Iqbal: No ‘plan B’ for Bangsamoro

From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 30): Iqbal: No ‘plan B’ for Bangsamoro

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will rise or fall with the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

“There is no Plan B, only Plan A!” Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) stressed this Friday at the launching of the Primer on the BBL.

The BTC which drafted the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), he said is not looking for an alternative beyond the law in case the peace deal won’t work.

The MILF emphasized that it has placed all its cards behind the proposed BBL as the solution to the bangsamoro problem and end the decades-old Mindanao conflict.

Even past pronouncements by MILF leaders indicated that it is counting much on the BBL to give Mindanao an inclusive, just and durable peace, which has remained elusive despite the signing on September 2, 1996 of the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) by the Government of the Philippines (FPA) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

Iqbal believes the “BBL is the antidote to (Moro) secession.”

The European Union (EU) funded the printing of around 58,000 copies of the primer in English which will later be translated to six local dialects to explain in the dialect of the stakeholders what the BBL is all about and how it will affect the everyday life of the Bangsamoro people.

The BBL is currently undergoing review in both houses of Congress and being discussed in many forums by experts, civil society organizations (CSOs) who are for or against the measure.

Both Houses of Congress have expressed full support for the BBL which President Aquino certified as urgent.

Congress said it would be able to pass the BBL in 2015 which shortens the time frame for the MILF to implement the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) which will eventually abolish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

If the road map for the Bangsamoro new political entity (NPE) runs its length, election for the pioneer officials of the NPE would be synchronized with the 2016 national elections.

But the MILF is willing to wait.

Maybe the legislators think that is the best time, Iqbal said.

“We think that is the best time to do that, although time is short and is running very fast, I hope we can come up with a very appropriate Basic Law so the BTA will be given enough time to do its job,” said Iqbal.

“And if we can not be able to succeed, then at least we have done our part and people will witness that we are doing everything possible,” he said.

“I think the government is really committed to pass that law. And while there are obstacles along the way in terms of  people raising some concerns against the BBL, but the movement forward, I think, is still on track,” said Iqbal.

Secretary Teresita Q. Deles, head of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), and Secretary Bai Yasmin Busran-Lao, CEO of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), shared the MILF’s optimism.

“No, it is not a setback. The Senate has said it will be in January at the earliest, and even up to February. We just need to work that the plebiscite can be held immediately after,” the OPAPP chief said.

Deles also allayed fears the BBL might be watered down by Congress, saying it won’t happen, but some amendments could be done.

http://www.mb.com.ph/iqbal-no-plan-b-for-bangsamoro/