Aquino wants passage of ‘any BBL’ after rating slump―Bayan

A MILITANT group on Wednesday said that after receiving a record low in his satisfaction ratings following the botched counter-terrorist operation in Mamasapano, President Benigno Aquino III allegedly wishes to pass “any version of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL)” ― a proof that the administration is “not serious” in seeking long-term peace in Mindanao.

BACKSTORY: Aquino gov’t rating plunges 15 points to lowest level – SWS

“In the beginning, Aquino banked on his supposed popularity to get the BBL passed. But his so-called ratings took a nosedive after his leading role in the bloody Mamasapano incident was exposed. Now he merely wishes for the passage of ‘any BBL’; proof that he’s not serious in addressing the Bangsamoro question in the first place,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Secretary General Renato Reyes, Jr. said in a statement.

He said that with an administration, which is allegedly subservient to “interests of the foreign and local elite,” the BBL apparently is only for show.

“We believe that the rights of the Moro people cannot be fully realized under a regime that is subservient to both foreign and local elite interests. Aquino’s BBL only seems to offer the illusion of peace and self-determination. The powers-that-be will always find ways to undermine the interests of the Bangsamoro. That is the greatest concern with the BBL. More than the constitutional provisions, our biggest worry is the kind of government that seeks to implement the peace agreement,” Reyes said.

He also slammed the Aquino administration for turning the proposed law into a tool to allegedly “pacify the Moro people’s struggle.”

“President Aquino gave the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) the assurance that the reactionary institutions like Congress, the judiciary and the entrenched political elites would easily grant the Bangsamoro the kind of autonomy they wanted. What is clear now however is that the BBL is fast turning into a tool for the pacification of the Moro people’s struggle,” he added.

On Tuesday, public opinion pollster Social Weather Stations revealed that net satisfaction rating of the President dropped by 15 points, from a “good” +34 in December 2014 to a “moderate” +19 in March 2015.

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