Body to resolve power issues on Bangsamoro

COTABATO CITY—An inter-governmental relations (IGR) body will be formed to resolve possible glitches in shared powers between the autonomous and national governments under the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

It will also be a venue for continuing dialogue between the two, even beyond the administration of President Aquino, according to Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, chief government negotiator in the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to end decades of insurgency in Mindanao.

The IGR mechanism, a key provision in the Bangsamoro bill and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is also found in the Local Government Code, Ferrer said in a statement on Saturday.

Last week, British Ambassador Asif Anwar Ahmad said the peace process in resolving the decades-old Northern Ireland conflict also called for the creation of peace mechanisms, including linking institutions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and between the republic and the United Kingdom.

Asif was referring to the Belfast Good Friday Agreement signed on April 10, 1998, between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, granting self-rule to Northern Ireland, which comprises about one-sixth of mainland Ireland.

To work on “ways and means that would harmonize the exercise of shared powers,” the IGR shall promote the common goals of the Bangsamoro and Central governments, Ferrer said.

“Maybe there is an assumption that interests or goals of the central government and Bangsamoro government are different, when in fact, for most parts, they have the same or shared interests,” she said. “The Bangsamoro government can be a very cooperative government working with all the other government agencies.”

Under the proposed BBL filed in Congress, the IGR will help the Bangsamoro government and the central government to establish functional “coordinative relations” in the “exercise of shared powers.”

These powers cover such areas as social security and pension, pollution control, penology, coast guard, customs and tariffs, funding for the maintenance of national roads, bridges and irrigation systems, and public order and safety.

Distinct from ARMM

A similar article on intergovernmental relations is found in the Local Government Code, which pertains to the relationship between the central government and local governments in the exercise of devolved powers.

Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, said the IGR, as a governing mechanism, would make the future Bangsamoro distinct from Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“In order to solve (problems in decision-making or exercise of powers) between the central government and the Bangsamoro government, the principle of continuing negotiations or continuing engagement is in place. And that is through the intergovernmental mechanism,” Iqbal said.

According to the draft BBL, the central government shall appoint a head to represent the central government. The Bangsamoro government shall be represented by a minister. The body shall be supported by a joint secretariat.

Article VI, Section 4, of the bill states that the “Central Government and the Bangsamoro Government shall establish a mechanism at the highest levels that will coordinate and harmonize their relationships,” Iqbal said.

Issues unresolved in the level of IGR will be elevated to the President of the Philippines by the Bangsamoro government represented by its chief minister, he added.

A separate Intergovernmental Fiscal Policy Board will work on taxation and financial concerns, Iqbal said.