Rival Moro groups air sides in Jan.

From the Manila Standard Today (Dec 15): Rival Moro groups air sides in Jan.

THE Moro National Liberation Front-Nur Misuari faction and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters will present their opposing views on the Bangsamoro Basic Law on Jan. 17 as the panel has rejected some unconstitutional provisions in the Palace-backed BBL, according to Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, chairman of the 75-member special ad hoc committee on the BBL, announced over radio dzBB that the panel found some provisions unconstitutional such that the Bangsamoro will not have its own Ombudsman, Commission on Elections, Civil Service Commission, police force and human rights commission.

“The panel found it unconstitutional to surrender these offices to the Bangsamoro and decided to retain them with and under the national government,” Rodriguez said.

He said the panel was now into its 30th public hearing of which 20 were held in Mindanao and 10 in Manila.

“On January 17, we are inviting the MNLF Misuari faction and the MNLF- Sema faction. We will invite the Islamic command and the top 20 faction of Alonto. There are three big factions of the MNLF. We also invited the BIFF of Umbra Kato. We are going to invite them to come to Manila and also the Moro Islamic Liberation Front,” Rodriguez said.

“As to whether Misuari and Umbra Kato will come, they may not be able to come because they have a warrant of arrest. But we are only requesting that their representatives would come to read their position papers.”

The MNLF-BIFF-MILF hearing will be held in the House at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 17, Rodriguez said.

 On Jan. 16, the mayors and governors of the soon to be affected provinces will also be invited to a separate hearing in the House.

Rodriguez said there was overwhelming support for the Bangsamoro from the core territories such as the five provinces Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi,which were now with the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

However, Rodriguez admitted that there were also serious concerns raised against the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

“There are also concerns. In general, the framework is very much supported but there are for example provisions, I’ll cite one, the ‘opt in’ provision. At anytime after the formation of the Bangsamoro government and approval of the law, it will allow 10 percent of the population of a barangay or the municipality to ask for a plebiscite to joint the Bangsamoro,” Rodriguez said.

“This is seen especially  by congressmen who are in areas adjacent or contiguous to the Bangsamoro. They are quite afraid that there may be a continuing speculation and continuing problem where there are always a possibility that 10 percent of the population maybe influenced by the adjacent territory and they may ask for separation from present territory. So they are against it.”

Rodriguez cited the concern raised by Iligan City Rep. Vicente Belmonte, who was recently ambushed, that he is against the “opt in” provision since five barangays in Iligan City that were adjacent to Lanao del Sur may “opt in” and ask for a plebiscite.

 “That will get 55,000 of the 85,000 hectares of the city. He would be left with only 35,000 hectares,” Rodriguez told dzBB.

 “Those are the specific issues that is being dealt by our congressmen.”

 Rodriguez said the panel will have to decide on whether or not to delete the opt in provision.

 Another concern, he said, was the BBL provision that the Bangsamoro will create its own internal audit body.

 “We find that unconstitutional. So we are reminded to remove that because under the Constitution and this is also the complaint of justices and former justices, na baka unconstitutional ito. Kasi we only have one Commission on Audit. One national audit  that cannot be delegated to a regional audit body,” Rodriguez said.

The Bangsamoro police, he said, would be likewise retained under the PNP chief and under the commander-in-chief, the President.

The civil service, he said, could not also be given up.

 Rodriguez said Ombudsman Conchitina Carpio-Morales asserted that the discipline of public officials could not in anyway be given the civil service that would be established to the Bangsamoro because the Ombudsman was a constitutional body.

 “The Ombudsman are the only ones authorized to be able to investigate criminal and administrative offenses of public officials,” Rodriguez said.

 He said the panel would make sure that the BBL the Congress would be passing would get past the scrutiny of the Supreme Court on the bill’s constitutionality.

He said the Bangsamoro government would be under one civil service commission.

“Under the Palace-proposed BBL, there is an authority for the Bangsamoro parliament to establish its own civil service but yan ang tinutulan din. Sabi namin baka maging against the Constitution because we have a civil service commission, only one civil service commission for the entire country,” Rodriguez said.

The Bangsamoro, he said, could not also run its own elections in the area.

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