With firm
belief that the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) could bring justice, peace and
development for the Bangsamoro people, some young Moro professionals urge the
lawmakers to pass the undiluted version of the proposed legislation.
“The
BBL embodies the aspiration of the Moro people for self-determination,” Abdul
K. Silongan, President of Young Moro Professionals Council (YMPC) said.
“Yes, the
Moro people are minority in our country, but it doesn’t mean that our right to
govern ourselves with laws appropriate for us as Muslims with distinct belief,
culture and tradition should be ignored by the non-Muslim majority Filipinos,”
he explained.
Silongan
said the BBL drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) should be
passed because the “17 years of peace negotiation between the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) and the government is quite long.”
The BTC is
a 15-man special body created by the Aquino administration to draft the
Bangsamoro Basic Law in accordance with the Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro (CAB) signed by Government of the Philippines (GPH) and MILF on
March 27, 2014.
The CAB is
a peace truce between the GPH and MILF that gives leeway for the establishment
of a new autonomous political entity called “Bangsamoro” that will replace the
current Autonomous Region on Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
President
Aquino described the region as “failed experiment.” The ARMM is noted for high
poverty incidence and corruption.
“Being Moro
and residents of Mindanao themselves, the BTC
members knew very well how the BBL should be crafted. For sure they made the
proposed law based on aspiration of the Moro people and the kind of governance
that is desired,” Silongan pointed out.
Silongan
said it is justice if the government will allow the practice of Shari’ah
(Islamic jurisprudence) for the Moro people as Muslims.
“Prior to
the creation of Philippine Republic, we existed as free nations with own customary
and Islamic laws,” he related.
Before the
coming of Spaniards in 1521, the Sultanates of Sulu, Maguindanao, Buayan,
Kabuntalan and the four principalities of Lanao existed with Islam as their
religion.
“Our
forefathers fought against the aggression of Spaniards to defend our religion,
territory and people,” Silongan related.
Injustice
and Oppression
YMPC member
Soraida Macadatar who grew up in the ARMM related the suffering of their family
and relatives in Lanao during the height of the martial law in the 70s. “We
lost some of our kin, our houses were burned and our belongings were taken
away,” she said.
To quell
rebellion, then President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972 putting
the entire nation under military rule.
The Moro
rebellion led by Moro National Liberation (MNLF) Front Chairman Prof. Nur
Misuari sparked after the Jabidah Massacre in 1968.
Lone
survivor Jibin Arula related more than twenty young Moro recruits trained to
become soldiers were executed at the Corregidor by their trainers after the
latter discovered their plan to leave the training because of complaint for
dwindling logistics support.
The
incident rekindled the Moro people’s desire for independence. With the
facilitation of the Organization of Islamic Conference, the MNLF signed the
Tripoli Agreement in 1976 with the government and settled for autonomy instead
of independence.
“We do not
want a repetition of war,” said Mohalikin Piang, Regional Manager of the
Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) in Southern Mindanao ,
a survivor of Malisbong massacre where more than a thousand of his male
relatives and neighbors were stocked by military inside Takbil mosque in 1974,
the height of Martial law era.
“I
never saw again alive those who were taken away by the soldiers,” he disclosed.
Piang’s story reflected the experiences of other Moros in other parts of Mindanao .
Cost of War
The Office
of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process disclosed in a report by
Manila Bulletin that “The Mindanao war cost the Philippine government a
staggering P2.013 trillion during the 31-year period from 1970 to 2001.”
The
fighting between the MNLF combatants and government troops ended with the
signing of the 1996 GRP-MNLF Final Peace Agreement.
The MILF,
an MNLF breakaway group, signed ceasefire accord with the government in 1997
but this was disrupted when President Estrada ordered and all-out-war against
the group. President Arroyo resumed peace talks with the MILF in 2004.
OPAPP
further divulged that the years of fighting between the Moro rebels and the
government forces claimed more than 120,000 lives including civilians.
The agency
also said that the fighting after Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain
was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2008 displaced around
600,000 people.
The
administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo did not sign the proposed
agreement which dismayed some MILF fighters.
All are
losers
Jocelyn L.
Kanda, YMPC vice president, said the Bangsamoro government must be put in place
so that conflict will end stressing that all are losers in war.
“Women and
children suffer most in conflict,” she said.” “They live in miserable
conditions in evacuation centers but they don’t deserve that kind of life,”
Kanda underscored.
She said
most of those who call for an all-out-war against the MILF are those who never
experienced being in the battle field or stayed in evacuation camps.
Kanda said
war is costly, divisive, destructive and causes sluggish development.
Prepared to
govern
Kanda said
the Moro people are prepared to govern themselves having thousands of
professionals in the country working in government and private entities and
those working abroad.
Should be
given the chance to govern, Kanda believes that the MILF which will lead the
Bangsamoro Transition Authority once the BBL is approved thru a plebiscite will
do its best to implement good governance in the Bangsamoro.
The YMPC
envisages a Bangsamoro government that is inclusive, functional, and
corrupt-free.
The MILF
has already established the Bangsamoro Development Agency, the economic arm of
the revolutionary organization, which leads and manages the rehabilitation and
development of conflict-affected areas with the support of international
communities.
The BDA
also crafted the Bangsamoro Development Plan, a blueprint for the comprehensive
development of the Moro people within and outside the core territory, the
current ARMM areas.
Support to
BBL
Various
peace advocates groups, Muslims and Christians, have been calling the lawmakers
to pass the BBL in the spirit of the CAB.
"Killing
the BBL is tantamount to killing the hopes and aspirations of the entire nation
for peace. Killing the BBL is to repeat the Mamasapano incident a thousand fold
with the whole nation as the unfortunate victim," said Gus Miclat,
Executive Director of Initiatives for International Dialogue.
Senator
Marcos said recently his plan to come up with a new version of BBL because for
them the draft BBL has unconstitutional provisions which might be contested in
the Supreme Court.
No to
diluted BBL
Ustadza
Aniza Taha, chairperson of Nurus-Salam, a group of woman peace advocates,
related that BBL was written “from the blood of thousands of martyrs who fought
for the cause of Bangsamoro.” Taha said that a diluted BBL is completely
unacceptable.
Macadatar
said a diluted BBL may come out as a measure that ”will not serve its purpose.”
Study the
BBL
Silongan
urges the public to study the BBL before judging if it is injurious or not to
the whole country in general.
The BBL is
a legal translation of the GPH-MILF peace agreement which aim to put up an
autonomous government for the Bangsamoro people with more powers.
“The BBL,
once realized will create an atmosphere of peace and will usher development of
the region,” he added. Silongan said investments will pour in once the region
is peaceful.
“Isn’t it
that the whole country will benefit if the troubled region will eventually
become peaceful and prosperous?” he asked.
“Do the
Muslims of this country have the right to live happily and progressively like
the Christian majority,” he further asked.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/new/item/419-bbl-brings-justice-peace-and-dev-t-for-the-bangsamoro-people
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