Photo courtesy of Bangsamoro Transition Commission
“Let us not lose time, Time is short, but there is still time. We ask our legislators to work for the immediate passage of the draft law on the Bangsamoro,” the Government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace panels said in an open letter to the two chambers of Congress.
On behalf of their respective groups, the two peace panel chairs, Miriam Colonel-Ferrer for the government and Mohagher Iqbal for the MILF and , said the passage of the law will pave the way for the decommissioning of thousands of weapons and combatants of the MILF and “will enable the peaceful transition of an armed group into regular members of society, participating and competing in free and fair elections.”
The 17-years peace negotiation between the state and the MILF resulted to the signing of Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) in 2014 which provided the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), a proposed legislation that will establish a new autonomous Bangsamoro political entity once passed by Congress and ratified through a plebiscite.
The deliberations of the BBL encounters delay due to lack of quorum as the lawmakers become busy with the setting in of the election season.
“Let us allow the MILF to proceed to the third and last stage of their struggle: from pure armed struggle from 1972 to 1997; political struggle from 1997 to the passage and ratification of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL); to democratic struggle where their rights and aspirations are pursued solely through civilized and democratic means,” the open letter stated.
The two panels underscored the importance of the BBL for it will
establish a “more representative and responsive autonomous government, without the structural flaws found in the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).”
They added that the legislative measure will sustain the development initiatives that have flourished under the current ceasefire and the normalization programs provided for in the CAB.
“A good legislation passed in this Congress will redound to the benefit of the next administration. For one, the next president will be in an immensely better position to continue the peace and development efforts that have been gradually put in place, without the difficulty of having to reinstate a stalled process,”they continued.
“Secondly, the next Congress will be able to focus on other important laws. It will be spared the burden of having to go through new rounds of committee hearings and plenary interpellations on a Bangsamoro law.”
The peace panels said the BBL can “help in curbing the spread of extremism in Mindanao. In particular, the Bangsamoro government would be able to help moderate Islamic leaders to counter the ideology of radicalism being promoted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and steer the Muslim community away from ISIS influence."
“For one, this will settle one of the more serious internal armed conflicts and essentially free up a significant component of the Armed Forces of the Philippines… to shift resources to focus on external concerns, principally the protection of our external territorial integrity and maritime domain which is now being threatened,” they added.
The peace negotiators said, “From this global lens, the Philippine peace process on the Bangsamoro has earned the support of the international community for providing a model whereby an Islamic movement can find redress of its grievances through a civilized and democratic process, within the country’s territorial integrity and constitutional framework.”
Diplomats in the country praised the signing of the CAB and are hopeful for the success of the Bangsamoro peace process.
“In particular, we beseech Speaker of the House Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. and Senate President Franklin Drilon, as well as House Ad Hoc Committee Chair Rufus Rodriguez and Senate Local Governments Committtee Chair Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., to see through the legislative process leading to the passage of the law,” the peace panels said.
The open letter ended persuading the lawmakers to open their hearts and “to give our Bangsamoro brothers and sisters this one good chance to enjoy the right to peace, and partake of meaningful reforms and development.’
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/new/item/703-let-us-not-lose-time-pass-the-draft-law-on-the-bangsamoro-gph-milf-peace-panels-ask-lawmakers
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