The
Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) sees the substitute bill sponsored by
Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a “progress” as the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law
(BBL) can now be debated in the Senate plenary level.
The BTC, however, still stands pat with the resolution it adopted on July 29, 2015 that the original form of the BBL is the “most appropriate version” since the provisions of the same are consistent with the 2012 Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
It also noted that the substitute bill, labeled as Senate Bill 2894, appears to have numerous modifications and even deletions of substantial provisions contained in the original draft BBL filed as Senate Bill 2408.
The BTC is
a body created by President Aquino in 2012 through Executive Order 120, and is
mandated to draft the BBL, in line with the peace agreements. All its members
were appointed by the President, with seven selected by the government panel,
and eight by the MILF.
Marcos has earlier revealed that around 80 percent of the original BBL was amended.
According to the BTC, while it understands the desire of Marcos for wanting a BBL that is inclusive and all-embracing, “yet it does not agree with the senator’s statement that discussions on the BBL and the CAB were done in ‘secret meetings in hotel rooms, far away places.’”
“The negotiations took 17 years, witnessed by international bodies. During the crafting of the BBL we reached as far as Tawi-tawi, partnered with CSOs in conducting consultations with the public and foreign and local experts on different subject matters,” Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the BTC, said in a statement posted on the MILF Web site.
“At least the speculations over the Marcos report are now over and we can now do more work,” he added.
Despite the significant changes in the House and Senate versions, the BTC remains optimistic that changes in the substitute bills can be introduced during the period of amendments.
Iqbal stressed the BTC will “continue to work and engage with the lawmakers as continuous dialog is the best option.”
Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the House ad hoc committee on the BBL, for his part extended his congratulations to Marcos, saying he knows what it takes to shepherd an important bill positioned to end the decades-long conflict in Mindanao.
“It is without a doubt a difficult task. There are a lot of balancing acts to be done to ensure that the BLBAR (Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region) remains true both to the genuine aspirations of the Bangsamoro for self-determination and the 1987 Philippine Constitution,” he stressed.
The House committee held 24 public hearings, 19 regular meetings, and eight executive sessions since the original BBL draft was transmitted to Congress by the Office of the President on September last year.
The BLBAR is the amended version of that draft and was the one endorsed for House plenary debates.
Similarly, the substitute bill devised by Marcos’ committee on local government is also called the BLBAR.
The House and Senate versions of the BLBAR carry significant differences. Among these are the Senate’s removal of the bill’s preamble as well as the deletion of the Special Development Fund amounting to P17 billion designed to speed up infrastructure development in the Bangsamoro during its first five years.
Early reviews of the Senate version also point to the seeming weakened Bangsamoro parliamentary system of government.
Rodriguez commented that the differences are to be expected. “This only proves that we have a working and healthy democracy. As legislators with independent minds, different takes on the bill are to be expected.”
“But I think both committees have been working on the same premise that the basic law should be inclusive so as not to alienate any stakeholder in the Bangsamoro. This is a very exciting, yet precarious time for all of us. We want everybody on board the peace process,” Rodriguez continued.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/milf-led-btc-softens-but-yet-to-cave-in-on-marcos-bbl
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