MILF: New BBL draft has better chances

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 17): MILF: New BBL draft has better chances

The new draft of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) has greater chances of becoming a law once it is certified as an urgent bill by President Duterte, the ever optimistic Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Monday said.

Drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), composed of government and MILF representatives, the draft enabling law of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed in 2014 by the government and the MILF, will also be submitted to President Duterte early this evening (July 17) in Malacanang.

Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice chair for political affairs, said in an interview that “all systems go for the submission of draft bill.”

Jaafar will also hand over the new 112 page, 18 articles draft BBL, to Senate President Aquilino Koko Pimentel and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, one after the other.

Jaafar has visibly shown how excited he was and his panel. “Truth is that we are anticipating for endorsements when the president makes his speech during the BBL turnover today,” he added.

“More seriously, we expect him to make a categorical statement that he is certifying the BBL as urgent bill. Less than that would only bring back old memories when the previous BBL was never formally certified as urgent bill by President Aquino,” the MILF said in an editorial posted on its website.

The MILF website enumerated six reasons why it strongly believed the draft to have smooth journey into becoming a law that will pave the way for the attainment of acceptable and lasting solution to the so called decades-old Mindanao Moro problem.

First, it said President Duterte has all the time to push for it because he still has five years left in office as against then President Aquino, already on his final year in the Palace when BBL was presented to Congress.

It added the former president’s popularity was on a downswing mode while Duterte’s is currently at its peak.

Second, the President, Senate president and House speaker are all from Mindanao – and the problem is in Mindanao, which makes it more dramatic.

Third, it said during Aquino’s term, the BBL was on the agenda after the midterm of Aquino when the need for him is lesser especially from those running for Congress; meaning, it was election fever already. Today, practically everybody including politicians need the president, who is the most powerful person in this country.

Fourth, the new draft BBL is more inclusive both in process and content, because at least one-half of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was already on board.

“In fact, those BTC commissioners from the MNLF (Yusuf Jikiri’s faction) were overheard to have said that their concerns are already addressed in the new BBL,” the MILF said.

MNLF, led by Nur Misuari, forged a peace deal with Manila in 1996 but Duterte want an inclusive peace deal that includes all Moro fronts with legitimate struggle under one agreement with the government.

Fifth, the Mamasapano incident, that left 44 elite police and 17 Moro rebels killed, worked against the BBL and the MILF, while the current Marawi crisis has given the MILF better image especially its humanitarian intervention, it added.

Sixth, there is no logical way forward except the way of peace – and for government to comply with what it had committed.

“The longer the conflict protracts the better chance for the violent extremists like the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups to recruit and strengthen, because they feast on our failures,” the MILF said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1001210