The archbishop of Cagayan de Oro has warned of a rise of
Moro extremism in Mindanao , if Congress fails
to pass a meaningful Bangsamoro basic law (BBL).
Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma made the warning during the
recent Religious Leaders-Legislators Meeting, which he convened with the Tulay
Kalinaw Mindanaw (Tulay KaMI, or Peace Bridge in Mindanao) to discuss the BBL
and strategize on how to go forward pushing for the passage of the BBL that is
faithful to the government’s agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF).
This, as a member of the Citizens Peace Council and a former
MILF peace panel member called on the two senators from Mindanao to explain
their endorsement of the Senate version of the BBL that is deemed “less than”
what has already been granted to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) and is allegedly inconsistent with the Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro (CAB).
Ledesma said that failure to pass a meaningful BBL is very
dangerous, as this may trigger the rise of Moro extremism in Mindanao,
especially since there is now a growing number of young Moros who are
entertaining political thoughts that have shades of extremism.
“A failed BBL will favor the growth of
extremism-fundamentalism-terrorism in Mindanao .
It will not help solve the conflict,” said Ledesma, a Jesuit like Pope Francis.
He urged legislators in both houses of Congress to restore
the original provisions of the BBL which are consistent with the CAB, but have
been amended or deleted in the current versions now being deliberated in both
the House of Representatives and the Senate.
“A meaningful BBL is one that addresses the longing for
genuine self-governance of the Bangsamoro and embodies the political agreements
of the MILF and the government which are compiled in the CAB,” Ledesma
explained.
Meanwhile, Moner Bajunaid urged Sen. Teofisto Guingona III,
who hails from Valencia
Marcos’s version of the BBL, or Senate Bill 2894, has
amended 80 percent of the original BBL that was drafted by the Bangsamoro
Transition Commission (BTC) that was reviewed by the President’s legal team.
“If Senator TG Guingona and Senator Koko Pimentel truly feel
the pulse of the peoples of Mindanao , they
should have not signed the Marcos committee report. Guingona and Pimentel
should explain to the peoples of Mindanao why
they signed Marcos’s committee report,” said Bajunaid, a college professor.
Marcos submitted on August 10 his committee’s report that
formed the Senate’s version of the BBL. Guingona and Pimentel both endorsed
Marcos’s version of the BBL.
The MILF earlier said that Marcos’s BBL was “50-percent
bad.”
“The BBL is a legal and political document that addresses a
political issue of national concern,” Bajunaid said.
He said that Guingona’s and Pimentel’s signatures on
Marcos’s version of the BBL is very disheartening and disappointing. “One can
never understand the BBL if one does not understand the peace process or the
history of Mindanao ,” he said.
“Guingona [and Pimentel] should push the Mindanao
agenda for peace. Their endorsement of Marcos’s committee report shows that
[they do] not understand the so-called Mindanao
conflict,” said lawyer Mary Ann Arnado, chairman emeritus of the Mindanao
Peoples Caucus.
Led by Ledesma, the participants to the meeting held at the
Archbishop Patrick Cronin Hall adjacent to the Saint Augustine Metropolitan
Cathedral called on legislators in both Houses of Congress to restore the
original provisions of the BBL which are consistent with the CAB.
“The present BBL [in both the House of Representatives and
the Senate] has so many cavities that need to be filled up to make it a true
social-justice legislation. The peoples of Mindanao
want a meaningful BBL,” he said.
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/prelate-warns-of-rise-of-moro-extremism-if-congress-fails-to-pass-meaningful-bbl/
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