking to amend the law creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, have been languishing in a committee of the House of Representatives where she is poised to complete a three-year term.

“Every administration has endeavored to resolve the Mindanao conflict by engaging Muslim rebels (in) a peace negotiation with varying levels of success,” she said in an explanatory note to House Bill No. 2378. “Admittedly, much is left to be done to bring about sustainable development in Mindanao. While the executive branch continues to look for political solutions, it is imperative for the legislative branch to pass responsive laws to improve the administration and governance in the region.”

But Arroyo’s measure has been taken over by events following the signing of the framework agreement, which intends to expand the ARMM into a new Bangsamoro entity.

During her administration, she also came close to signing a Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain with the MILF, but this was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court amid widespread protests.

Arroyo’s two-year-old bill seeks to streamline the process of appointing an ARMM inhabitant to the Cabinet by removing the provision requiring the regional director to consult “elected officials and concerned sectors of the autonomous region.”

HB  2378 also creates a Regional Economic Development Authority, which would perform functions similar to those of the National Economic Development Authority within the ARMM.

The bill simplifies the provision on the creation of Islamic banks, requiring only that the establishment be approved by the Monetary Board. And instead of a regional bank of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in the ARMM, there would be a regional “office.”

Another amendment allows the regional assembly to “take into consideration other applicable laws” in crafting laws covering the ARMM police force.

It removes the provision that says ex-Moro National Liberation Front members now “integrated into the Regional Police Force may be deployed in the autonomous region or elsewhere in the Republic as may be determined by the proper authorities.”

The Arroyo proposal involves the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in the development of regional curricula for ARMM.

Arroyo said of her bill: “There is a need to amend its (Organic Law) provisions to make them more responsive and relevant to prevailing needs and conditions in the area.”