On April 11, Malacañang continue to defend and push for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), calling it a “holistic approach” to end poverty and conflict in
Amidst
a report by an international group on alleged “new cases of violence”, Deputy
presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte renewed Malacañang for the enactment of
the BBL, while downplaying the new alleged cases of violence.
Sen.
Francis Escudero called on the administration’s attention to the report
“Rebellion, Political Violence and Shadow Crimes in the Bangsamoro: The
Bangsamoro Conflict Monitoring System (BCMS) 2011-2013” prepared by the
International Alert.
Valte said
the root causes of poverty must be addressed, as poor areas had always been the
breeding ground for recruits for the armed groups.
She said
the government launched the Sajahatra Bangsamoro to ensure that the needs of
people in Mindanao were being addressed, not
just in terms of funding.
“We believe
that the services of government must trickle down to the people in these areas,
regardless of affiliation. So, you know, it’s really addressing the root causes
of poverty that will help us move forward, and we believe that giving these
areas a different structure, in the sense that they are going to have genuine
autonomy and not just...on paper,” Valte said, adding the system in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao must be fixed as it had been politicized
for a long time.
Valte said
the International Alert study was partly funded by World Bank and that
according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, the
organization had been a long time partner in peace advocacy of the Philippines
“But one
notable part of the report is that it has very interesting data on the conflict
in areas of Mindanao, such that it identifies new causes of violence and not
just the old roots of conflict in Mindanao,” Valte said.
“So at
least the data is very useful for our peace process policymakers, such that
they can see the data needed to craft laws... But another point that we wish to
make is that the report itself says – and I quote – ‘without a doubt, ending
the conflict as a major source of rebellion-related violence retires a
significant source of political violence with huge costs in terms of death,
injury and displacement, and will impact positively on the prospects of peace
and stability across the Bangsamoro.’ Those are the pertinent parts of the
report,” she said.
The report
said immediate steps should also be taken to address the violence emanating
from new threat groups such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and
private armed groups and organized crime groups.
The
transitional authority and the new political entity in the Bangsamoro would
have to mitigate the risk of these groups disrupting the transition process, it
said.
“Remember
that the peace between (the government) and MILF means peace with the largest
and most organized armed group, which has been fighting the government for
decades,” Valte said.
“So to end
this armed conflict means that this organized armed body ceases to fight with
government and instead becomes a partner in addressing the problems that are
facing the country, and of course, which include problems of lawlessness. So it
enables the effective exercise of the rule of law over areas previously outside
the reach of government and in...as some quarters would say, ‘ungovernable”
areas,” she added.
Valte said groups
wanting to talk peace must be distinguished from lawless elements with selfish
motives.
The passage
of the proposed BBL was stalled after the January 25 Mamasapano tragic incident
that killed 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force,
17 MILF combatants and 3 civilians.
Meanwhile,
Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala – one of the convenors of the National Peace
Council said they would make sure the body remains independent in tackling
contentious issues in the peace process with Muslim rebels, including
disagreements over the BBL.
Zobel made
the assurance during the first meeting of the council held at Intercontinental
Hotel last Tuesday.
He said the
council would try to help the people understand what is at stake in the
approval or rejection of the BBL.
He said the
council acknowledges the daunting challenges facing the country in its pursuit
of peace. Also being addressed are historical prejudices and biases.
Other
members of the Peace Council include former ambassador Howard Dee, former
Supreme Court chief justice Hilario Davide Sr., Bishop Antonio Tagle and Muslim
youth and civic leader Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/863-bbl-a-holistic-approach-to-end-poverty-and-conflict-malacanang
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