Mindanao CSOs will hold a rally Monday afternoon to mark another step forward in the peace roadmap
Two weeks after its self-imposed deadline, the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) is set to transmit the final draft of the basic law for an enhanced political entity in
Members of the
BTC are expected to join the march from Mendiola to Malacañang led by the
Mindanao Civil Society Organizations Platform for Peace (MCSOPP) Monday afternoon,
said BTC communications officer Abdullah Cusain.
Quoting the
MCSOPP, Mindanews on
Saturday, April 12 reported that the BTC is ready to submit the draft
Bangsamoro Basic Law to Malacañang for evaluation and review. The MCSOPP – a
network of over 120 groups across Mindanao –
has been tapped by the BTC to hold public consultations and information
dissemination campaigns about the Bangsamoro.
The draft law is
expected to undergo intense scrutiny, especially with regard to its
constitutionality. But the public will have to wait for the content of the law.
The BTC version
of the draft law will not be released to the public yet. "There are
protocols to be observed," Cusain said. "It will still be evaluated
by Malacañang. It would be difficult if analysis would already come in when the
evaluation has not been completed."
The Bangsamoro
Basic Law puts into a legal framework the agreements under the Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro signed by the government and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) on March 27, 2014.
Mohagher Iqbal,
who served as the chief negotiator for the MILF, also heads the BTC.
Timeline
Malacañang has 3
weeks to review the proposed law before Congress resumes session on May 5.
Palace
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr did not provide a definite deadline
on when the Malacañang-approved version of the measure will be transmitted to
Congress.
"Ang
nilalayon ay maisumite ito sa ating Kongreso sa lalong madaling panahon para
[sa] kanilang talakayan at maganap ‘yung pagsasabatas nito na naaayon sa
takdang timetable," Coloma said Sunday, April 13.
(Our goal is to
submit the draft law to Congress at the soonest possible time for their
deliberations and its passage according to the timetable.)
As indicated in
the final peace pact, President Benigno Aquino III will certify the proposed
law as urgent once it is transmitted to Congress.
Both Senate and House leaders
have vowed to pass the law by the end of 2014 but the journey of the
law in Congress is not expected to be smooth-sailing.
This early,
lawmakers, including Sen Miriam Defensor-Santiago
and Zamboanga Rep Celso Lobregat,
have raised issues about the legality of the measure.
The government,
for its part, have repeatedly said that the peace pact was forged according to
the "flexibilities" of the Constitution.
Roadmap
The longer each
stage of the peace process takes, the shorter the transition phase from the
current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) towards the Bangsamoro
becomes.
Once the basic
law is approved in Congress and signed into law, residents of areas in Mindanao earlier identified in the Framework Agreement on the
Bangsamoro will vote on whether they want to ratify the measure and
be included in the proposed region in a plebiscite.
Should it hurdle
the plebiscite, the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority – to be led by the
MILF – will take over until the election of the first set of officials during
the 2016 national elections.
Under the final
peace pact, the envisioned Bangsamoro political entity is designed to have a
wider territory than the ARMM and enjoy greater political and fiscal powers
than its predecessor.
Both the government
and the MILF hope to complete the transition phase, including the decommissioning of rebel
firearms and troops, by 2016 – a process that aims to end 4 decades
of armed struggle in parts of Mindanao . (INFOGRAPHIC: The Bangsamoro
peace deal at a glance)
http://www.rappler.com/nation/special-coverage/peacetalks/55385-bangsamoro-draft-law-palace-submission
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