While there is a growing serious concern from stakeholders
in the Bangsamoro peace process over the delay in the passage of the Bangsamoro
Basic Law (BBL), the government remains committed in pursuing relentless
efforts to secure its enactment into law as soon as possible, said Presidential
Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles.
Deles stressed the government and other stakeholders in the
Bangsamoro peace process “cannot afford to go back to square one” and remain
firm in its goal to see the BBL passed into law within the term of President
Benigno S. Aquino III.
“We’re not giving up. Senators have voiced (their opinion)
that they hope to finish the interpellation before Congress goes to recess this
October. The timetable for its passage still exists,” Deles told media people
after attending the hearings in the House of Representatives for the OPAPP’s
proposed budget for 2016.
“The time is getting really tight and if we do give up, we
could say that the whole legislation is really dead. So, the agency continues
to engage both houses of Congress in deliberating and finishing the
interpellations of the proposed substitute bills,” she said.
“We all know the dynamics of the Congress. We are still
positive that we can pass this law before the end of this administration. This
is the farthest we have ever gone in the peace process,” Deles added.
The Senate and House of Representatives leaderships had
earlier committed to pass the BBL before the two chambers go on recess this
October prior to the filing of certificates of candidacies for the 2016
elections.
However, both chambers are still in the period of
interpellations as of today because of delays in the legislative mill, mainly
the lack of quorum in the House and the intense questioning by senators on the
provisions of the bill during floor deliberations.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Senate President Franklin
Drilon had already announced that they agreed to move the deadline for the
passage of the BBL to December 16.
Bangsamoro peace process to continue bearing fruits
In a meeting with the country’s leading business groups and
chambers on September 30, Deles gave strong value to the importance of having a
candid dialogue on the status of the BBL with concerned sectors of Philippine
society “in the face of often-mixed and confusing messaging coming out of
Philippine media at this time.”
“We cannot gloss over the fact that the BBL, and the
Bangsamoro peace process with it, has been hit very badly in the aftermath of
the Mamasapano tragedy. (Y)ou all know that our timeline has become a moving
target since February and we are now working within the narrowest window of
opportunity,” Deles said at a forum hosted by the Makati Business Club.
In addition to the serious delay caused by the Mamasapano
incident on the congressional deliberations on the BBL, she said she considers
the upcoming elections as posing a different threat to the passage of the bill.
“2016 partisan interests and agenda are already out there
fighting tooth and nail to claim center stage, which does not brook well for a
law that is best deliberated with an eye not so much besotted with present-day,
transient, parochial interests but rather training its gaze further to consider
the lessons of history and the omens of prophecy,” the peace process chief
noted.
Despite the complications, Deles said the government remains
firm in its resolve that the Bangsamoro peace process and the accompanying
legislative track would bear fruits for Filipinos and the entire nation as it
would give a solid foundation for the just and lasting peace everyone wants to
see happen in Mindanao and the rest of the nation.
“No, we are not giving up. This is the prevailing sentiment
for the government and the MILF panels, as well as our local and international
peace partners in this historic endeavor for peace,” she said.
“We ask that you continue to accompany the peace process in
ensuring that this dream will not dry up. Let us together make sure it will
flourish, flower, and bear fruit—fruits that our children can enjoy in
abundance, in a country that knows no war and tolerates no injustice; a country
that is peaceful, harmonious, and progressive; a country that has room enough
for all its people and all their aspirations,” she added.
MILF not going back to war
In his Eid’l Adha message, Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) chair Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim made a commitment that his group would remain
committed and a partner of the government in pursuing the peace process.
Murad also expressed the group’s belief that Congress would
eventually pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that reflects the spirit and
intentions of the CAB.
“With the unwavering commitment of the President and his
allies in the administration, coupled with the strong support of the
international community, as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC), including the peace loving peoples of the country and the world andmost
of all our complete trust in the Oneness and Justness of Allah (SVW), we remain
optimistic,” Murad stressed.
“The gains of the peace process are much wider and more
comprehensive. What is of prime importance is the preservation and sustenance
of the achievements of the struggle and the Bangsamoro people in the peace
process,” he added.
Deles also echoed Murad’s commitment and said that it was
very unlikely that the MILF would go back to war despite delays in the passage
of the BBL.
“The government and the MILF have signed agreements and the
recent decommissioning showed their sincerity in the peace talks. The MILF is
doing their part in keeping the trust to the government and now we should also
do our part in the peace process,” Deles said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=810674
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