MILF’s 90% agreement with draft BBL a ‘positive sign,’ says Palace

If the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is “90 percent OK” with the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) then “it’s a good step for us,” Malacañang said Wednesday.

“It’s a positive sign that MILF is looking at the BBL positively,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.

MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that while the current draft, which was approved by the House ad hoc committee on Wednesday afternoon, was “90 percent OK,” the deliberation still made them feel “uneasy.”

READ: House panel approves BBL draft

He said the changes seemed to water down the bill.

“What is happening in the House…We are uneasy about it,” Iqbal had said.

READ: BBL amendments ‘90% OK’ with ‘uneasy’ MILF

On Monday, some lawmakers accused the committee of railroading the Malacañang version of the BBL.

READ: Solons decry railroading of Malacanang’s BBL draft

But Lacierda said “90 percent” was “good.”

“I think the statement of Chair Iqbal is positive,” he said.

Nevertheless, Lacierda said the government is committed to have “inclusive development for the entire Muslim Mindanao.”

“So that has to be discussed and the discussion happens now in the legislative process. So we will let the legislators discuss with MILF and all the other stakeholders with respect to moving forward the BBL,” he added.

Among the provisions that Iqbal questioned was the inclusion of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (Ipra), which was not included in the government’s peace deal with the MILF.

The BBL is a product of the peace negotiations of the Philippine government and the MILF. The MILF promised to give up its separatist campaign in exchange of a new political entity in Mindanao. The Bangsamoro will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.