Below is the statement of support issued by the Muslim Legal Assistance Foundation:
The Muslim
Legal Assistance Foundation expresses its strong support for the passage of the
proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in its most comprehensive text and
language.
The
draft BBL is a product of more than a decade of peace negotiations. It embodies
the ideals and aspirations of the Bangsamoro for self-government, which check
out with principles and state policies enshrined in the Constitution. Public
and transparent consultations reached out to every representative sector of
society, starting off with the hearings conducted by the Bangsamoro Transition
Commission (BTC).
Needless
to state, the proposed BBL defines the future of the Bangsamoro. It grants the
Bangsamoro Government the political power to administer and govern its own
affairs and insure to the Bangsamoro the enjoyment of the full measure of
self-government under the principles of subsidiarity and self-determination.
Specifically, it creates a Bangsamoro Government, with a Parliament empowered
to legislate its own Shari’ah Legal System, encompassing civil law, commercial
law and criminal law including penalties applicable solely to the Muslims
and to be administered by a hierarchy of Shari’ah Courts parallel to our civil
court system, including a Shari’ah High Court equivalent to the Court of
Appeals.
Also,
it assures fiscal autonomy and economic prosperity to the
Bangsamoro with its grant in favor of the Bangsamoro of the following
powers and mandates, namely: the preferential right to exploit, explore
and manage the natural resources within the Bangsamoro territory
and an equitable share in the incomes and revenues generated
therefrom; to grant concessions relating to the natural resources within its
territory to non-Moro entities in coordination with the Central Government; to
join efforts with the Central Government on matters relating to the Sulu Sea
and the Moro Gulf; and to contract loans on its own not requiring sovereign
guarantee; to create economic zones and GOCCs within its territory; to trade
with countries friendly to the Philippines; to appropriate yearly block grants
automatically released to the Bangsamoro Government by the Central Government,
equivalent to 4% of the yearly revenues of the Philippine Government
after all expenditures and obligations but not less than the internal revenue
allocation for ARMM; to create its own revenues and impose taxes for real
estate, business and transactions within the Bangsamoro and other incomes generated
therefrom except income taxes, etc.; to appropriate all income taxes generated
within the Bangsamoro territory for a period of 10 years, subject to review
thereafter; etc.
Owing
to the Mindanao Conflict, hundreds of thousands of lives were lost and billions
of properties destroyed. In recent years, more than a million of our people
were displaced, a quarter of them still in refugee camps. More than 200,000 of
our people have sought refuge in Malaysia
The
BBL is a social legislation, a massive affirmative action on the part of
the Aquino Government to address these social inequalities plaguing the
Muslim society and to draw the Bangsamoro abreast of the rest of
the nation.
We
realized that the Mamasapano incident is a big hole in the road to peace. But
it should not deter us from our pursuit of peace which includes specifically
the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. Peace as a vocation is a divine
injunction. In Mathew, peacemakers are blessed and called children of God
(5:9). In the Qur’an, one of God’s name is “Peace”. The concluding
words of the daily prayers of every Muslim are words of peace. The daily
salutation among the Muslims is expressions of peace. Heaven in Islam is the
abode of peace. This is how fundamental and dominant the theme of peace in
Islam.
The
MUSLAF, therefore, reiterates its vigorous support to the proposed BBL and call
on all sectors of society to support it.
We
sincerely urge the SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES to move on the passage
of the proposed BBL, notwithstanding the unwarranted Mamasapano, Maguindanao
incident, for the sake of peace.
SIGNED
ON FEBRUARY 15, 2015 in Metro Manila ,
Philippines
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/766-statement-of-support-by-the-muslim-legal-assistance-foundation-on-bbl
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