2 BTC execs’ absence casts shadow on signing of Bangsamoro draft law

From the Daily Tribune (Apr 22): 2 BTC execs’ absence casts shadow on signing of Bangsamoro draft law

The Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) composed of representatives from the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has signed the final draft of the proposed law that will establish the Bangsamoro government in Mindanao, officials yesterday said.

Two commissioners from the government side of the 15-man BTC, however, were conspicuously absent while two other members signed with reservations.

“Except for two BTC commissioners, all the members signed the document,” Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, said.

No reason was given when Johaira Wahab, chairman of the Committee on Transitory Provisions, Amendments, Revisions and Miscellaneous Matters, and Fatmawati Salapuddin of Sulu failed to attend the signing.

Commissioners Froilyn Mendoza representing the indigenous peoples, and Peter Eisma of Basilan signed with reservations.

“Hopefully, the proposed law which underwent a thorough consultation and study, will get the approval of the Philippine Congress,” Jaafar said.

The unsigned and partial draft copy of the document had been forwarded to the Office of the President (OP) for review.

BTC chairman Mohagher Iqbal was quoted in the MILF website Luwaran as telling his fellow commissioners that with the signing of the BBL they have overcome the “greatest challenge of the Commission”.

“It is not a perfect basic law since there is no such thing as a perfect basic law,” Iqbal said.

He emphasized though the BBL “has passed through all levels of deliberations and decision-making which are transparent and democratic.

Since the BBL would now be transmitted to the OP, Iqbal expressed the view that their engagement with the OP as “not worrisome.”

“The government and the MILF, after the signing of the CAB, are partners and therefore the engagement is one of problem-solving and partnership,” he explained.

“We believe in the trustworthiness of the President to deliver the BBL as his legacy to the nation in distress for more than our decades,” he stressed in his message.

Chief government negotiator Prof. Miriam Coronel Ferrer has denied news circulating in the social media that the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process has directed three of BTC commissioners not to sign the draft.

Ferrer said the report was false and reiterated that the OPAPP did not order any BTC member not to affix his signature on the draft law.

Meanwhile, the Muslim community in the country has something to celebrate because the basic law on the CAB has the support of both houses of Congress.

This was revealed by Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas after he was informed by his colleagues that they have more than enough in numbers to support the measure.

“It will be a walk in the park,” Fariñas told reporters in a chance interview.

He said they are just awaiting the draft bill to be submitted to Congress when they resume session on May 5. The draft basic law will be filed and expected to be referred to the concern committees who will start the hearing.

“The leadership will only identify who will be the lead committee and they can schedule the hearing immediately,” Fariñas explained.

He said all members of every committee that will focus on this measure can have a chance to scrutinize the bill and can make some amendments and recommendations.

Once it was approved by the committee, he said they will refer this to plenary for open debates.

“I am not sure when will this be passed but I still believe that it can be passed within the time frame set by officials of House of Representatives,” the Assistant Majority Floor Leader said.

When asked if the draft basic law can be questioned in the Supreme Court on its constitutionality, he said the possibility is still high because those who are not yet convinced will not stop.

“Any citizen of the country can question this before the high tribunal but there is no guarantee that the magistrates will favor their position,” he pointed out.

Fariñas said they will anticipate a long process and intense plenary debates on the proposed law just any other measures before it becomes a law.

He added the quest for a real and lasting peace must start now as he encouraged other Muslims to join the bandwagon for peace and prosperity.

“This bill is one of the most significant measures that will give teeth to the peace agreement, seal the deal and finally put an end to the decades of unrest here in Mindanao,” he concluded.

Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison, however, expressed concern that the enactment of the BBL will not usher in peace, but will open the floodgates of foreign exploitation in Mindanao.

He noted that the main beneficiary of the Bangsamoro entity would be the investors from the US, European Community, Japan, Australia and Malaysia.

“The (Aquino) administration has enough time and numbers in both houses of Congress to ram through the BBL, not to mention the pork barrel for persuading possible oppositionists. It is a bit of balderdash that  Aquino wants to have a legacy of making peace in the Bangsamoro areas,” Sison said.

He explained that the Aquino administration and its allies “are obviously using the provision in the 1987 Constitution that created the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in order to give a constitutional grounding to the Bangsamoro political entity, and present this new entity as a replacement of the existing ARMM political organ which shall be abolished upon the promulgation and ratification of the BBL. In this connection, all other constitutional issues can be fixed by further ‘language engineering’ by the GRP, with the MILF predisposed to consent.”

Sison, however, stressed “it is reasonable to estimate that the Aquino regime is taking the MILF for a ride, if only to cause the dissolution of the MILF as a revolutionary organization. But most likely, the ride is not shorter than going all the way to the establishment of the Bangsamoro political entity. The US and GRP strategists are known to calculate that the MILF will go the way of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).”

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/2-btc-execs-absence-casts-shadow-on-signing-of-bangsamoro-draft-law