Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro is a ‘political document’—GPH legal adviser

From MindaNews (Nov 25): Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro is a ‘political document’—GPH legal adviser

The Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), dubbed as the “roadmap to peace” in Mindanao, is a “political document,” said lawyer Johaira Wahab, legal adviser to the peace panel of the Government of the Philippines (GPH). “This [FAB] is neither a law nor a contract,” she said on Saturday’s Mindanao Peace Forum here. Wahab represented GPH peace panel chair Marvic Leonen, who was recently appointment as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. “We need to insist that this document has a context. And therefore we want to maintain that caution and that prudence in the treatment of this document,” she stressed. Wahab discussed the provisions of the FAB, specifically on the name “Bangsamoro,” territory, power, wealth, revenues, and on basic rights. She also said that the peace panels of both the GPH and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have expressly admitted to the need for laying down the details of the FAB provisions. “As a political document, the language of this document is negotiated,” Wahab said, as she shared that the MILF panel has expressed that “this document is not an ideal document that we would have wanted. Neither is it for government. But because it was a negotiated document, there are certain things that we wanted to be there particularly with respect to language.” “This document neither assumes nor guarantees any constitutional amendment. That is the context of this document,” she stressed. Wahab emphasized the holding of a Bangsamoro “core territory” plebiscite, which will be the consultative political exercise for the people to approve or reject their inclusion to the Bangsamoro territory.....

http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2012/11/26/framework-agreement-on-the-bangsamoro-is-a-political-document-gph-legal-adviser/