Robin Padilla. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Actor Robin Padilla dropped by the House of Representatives on Thursday and expressed his support for the recently submitted proposed Bangsamoro basic law.
“Isang magandang balita po. Nandito po ako para sumuporta at sana maipasa na ang batas kaagad (This is good news. I’m here to support the speedy passage of the bill),” Padilla, who practices Islam, told reporters.
He said Congress should learn from the implementation of the law creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which was perceived as a failure because the Nur Misuari-led Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) continued its Muslim secessionist movement despite a peace deal.
Rogue members of the MNLF staged a failed siege in Zamboanga City in 2013, claiming to be sidelined in the peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The rebels 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.
“Sa ating mga mambabatas, nakikiusap tayo sa kanila na sana huling agreemenet na ito. Nakakapagod na rin po (To all the lawmakers, we are requesting that this may be the last agreement already. It is already exhausting),” Padilla said, referring to the 1976 Tripoli Agreement between government and the MNLF which was later used as basis for the 1996 peace agreement.
“Ang dami ng agreement, Sana huli na po ito (There have been too many agreements already. I hope this is the last),” Padilla said.
The recently submitted Bangsamoro bill seeks to implement the peace pact signed between the Philippine government and the MILF, which hopes to end decades of Muslim secessionist movement in the region.
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 ARMM.
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