Angara, Zubiri dare people opposing BBL to visit Marawi

Six senators stand on the ground that was once a battle field of government troops and terrorists in Marawi City. INQUIRER.net / Pathricia Ann V. Roxas

MARAWI CITY—Senators Sonny Angara and Juan Miguel Zubiri on Friday challenged government officials and those who oppose the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to go and personally check the war-torn Marawi City so they could witness first-hand the actual struggle of the Bangsamoro people.

Angara and Zubiri, together with Senators Bam Aquino, JV Ejercito, Risa Hontiveros and Cynthia Villar, visited the remains of the siege in the Islamic city, eight months after the Islamic-State inspired Maute terrorist group waged war in the area on May 23, 2017.

“(Government officials should visit) para makita nila yung extent ng destruction, kung gaano ka-grabe at kailangan yung recovery dito (so they could see the extent of the destruction, how intense it is and how we should implement the recovery),” Angara told reporters.

Zubiri even dared those who oppose the BBL draft to visit the city and talk to its people.

“Para sa mga tutol sa Bangsamoro Basic Law, please visit Marawi City. Ayaw niyong mangyari sa mga siyudad ninyo. To end the extremist violence, please visit Maawi City and you will see ayaw ninyong mangyari ito sa inyo,” he said.

(To those who oppose Bangsamoro Basic Law, please visit Marawi City. You don’t want this to happen in your city. To end the extremist violence, please visit Marawi City and you will see that you don’t want the same thing to happen to you.)

“Kung kontra sila sa BBL, dapat handa silang lumaban. Sila mismo ang handang lumaban sa mga darating dito na terorista,” Angara added.

(To those who oppose BBL, you should be prepared to fight. They should be the one to prepare to fight against the terrorists who will arrive.)

For the senators, the BBL would help solve the long-standing issues on the self-determination of the Bangsamoro people, which previously resulted in the armed struggle in the region.

“Even leaders of the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) they say give us the ammunition, it’s not guns it’s not bullets, sabi nila (they say) give us the ammunition of BBL  so we would stop our people from supporting these extremists,” Zubiri said.

Angara likewise expressed gratitude to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other uniformed personnel who fought the terrorists until Marawi was liberated in October.

“I think, coming here, you appreciate rin yung ginawa ng AFP dito. They saved us from being an outpost of terrorism in the world. Maging Syria tayo, maging Iraq tayo kung hindi ginawa ng AFP yan,” he said.

The draft BBL, which seeks to establish a new autonomous Muslim region in Mindanao replacing the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), was part of the 2014 peace accord between the government and the MILF. /jpv

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