House to vote on BBL once MILF trust restored

MANILA, Philippines—The House of Representatives panel will only vote for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) only when the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) regains the trust of lawmakers enraged by the deaths of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) members in the Mamasapano incident, a lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Cagayan De Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the Bangsamoro ad hoc committee, said in an ambush interview that the MILF’s involvement in the clash puts hostage the bill that seeks to implement the government peace deal with the MILF and to create a more politically autonomous Bangsamoro entity in Mindanao.

He added that lawmakers in the committee will only vote for the bill if the MILF proves its sincerity in the peace talks with government.

Congressional deliberations on the Bangsamoro bill were suspended pending the findings of the official investigation by the police.

The bill was initially targeted to be passed by March, but the involvement of its main benefactor in the carnage shook the solid support of lawmakers, some of them having constituents who were among the slain elite cops.

“The voting will come after some confidence building is being done, and without these measures … I think some trust must be restored,” Rodriguez told reporters.

When asked about the passage of the bill in March, Rodriguez said it would be difficult: “Mahihirapan na.”

He said the committee has set public hearings for March 3 and 5 before going back to executive sessions.

Rodriguez said lawmakers will learn to trust the MILF again if it is willing to return the firearms it seized from the slain SAF cops.

He also urged the MILF to help government take down local bomb maker Basit Usman, who escaped the botched operation that killed international terrorist Zulkilfi bin Hir alias “Marwan.” The two terrorists, the targets of the Mamasapano operation, were allegedly being coddled by the MILF.

Rodriguez also said the MILF should also surrender its members involved in the massacre should possible charges over the incident be filed against them.

Rodriguez said he had informed MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal about these conditions during their recent meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In a show of sincerity, the MILF on Wednesday formally turned over 16 firearms seized from the 44 SAF cops killed during the Jan. 25 clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.