Peace panel chair: BBL to usher progress in Mindanao, is within Constitution

“When will we see progress (in our homes) just like what we saw in Cebu?”

This was how one of the representatives of the Autonomous Region of Muslim-Mindanao (ARMM) reacted during a visit to Metro Cebu, said Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, chairperson of the national government’s peace panel.

“They saw the Cebu port and asked when will we have one like it in our area? When will we be progressive like Cebu?,” Ferrer said during yesterday’s media briefing on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The briefing held at the Central Command headquarters in Camp Lapu-Lapu, barangay Apas in Cebu City is part of the ongoing information campaign on the BBL spearheaded by the Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

Ferrer said ARMM representatives dropped by Cebu for a dialogue on the BBL that was facilitated by partylist Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

READ: AFP sees no war in Mindanao if BBL is not passed in 2015

She said the BBL is not “about independence” for the Bangsamoro people, but is aimed at “enhancing the autonomous region” and “empowering a minority” in Mindanao whose welfare was largely neglected by the national government.

In terms of how Cebu, Manila and the rest of the country will benefit from the BBL, Ferrer said a Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BAR) that will be created by the passage of the proposed law will lead to a peaceful Mindanao.

“Whenever bad news like bombings or terrorist acts come out, it affects other places and tourism is affected,” she said.

Ferrer made the statements as 12 senators signed last Wednesday a report by the Senate committee on constitutional amendments chaired by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago that called for a substantial revision of the BBL.

Santiago said the revision is essential if the BBL is to withstand scrutiny by the Supreme Court. By affixing their signatures on the report, Santiago said the senators have agreed that the present BBL form is “unconstitutional.”

Among the concerns raised in the committee report on the proposed law revolve around issues of sovereignty, the reported creation of a “substate within the state” and issues of territorial integrity.

But Ferrer reiterated that these concerns are unwarranted. “There are no sovereign powers relating to external sovereignty like signing treaties, external defense and trade agreements that will be given to the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BAR) to be created by the BBL. It will still follow the Constitution,” the government’s peace panel chairperson said.

“We (the government panel) needed the flexibility of the Constitution. The Constitution should address the challenges of our times and we realize that the (the proposed law) should be done within the flexibility (and confines) of the Constitution,” Ferrer told the audience consisting of media, local government and military officials and bloggers.

She said the Senate committee report is not final and there will be deliberations on both Houses of Congress to finalize the BBL draft to be submitted to the President for approval.

If the BBL is approved, Ferrer said a plebiscite will be held in the ARMM and nearby provinces in which constituents will be asked whether they would like to be part of the proposed BAR.

She said in this setup, the MILF will set up its own political party and will run for elective posts against other parties. The BAR will pay taxes to the national government like any local government unit, though it will receive an annual bloc grant or lump sum from the national government.

“What’s important is that the BBL seeks to institute good governance create an arrangement which will allow the MILF and other parties within the region to talk and compete on policy matters peacefully through the democratic process,” Ferrer said.

TAGS: BBL