COTABATO CITY – Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez said Congress should hear all sides and deliberate on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) with the end of bringing peace to the troubled South in mind.
“We need to approach this legislative proposal with the intent to end decades of fighting that has caused massive displacement of families in Mindanao,” Rodriguez said in a radio interview here late Tuesday.
In a call addressed to fellow lawmakers, Rodriguez said it was important to “keep an open mind about the provisions contained in the administration bill,” which aims to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with one simply called Bangsamoro.
He said the public hearings on the bill should be made inclusive so that the voices of as many stakeholders as possible — including the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a group that separated from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) — would be heard.
The public hearings will be conducted by a special committee that Congress has created to handle issues pertaining to the BBL.
“Let us provide democratic space so that all voices would be heard during the public hearings, including those from the Moro National Liberation Front, (MNLF) the BIFF, indigenous tribes, Christians, and other sectors,” Rodriguez said.
He said that since Congress unanimously agreed to give the BBL the highest priority, marathon deliberations were expected to take place.
Rufus Rodriguez. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
“The formal filing of the Bangsamoro Basic Law in Congress by the Office of the President would mark the start of a marathon deliberation over the future of Muslim Mindanao,” he said.
“As a proud Mindanaonon, I am very happy and thankful that the review process by the Office of the President is finally over and we can now study the legislative proposals of the government and MILF peace panels as contained in the draft crafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission,” Rodriguez said.
In Davao City, Mindanao Business Council chair Vicente Lao said the business community was one in the belief that the BBL could end the decades-long armed conflict and for the Bangsamoro people to regain their political power over their ancestral lands in southern Philippines.
“I hope Congress will approve it immediately,” Lao said, even as he called on lawmakers to “set aside their political and personal interests in the deliberation process and put premium on the interests of the people not only of Mindanao but the entire country as well.”
“We welcome the good news and enthusiasm to help in peace building and hopeful that sustainable peace be achieved,” Prof. Alih S. Aiyub, secretary general of the Bishop-Ulama Conference, said on the submission of the draft law to Congress.
Alrashid Jama of the Golden Crescent Consortium of Peace Builders and Affiliates also called on Congress to be transparent in the discussions.
“Hopefully, no secret deal would be made just to rush the law,” Jama said.
In Cotabato City, Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF political affairs chief, said the rebel group had high hopes about the passage of the BBL because it is “for the sake of peace in Mindanao.”
The BBL is the product of 17 years of peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the MILF, he said, and it paved the way for the realization of the Bangsamoro’s quest.
Von Al-Haq, spokesperson of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, said this hope was reflected in the “blissful atmosphere among the commanders and fighters on the ground after they learned that Congress already accepted the draft.”
“We are happy but we are also hoping that the result after Congress will be acceptable,” he said in a telephone interview.
ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said that the creation of the Bangsamoro government would not be the end of the existing government but will be a step forward toward peace and development in the troubled region.
“Bangsamoro is not the end of the ARMM. It is the beginning of peace and progress, the groundwork of which was made possible by the ARMM. Far from being a failed experiment, the ARMM is living proof that good governance can lead only to success, and that success is what will fuel the Bangsamoro’s continuing quest for peace, progress, and the right to self-rule,” Hataman said.
Hataman described the proposed law as a “child born of countless hours of deep thought and discussion” and its future now lies in the hands of the lawmakers.
He urged legislators to “deliberate and act upon all matters related to the advancement and welfare of the Bangsamoro people, and make the Bangsamoro Basic Law the basis of lasting peace and prosperity in Mindanao.”
“This, our esteemed legislators, is a daunting task. The future of a people who for centuries have fought for self-determination now lies in your hands. This law is for the children who wish to run across school grounds instead of running for their lives. This law is for families who want to put life into the earth through crops and produce, no longer to dig graves for their fathers and sons who have fallen in war. This law is what will help them realize their wishes and dreams,” Hataman said.
North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza also expressed support for the measure but reminded lawmakers to ensure it is in accordance with the Constitution.
“My support and prayers. Hoping all is aligned to our Constitution,” Mendoza said in a statement.
Even the United Nations welcomed the transmittal of the BBL to Congress.
“This is a critical milestone in the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), and a crucial achievement in ensuring lasting peace and sustainable development in Mindanao and in the wider Philippines,” a media statement from the UN Information Center said.
UN said it stands ready to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, a product of years of negotiations to end more than four decades of conflict in Mindanao.
The world body also lauded the representatives of the government and the MILF for their “perseverance, the willingness to compromise and make difficult choices for the wider public good, and for the extremely hard work of many that has produced this consensus law.”
(Reports from Allan Nawal, Charlie Señase, Judy Quiros, Karlos Manlupig, Germelina Lacorte, and Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao)
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