“I'd like to express my support for the BBL,” Maguindanao
Governor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu said during the hearing. “I hope
the legislative process is fast-tracked, because we all know that our
government has been in conflict with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF),
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and other groups in southern Mindanao for more than 40 years now.”
Basilan Governor Jum Jainudin Akbar similarly backed the
BBL, noting that her constituents are “happy and hopeful that lasting peace can
be finally achieved.”
“We are supporting the BBL,” Akbar said while emphasizing
the need to educate the public on the Bangsamoro Law. “I hope we properly
communicate the BBL to (the people), so they can understand it. Then we won’t
have any problems with the BBL,” Akbar said. “We are hoping for peace in
Basilan.”
Tawi-Tawi Governor Nurbert Sahali also noted the wide public
support for the BBL and the peace process among his constituents, saying,
“whatever objectives the national government has with regard to the peace
process in our region, we in the local government unit of Tawi-Tawi support
it.”
Sulu Vice Governor Sakur Tan similarly expressed his support
for the BBL while also urging Congress to improve and fine-tune the draft,
especially on provisions that might be challenged on grounds of
unconstitutionality.
“We are not against the BBL,” Tan said, but added that “we
have our concerns about certain provisions of the BBL…I hope all of our
proposals will be considered.”
BBL addresses LGU concerns
Government of the Philippines
“If there is one lesson that we learned in the MOA-AD
[Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain] experience, it was that kind of a
lack of engagement within government that precipitated the tragic turn of
events in 2008,” Coronel-Ferrer said. “That is why when this new panel came in
in 2010 we made sure that we had very close coordination and engagement with
the local government officials whether as a group or individually.”
Coronel-Ferrer said that the concerns and interests of local
government units are addressed in the BBL. She clarified that incumbent local
government officials will not be removed from office.
“All local elected government officials will serve their
full term until 2016, until the next election in 2016,” Coronel-Ferrer said.
“What will be abolished is the ARMM—which means the elected officials, the
governor and the vice governor of the ARMM, and the Regional Legislative
Assembly—in order to give way to the Bangsamoro Parliament and the executive
(office) that will be created in the form of the Bangsamoro Transition
Authority.”
“The BBL is not blind to the interests of local
governments,” she added. “If you look atthe provisions, you'll find that there
are very specific provisions such as the principle of devolution and
subsidiarity, and the Council of Leaders that can make for a cohesive and
cooperative leadership at all levels."
She noted that these provisions would solve the current
disconnect between the ARMM regional government and the LGUs. The Council of
Leader will be made up of the chief minister, provincial governors, city mayors
and sectoral representatives.
Subsidiarity refers to the exercise of power where it us
most effectively exercised and is premised on mutual respect for each other.(
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=728622
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