From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 18):
BBL passage still best solution to end Mindanao armed conflict – TJRC report
The enactment into law of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law
(BBL) remains the top recommended action as a means to close the decades-old
Bangsamoro armed struggle, according to a report released by the Swiss-led
Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC).
In the public launch held at the city yesterday, the TJRC
report stated that the legislation of a Bangsamoro law that provides for a
political and institutional infrastructure pursuant to the Comprehensive
Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) could guarantee the non-recurrence of the Mindanao armed conflict.
“The TJRC recommendations cannot replace a durable peace
agreement and its legal framework,” TJRC chairperson Mô Bleeker said. “Solving
the Bangsamoro situation in a durable manner offers a unique opportunity for a
modern State to manage the diversity inherent in any modern democracy in a
constructive manner.”
“Similarly, the Bangsamoro aspire to a political framework,
which will enable them to practice good governance, to develop their region and
their people, to proudly assert their identity, and to ensure a constructive
engagement with their own multiethnic constituency.”
The TJRC also stressed that the implementation of the CAB
“is a unique and extraordinary opportunity not only for Bangsamoro, but also
for the whole Filipino nation”.
“It offers an opportunity for the historical and cultural
resilience of the Bangsamoro and indigenous peoples to be recognized as a
vibrant and constructive part of the Philippines, based on the
acknowledgement of plural identities. This is indeed a historical opportunity
for the Bangsamoro and that this is indeed a historical opportunity for the Philippines,”
the report stated.
The report was first launched publicly in Cotabato City
earlier this week in an event that was attended by Secretary Teresita
Quintos-Deles, Government of the Philippines (GPH) chief negotiator Professor
Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator
Mohagher Iqbal, together with more than 200 individuals, organizations, and
representatives from local, regional, national, and international entities.
As stipulated in the CAB, the TJRC was mandated to undertake
a study and to make recommendations, based on consultations and expert’s
studies, with a view to promote healing and reconciliation among the
conflict-affected communities in the Bangsamoro. The said TJRC report was a
product of consultations with more than 210 Moro, indigenous, and settler
communities in Mindanao and the Sulu
archipelago, involving some 3,000 community members and local officials.
On her remarks delivered at the Cotabato City
launched, Deles revealed that Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr. issued a
memorandum of instruction to the OPAPP to put the recommendations in the TJRC
report in motion.
According to Deles, the memorandum included the following
instructions: “(1) endorse the TJRC Report to the relevant agencies for the
agencies’ review and assessment; (2) convene and coordinate with the agencies
to work towards the adoption and implementation of the recommendations; and (3)
identify and mobilize resources to support the programs that may be
implemented. In addition the PAPP is likewise mandated to encourage and
initiate activities towards the mainstreaming and popularization of the
framework for transitional justice and reconciliation. Finally, the PAPP is
required to present a report to the Executive Secretary on her compliance with
these instructions.”
Swiss Ambassador to the Philippines Andrea Reichlin lauded
the TJRC for its significant contribution to the Bangsamoro peace process. “The
TJRC makes a number of recommendations that are implementable as of today. But
prompt action initiated by the national body is essential to sustain the peace
process and mitigate the rising conflicts,” she said.
Meanwhile, GPH peace panel member Secretary Senen Bacani
maintained that the BBL is still of primary importance in continuing the peace
roadmap which was stalled due to Congress’ failure to enact the Bangsamoro law
last February. “We admit that our roadmap to peace has been adversely affected
by the non-passage of the BBL in this Congress. Despite this, however,
President Aquino himself has made clear that the BBL remains the most suitable
path to peace and development in Mindanao.
“And so, we continue to work and hope for the early passage
of the bill in the next Congress, so we can move full steam ahead in
implementing fully the CAB at the soonest possible time,” Bacani added.
MILF peace panel Abhoud Syed Lingga also noted that there could
be a challenge in implementing the recommendations of the TJRC because the BBL,
which was a pre-requisite in the execution of the CAB, was not passed.
“Although implementation of other provisions of the agreement, including that
of the recommendations of the [TJRC] report, cannot replace the BBL. [I]t will
be useful in pursuing the peace process that the report’s recommendations will
be carried out,” Lingga said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=867974
