Deles: GPH-MILF peace deal constitutional

Government peace negotiator Teresita Deles, left, greets Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief Al Haj Murad. AP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The presidential adviser for the peace process assured the House of Representatives that the government peace panel followed the Constitution in drafting the Bangsamoro framework.

But Teresita “Ging” Deles, secretary of the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process, recognized that making proposals to amend the Charter is still constitutional.

She made the statement amid apprehension by lawmakers that the Bangsamoro basic law that would be crafted following the sealed peace pact would require constitutional amendments.

This is because the annexes of the agreement delved into constitutional matters as power sharing, wealth sharing and territorial waters.

Because of the annexes, according to some lawmakers, the Charter may be amended to accommodate the provisions of the peace deal.

“We maintained that all the provisions here are within the parameters of the Constitution. We will be ready to defend this,” Deles told members of the House during the Mindanao and Muslim affairs committee hearing on Tuesday.
Deles also pointed out that a proposal to amend the Constitution is not necessarily unconstitutional, especially as the Charter provides for measures to amend it.

She added that she has heard “Congress leaders saying they wanted to propose changes.”

“Making proposals to change the Constitution is not unconstitutional… To make proposals to change the constitution does not change the Constitution,” Deles said.

“It will have to go through the process. But certainly we cannot deny any Filipino citizens to make proposals to amend the Constitution,” she added.

Deles noted that the peace panel consulted with different Constitution lawyers of different ideologies who approved of the constitutionality of the agreement.

Charter change has been a thorny issue in the past Congress, especially as it was seen as a ploy by politicians to change the form of government and extend their terms of office.

On Saturday, the MILF and the Philippine government signed the last annex of the Bangsamoro framework, sealing the deal in a bid to end the decades-long secessionist movement in Mindanao.

The comprehensive agreement will be the basis of the basic law that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with the new Bangsamoro entity.

The law will be crafted by a transitory committee formed by President Benigno Aquino III. Once certified as urgent, the proposed measure would need to be passed by Congress.

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