Bangsamoro bill to face rough waters in the House of Representatives

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The recently submitted Bangsamoro basic law is expected to hit rough waters in the politically-charged House of Representatives.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Wednesday called on solons to set aside politics and focus on passing the bill to finally ensure lasting peace in Mindanao, which has long been under Muslim secessionist movement.

“It should not be partisan to ensure healthy discussions aimed at ending the rebellion of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),” Belmonte said.

In a press briefing, majority leader Neptali Gonzales II said the lower chamber is prepared to weather the heated debates on the bill, which seeks to implement the signed peace deal between government and the MILF.

Some solons have raised constitutional issues, claiming that the bill seeks the amendment of pertinent provisions in the charter instead of the bill being compliant with the charter.

“Our direction for us, from the very beginning, is to include the bill in the priority of both Houses… My assumption is that it does not need a constitutional amendment. If there are issues on constitutional amendments, then all bets are off,” Gonzales said.

For his part, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said the bill must not be railroaded in the ally-dominated chamber and that it must be tackled with debates.

The lawyer from Mindanao said the chamber should learn from the experience involving the Nur Misuari-led Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which staged a failed siege in Zamboanga city last year claiming to be sidelined in the peace agreement.

The rogue MNLF elements attacked the city in an independence bid and said its 1996 peace pact with government was sidelined by the latest peace agreement with its Moro counterpart. The MILF is a breakaway group of the MNLF.

“Now that we have a new Bangsamoro law, there is a need to look if this is truly the answer to the historical wrongs committed against the people of Mindanao,” Zarate said in Filipino.

Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe said he remained confident that Congress will be able to get past political debate and focus on passing the bill.

“I am hoping that we can also come up with mutually beneficial compromises to certain thorny and controversial provisions… I am sure we will be able to overcome these challenges since the cause of lasting peace should be considered above all other considerations,” Batocabe said.

Once the bill is passed by Congress, the law must be ratified by a plebiscite for the creation of a Bangsamoro political entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Gonzales said the chamber plans to pass the bill next year.

Meanwhile, the ad hoc committee created to deliberate on the bill will meet next week to discuss the technical composition. The committee is expected to be composed of 75 lawmakers, mostly from Mindanao, and to be headed by Cagayan De Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.

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