Monday, February 23, 2015

MILF: Alonto: “BBL suffered the worst collateral damage”

Posted to the MILF Website (Feb 24): Alonto: “BBL suffered the worst collateral damage”

Alonto: “BBL suffered the worst collateral damage”

A senior member of the MILF Peace Negotiating Panel said on Saturday that the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is at the receiving end of the fallouts of the January 25 Mamasapano clash and that it has “suffered the worst collateral damage.”

In a roundtable discussion in Cagayan de Oro City, Robert M. Alonto told journalists and broadcasters that both the MILF and BTC are now deprived of the “luxury of focus and freedom to argue our case vis-à-vis the BBL before the bar of public opinion.”

Alonto, also a commissioner of BTC, stated that the Mamasapano clash has led “high officials the likes of Cayetano et al and sectors of the mainstream media” to vilify and brand them as “villains that do not deserve such a thing as the BBL.”

Alonto likewise said that in the light of established and emerging facts surrounding the Mamasapano incident, he is inclined to believe “that the BBL was, and is, a target, apart from the so-called terrorists Marwan and Usman, of the people behind the debacle in Mamasapano.”

Asked as to what alternative they would take if the MILF would not accept a watered down version of the BBL, Alonto replied that “negotiations will continue (as) technically negotiation is not yet finished until we sign the exit agreement. If it would take more years of negotiations to come, then so be it.”

Abhoud Syed Lingga who is also a member of the MILF Peace Panel joined Alonto in the discussions.

On the question on what would happen if the Supreme Court would declare the BBL unconstitutional, Lingga answered that amending the constitution should be considered inorder to accommodate BBL provisions.

Lingga also clarified that the responsibility of passing the BBL lies with the government as its commitment when it signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

The 3-hour conversations with mediamen coming mostly from the Cagayan de Oro Press Club was the third in a series of roundtable discussions jointly organized by the BTC, Mindanews and Philippine Information Agency Mindanao Cluster.

The European Union, Canada Aid and Conciliation Resources assisted in the conduct of the forum.

http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/737-alonto-bbl-suffered-the-worst-collateral-damage

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