MILF: BBL not likely to be passed beyond October due to elections

From the Philippine Star (Jul 31): MILF: BBL not likely to be passed beyond October due to elections



The BBL will implement the peace agreement signed by the government and the MILF last year.

The proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is not likely to be enacted if it does not hurdle Congress after October, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) admitted.

In an editorial posted on its website luwaran.com, MILF said the period from July 27 to October is viewed as “critical” to pass the measure, which aims to form a new Bangsamoro entity with greater political and economic powers.

“Beyond October this year, it is most unlikely that the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law passes Congress. The momentum will then be seriously punctuated, if not aborted. The focus of government including Congress will be to other else,” the editorial read.

“Those running for positions in 2016 will be busy finding ways to win, including forging of alliances and sourcing of funds,” it added.

The BBL, which will implement the peace agreement signed by the government and the MILF last year, is now undergoing deliberations in Congress.

A priority bill of Malacañang, the draft BBL is a hotly contested measure, with critics claiming that it violates the Constitution.

Among the aspects questioned by the BBL’s opponents are the extent of the Bangsamoro government’s powers and the nature of the new political entity.

MILF said it continues to believe in President Aquino’s commitment to push for the BBL. The group, however, admitted that the passage of BBL requires “extraordinary efforts and pushing.”

“By placing the BBL as number in his list of priority legislations during his (Aquino) sixth and last State of the Nation Address is a testimony of this commitment,” the group said in the editorial.

“But racing against time and in view of the strong opposition to the BBL by his political enemies and those who hate Moros to be like anybody else, any chance of success would require extraordinary efforts and pushing. The President should work closely with his allies in both Houses of Congress to make sure that the BBL would not be sidelined,” it added.

The MILF maintained that it would not accept a diluted version of the BBL, noting that it has passed through various levels of review and decision-making. The group stressed that BBL is crafted on the basis of the letter and spirit of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

“Minding this not, the law that will be passed is not the law intended to translate political documents (FAB and CAB) into a legal document which is the “agreed version” of the BBL presented to Congress,” MILF said.

“More seriously, it will not lead to solving the Bangsamoro Problem or Question which the two parties have agreed to address during their 18 years of hard and long negotiations,” it added.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/07/31/1483041/milf-bbl-not-likely-be-passed-beyond-october-due-elections