MILF chief Murad hopeful BBL will pass this year

Chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Al Haj Murad Ebrahim talks to The Associated Press in Makati City in this July 18, 2017, file photo.  AP

SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao – The leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front said it had expected President Rodrigo Duterte to endorse the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) as an urgent bill to Congress.

But this did not happen when the Office of the President endorsed the proposed BBL to the Senate and the House of Representatives last week.

MILF chair Murad Ebrahim on Saturday said President Duterte earlier announced that the bill, which was drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, would be given priority.

“We were expecting that it will be certified as an urgent bill,” Murad said.

Murad, however, said the MILF understood if there were circumstances or processes that the government considered for not endorsing it as urgent.

“Maybe there are some situations. We are trying to get in touch with the government side to ask what were the situation that prevented them from issuing the certificate of urgency,” he said.

Murad added that a possible reason could be the Basic Act for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BABAR,) which Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo filed earlier this month.

Several peace advocates said Arroyo’s version was a copy of the Basic Law for Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR) proposed by Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

This process, Murad explained, is normal and the MILF recognizes that the President cannot dictate over the legislative branch of government.

But the MILF remains optimistic that the BBL will be legislated before the end of year as repeatedly promised by Duterte.

“We are holding to the words of the President that this bill will be passed,” Murad said.

It is, however, still unclear how the draft BBL and and BABAR will be treated in both houses.

Nabil Tan, acting chair for the government implementing panel, said that the BBL was a priority of the government.

Tan added that it would be certified at the “proper time,” and that it was good that the draft that was endorsed by the Office of the President was “untouched.”

The administration, Tan shared, respects and believes in the independence of Congress in the legislation process.

“It may be passed by December,” Tan said.

The BBL will pave the way for the creation of a new Bangsamoro government that will give primacy on respecting the rights of the Bangsamoro people.

It is also expected to end decades of violent conflicts in Mindanao. CBB