Zamboanga City lawmaker questions peace deal

Rep. Celso Lobregat of Zamboanga City. congress.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines—A Mindanao lawmaker on Tuesday questioned the Bangsamoro peace deal between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for seemingly disrespecting the Constitution and seeking its revision, but President Aquino’s peace adviser and chief negotiator said the accord fell well within the Charter’s provisions.

Rep. Celso Lobregat of the predominantly Christian Zamboanga City noted that the framework agreement between the government and the MILF, as well as its annexes, referred to the Constitution only in relation to a provision saying the proposed Transition Commission would work on proposals to amend it if necessary.

“Nowhere in the framework agreement and the four annexes is the Constitution mentioned as the guiding light in all of these agreements,” he said. “It is a disrespect … not even to mention the Constitution in the annexes and the framework agreement.”

Lobregat was among 20 lawmakers who were briefed Tuesday on the outcome of the peace process by Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles and the chief government negotiator, Miriam Coronel-Ferrer.

Congress approval is needed for the Bangsamoro basic law to serve as the charter of the new entity that will replace the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

Deles said that amending the Constitution was not mandatory to implement the peace deal, but added Congress may do so if it felt it necessary.

She agreed with another lawmaker who said that putting the agreement into law in accordance with the legislative process would not need any constitutional change, unless Congress decides that it wants to initiate charter change.

Amendments

Asked why the Annex on Transitional Arrangements stated that the Transition Commission shall work on proposals to amend the Constitution to accommodate the agreement of the parties whenever necessary, Deles said this was done to allow for such an option.

“Because if they want to be able to study constitutional amendments for the future, why will you say it cannot be done? Any group can do it,” she said.

“To make proposals to change the Constitution does not change the Constitution. It has to go through the process. Whether it will be done, we don’t know,” Deles said.

Lobregat said it should be the agreement that should conform to the Constitution and not the other way around. He added that the Bangsamoro deal had some similarities with a memorandum on agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) between the Arroyo administration and the MILF.

The Supreme Court struck down the MOA-AD as unconstitutional in August, 2008.

“Now you’re saying the Constitution might even have to be amended so that the Constitution will conform to the agreement …. This is a serious concern as the Supreme Court ruled that the MOA-AD was unconstitutional and that is the worst thing that can happen,” Lobregat said.—With reports from Jerome Aning and Tarra Quismundo