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House panel approves Bangsamoro Basic Law


(Updated 5:40 p.m.) The House ad hoc committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) on Wednesday voted to approve the measure formalizing the creation of a new political entity that will replace the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Voting 50-17 with one abstention, the panel approved the committee report on the proposed Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region after two days of marathon hearings where committee members voted on each of the provisions contained in the bill.

The result of the voting was announced by panel chairman, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday afternoon.

Some of the lawmakers who voted for the bill’s passage expressed their reservation about certain provisions, indicating their intent to question or introduce amendments when plenary debates begin.

Following the ad hoc panel’s approval of the bill, the measure will be deliberated on by the joint committee on appropriations and ways and means, which will iron out details on funding its implementation.

It is expected to be introduced to the plenary either Tuesday or Wednesday next week.

The Bangsamoro bill, a top priority measure of the Aquino administration, seeks to recognize the Bangsamoro’s aspiration for self-determination by giving them greater power in governing themselves.

Under the proposed legislation, the autonomous Bangsamoro government will be parliamentary in form, to be headed by a Chief Minister.

The original draft BBL was a product of the comprehensive peace agreement signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014 after 17 years of on-and-off negotiations.

Committee members, however, agreed to use as basis for their voting this week the so-called “Chairman and Vice Chairpersons’ Working Draft” of the BBL, which was finalized following a meeting between House leaders and President Benigno Aquino III over the weekend.

In Malacañang, presidential spokesman Secretary Edwin Lacierda thanked the House ad hoc committee for approving the draft BBL.

“It brings us closer to transforming Muslim Mindanao from a permanent potential into a reality where peace and prosperity abide,” Lacierda said in a text message sent to reporters.

Gray area for Palawan

The lone abstention in the voting came from Palawan Rep. Frederick Abueg, who was wary about the possible inclusion of his province in the Bangsamoro region in the future due to the restoration of the “opt-in” clause in the bill's Article 3, Section 3.

Despite repeated assurances by presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Deles and MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal that Palawan will not be included in the Bangsamoro region, Abueg said he was taken aback upon seeing the restored “opt-in” clause in the latest working draft of the Bangsamoro bill.

“The requirement now is not just the contiguous areas but also the provinces identified in the Tripoli Agreement. Kasama kami doon, kaya gray area sa amin kung kami talaga ay masasama sa Bangsamoro entity,” he said.

Abueg said he will reserve his vote on the Bangsamoro bill in the plenary pending consultation with his constituents.

The revised provision in the approved committee report states that a plebiscite for inclusion in the Bangsamoro area may be held in any local government unit or geographic area outside the jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro, but which are contiguous to any of the component units of the Bangsamoro and within the area of autonomy identified in the 1976 Tripoli agreement signed by the government with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The petition for inclusion can only be held every five years and no petition can be entertained within five years of the BBL’s enactment.

Rodriguez, the panel chair, originally pushed for the deletion of the “opt-in” provision because he agreed with some of his colleagues’ comment that it constitutes “creeping territorial expansion.” Even the Peace Council tasked by Malacañang to review to Bangsamoro bill had recommended its removal.

That clause, however, found its way to the latest version of the working draft on the BBL, following Rodriguez’s consultation with committee vice chairpersons and meeting with Aquino last week.

Not for appeasement

While maintaining he is supportive of peace in Mindanao, Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat said he is against the measure because he thinks some of the provisions are unconstitutional.

The lawmaker recalled that he proposed more than 150 amendments to the BBL—from the preamble to the repealing clause—throughout the two-day voting in hopes of correcting what he perceived to be its constitutional infirmities. Most of his proposals, however, were thumbed down.

“It’s really a very sad day,” he said of the Bangsamoro bill’s passage at the committee level. “I’m for peace but I’m not for appeasement at the expense of the republic.”

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares said he is “strongly and unequivocally” against the measure because the panel allowed what he called the “Yellow version” of the bill to be passed.

“We [lost] the chance to peace because Malacañang corrupted it,” he said.

Hope for peace

But for Anak Mindanao party-list Rep. Sitti Djalia Turabin Hataman, the Bangsamoro bill only seeks to give what has long been due to Bangsamoros.

“Nothing in this law is new to us. It doesn’t change our history. We’re entitled by law to the right to self-determination. Nothing [in the bill] is given to us which isn’t ours hundreds of years ago,” said the lawmaker, the wife of ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman.

Maguindanao and Cotabato City Rep. Bai Sandra Sema said the BBL’s passage “puts back hope that the Bangsamoro, too, can live peacefully and have a chance to a better life just like the rest of Filipino people.”

Rodriguez hailed the passage of the BBL at the committee level as a “historic vote” that will go a long way in “fully addressing centuries of inherited disadvantages inflicted on our Muslim brothers and sisters.”

“I am from Mindanao, and I wish to see the day that the children of our Muslim brothers and sisters will have the same opportunities as the children of Christian communities to have good education, health, and employment opportunities; that they will not be judged by their culture and religion but as persons with human dignity,” he said.

Wishful thinking

There had been uncertainty that the Bangsamoro bill will be passed following public outrage over the Mamasapano clash that killed over 60 people, including 44 Special Action Force commandos. The timeline for the bill’s passage was reset from March to June as the House and Senate shelved discussions to investigate the bloody incident.

Since Malacañang submitted the BBL to Congress last September, the ad hoc committee has held 51 hearings, composed of 24 public hearings, 19 regular meetings and eight executive sessions.

While House and Senate leaders earlier agreed to approve the bill by the end of the second regular session, House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said it is “wishful thinking” to pass it before the sine die adjournment on June 11.

“Mahirap na sabihin mo agad [na ma-approve] on or before June 11 because we still have to approve it on second reading. Wishful thinking [but] we will try…. It becomes a different ball game [once it’s in the plenary] surely because there are serious oppositors,” he said Tuesday.

Should the bill be introduced to the plenary on May 27, the House will only have seven session days to hold debates and approve it. —with Andreo Calonzo/KBK, GMA News
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