New life for constitutional reform!

Those who bemoan the Comprehensive Agreement with Bangsamoro should not despair. Indeed it is perhaps the best thing that has happened to give new life to constitutional reform precisely because it is doing something unconstitutional. The Aquino government is forced to accept that only constitutional reform will make possible the CAB. Unless of course, it decides to defy the Constitution.

With other regions getting ready to do the same if CAB goes ahead, we face a crisis. Even in 2005, among local government authorities that were impatient to have essential autonomy, I already heard officials saying – well – what should stop us from breaking away if we are not allowed to do it through our institutions? Isa lang ang kailangang mag-umpisa.

One of the first to come forward after I wrote the column on Federalism means freedom was the Bicol Autonomy Movement. The 2005 Constitutional Commission went around the Philippines to spread the advocacy. Although Bicolanos have been quiet since they continued to talk about the issue among themselves and began to consider the benefits of gaining more autonomy through the federal principle.

Heading the Bicol Autonomy Movement was Dante Jimenez who runs a university in the province. In his letter he sent this column this week he said their movement has been growing stronger.

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“The Bicol Autonomy Movement (BAM) launched on Dec. 8, 2009 in Daet, Camarines Norte is getting stronger everyday because of our continuous education among our people to appreciate and understand that we in Bicol being rich in natural and manpower resources can stand on its own given the same opportunity as Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),” wrote Jimenez in his letter. Bicolanos are now aware that the takeover of their resources by the oligarchs have made life even harder for them.

Bicol as you wrote is “ rich in resources and is a wealthy” region.

We agree that there should be a change of our Constitution for us Bicolanos and other regions to be given the opportunity to govern our own local government. Let’s go for federalism! Lets be free from the bondage of a centralized government in Manila!”

 There you are. These are fighting words and what these regions do will decide whether CAB will be implemented and work.

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With other regions wanting the same treatment given to Bangsa Moro perhaps it will be good to review a comment made by a Muslim scholar, Jamal Ashley Abbas when the first MILG-GRP agreement failed.

He said that any agreement on Bangsa Moro would have to have the backing of the entire Philippine nation. The way the present agreement has been cobbled seems to me to be far from that ideal. Based on his opinion, this second CAB will not work either. Although he decried that then President Arroyo might be using the agreement to bring about constitutional reform, I don’t think she had any choice if it were to be implemented according to the Constitution.

True, an incumbent president might use constitutional reform for their self-interest. It was true during Arroyo’s time and true today in Aquino’s time. Therefore the burden is with the transition government that will have to be created and empowered to stipulate that the incumbent president should be immediately disqualified from staying in office. A solution must be found on who or what should take over while the Constitution is changed. In Cory’s time it was a transition government with revolutionary powers. I don’t see why it should not be done now, not obviously by the incumbent president but by a National Transition Council supported by the Church and the military as the only two nationwide organizations.

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Going back to the Abbas thesis he said that what he especially liked about the GRP-MILF Agreement during Arroyo’s time was the emphasis on the Bangsa Moro identity based on history, territory and culture.

“Identity is a problematic issue for the majority of Filipinos because they are still searching for one.

“The on-going Mindanao conflict is now on its fourth decade. This has cost tens of thousands of lives lost, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children displaced, and millions of dollars worth of property damaged. The potential revenues from natural resource development, tourism and general socio-economic development that is sacrificed because of this war is staggering. The damage that this 30-year conflict has inflicted spells the difference between Philippines as a developing economy and Philippines as a newly industrialized country. And with no hope for settlement in sight, the development of the country as a whole will have to remain slow.”

He adds: “The war in Mindanao keeps military spending high – with the Defense department getting the biggest share in the national budget, keeps tourists away, discourages local and foreign investments especially in Mindanao and retards the building of infrastructure necessary in economic development.”

But to me the more important point he makes is this:

“The Filipinos’ quest for identity and peace should be pursued together for only a clear and comprehensive understanding of the Christian Filipinos’ quest for identity and the Moros’ desire to reclaim their sovereign identity separate from the rest of the Filipinos can there be true peace in the land. And only a thorough understanding of history by all parties can bring about the needed change.

To achieve peace in Mindanao, there must be a clamor by the population. For that to happen, the average Filipino must understand the real circumstances surrounding the issue. They must understand the motivations behind every group. And to understand the real issues, one must go back to history.

Philippine historiography is not exactly in a good state. Skeptics have categorized historians as those who lie, those who are mistaken and those who do not know  (Gilderhus1996). It is quite unfortunate that much of Philippine history was written by those in the first two categories. With regards to the Moros, Spanish historians (writing about Moro history) belonged to the first category; American historians belonged to the first and second; and Filipino historians belonged to all categories.

But there is hope. It is called microhistory. It is done in small scale, and does not need millions of pesos for research.  It can be done in any discipline and can use various sources – even films.”