President Benigno Aquino III promised recently to push the BBL “in all directions’.
But the lack of quorums in the Lower House has continued to haunt those who appear to be pushing for it. The spoilers led by Congressmen Celso Lobregat dug-in for the continuing showdown. They know that their number one ally is the conscripting time left for the passage of the bill.
Certainly, only the commitment of President Aquino keeps the ember of hope still alive. So far no one in government has ever said the BBL is already dead on track. But if one compares this commitment with what is happening in both Houses, especially in the Lower House, the least that can be said is that the BBL is passing through the proverbial eye of the needle.
Of course, in the Senate, it is moving. Senate President Franklin Drilon and most, if not all, of the senators, are in good cooperation mode. But the main obstacle is the kind of the substitute bill introduced by Senator Bongbong Marcos. The deliberation could have been faster if he had not only crafted his version of the BBL from out of the blue. He set aside almost completely the original BBL, which was 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).
Again, in the Senate version, the original BBL has been severely diluted or revised, and many of the provisions thereof were deleted to make it way far below the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Worse, there are deletions or additions that are clearly unconstitutional; for instance, “inland waters” which are already conferred to the ARMM by law was deleted. Republic Act Number 9054 provides that the Regional Government has authority, power, and right to explore, develop, and utilize the natural resources, including surface and sub-surface rights, inland and coastal waters, and renewable and non-renewable resources in the autonomous region. The other is about the “sultanates rights”. The sultanates embody the political structure of the Moros’ self-governing past, and for this reason, the MILF wants it preserved but it will not revive it, but whoever wants it revived, the MILF will not stand on the way. In fact, the MILF can even offer some constructive ideas, if necessary. But to enshrine this in law, such as in the proposed law in the Senate, is problematic, nay dangerous, because it violates the constitutional principle that the state will not recognize the title of nobility or royalty.
According to legal luminaries, the Supreme Court will not only rule on the unconstitutionality of any provision of a proposed law that confers power, authority, or right to an entity, say the Bangsamoro, more than what the Constitution provides but if the same entity is given less than what the Constitution provides the Supreme Court will also rule (against it). The deletion of “inland waters” as among the powers already given to the ARMM may appear innocently proposed, but this has negative impact on the proposed law. Similarly, proposing to recognize the “sultanates rights” appears to be a good gesture especially to the heirs of the Sultanates of Sulu, who lobbied for it vigorously, but did it ever come to anybody’s mind that this will surely be stricken out by the Supreme Court?
If in the end, the BBL does not pass, who is going to be blamed or do we need to blame anyone? Of course, many people blamed the Mamasapano Incident on January 25. But this incident was not an accident; it had all the signatures of a deliberate plan. The debate as to which is primary, peace-making or “war on terror” showed its ugly face here. While we never doubted that the government has firmly hold on to the “primacy of the peace process” but that fateful moment the “unanticipated” happened. To this day, we are still reeling from its devastating effects.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/editorial/item/587-who-is-going-to-be-blamed
Certainly, only the commitment of President Aquino keeps the ember of hope still alive. So far no one in government has ever said the BBL is already dead on track. But if one compares this commitment with what is happening in both Houses, especially in the Lower House, the least that can be said is that the BBL is passing through the proverbial eye of the needle.
Of course, in the Senate, it is moving. Senate President Franklin Drilon and most, if not all, of the senators, are in good cooperation mode. But the main obstacle is the kind of the substitute bill introduced by Senator Bongbong Marcos. The deliberation could have been faster if he had not only crafted his version of the BBL from out of the blue. He set aside almost completely the original BBL, which was 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).
Again, in the Senate version, the original BBL has been severely diluted or revised, and many of the provisions thereof were deleted to make it way far below the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Worse, there are deletions or additions that are clearly unconstitutional; for instance, “inland waters” which are already conferred to the ARMM by law was deleted. Republic Act Number 9054 provides that the Regional Government has authority, power, and right to explore, develop, and utilize the natural resources, including surface and sub-surface rights, inland and coastal waters, and renewable and non-renewable resources in the autonomous region. The other is about the “sultanates rights”. The sultanates embody the political structure of the Moros’ self-governing past, and for this reason, the MILF wants it preserved but it will not revive it, but whoever wants it revived, the MILF will not stand on the way. In fact, the MILF can even offer some constructive ideas, if necessary. But to enshrine this in law, such as in the proposed law in the Senate, is problematic, nay dangerous, because it violates the constitutional principle that the state will not recognize the title of nobility or royalty.
According to legal luminaries, the Supreme Court will not only rule on the unconstitutionality of any provision of a proposed law that confers power, authority, or right to an entity, say the Bangsamoro, more than what the Constitution provides but if the same entity is given less than what the Constitution provides the Supreme Court will also rule (against it). The deletion of “inland waters” as among the powers already given to the ARMM may appear innocently proposed, but this has negative impact on the proposed law. Similarly, proposing to recognize the “sultanates rights” appears to be a good gesture especially to the heirs of the Sultanates of Sulu, who lobbied for it vigorously, but did it ever come to anybody’s mind that this will surely be stricken out by the Supreme Court?
If in the end, the BBL does not pass, who is going to be blamed or do we need to blame anyone? Of course, many people blamed the Mamasapano Incident on January 25. But this incident was not an accident; it had all the signatures of a deliberate plan. The debate as to which is primary, peace-making or “war on terror” showed its ugly face here. While we never doubted that the government has firmly hold on to the “primacy of the peace process” but that fateful moment the “unanticipated” happened. To this day, we are still reeling from its devastating effects.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/editorial/item/587-who-is-going-to-be-blamed
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