Goodbye BBL, Hello Federalism

COTABATO CITY – For the third time around, majority Christian lawmakers in the House of Representatives are expected to reject the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law or BBL being pushed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed an interim peace deal with Manila in 2014.

Instead of BBL, lawmakers are now pushing for a federal form of government and President Rodrigo Duterte is also strongly advocating the shift to federalism, an advocacy he made even before when he was the mayor of Davao City.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque also said Duterte’s priority now is to change the form of current government and this can only be achieved through amendments in the Constitution which lawmakers are currently working on.

There was also a proposal to hold a plebiscite next year in time for the mid-term elections for Filipinos to decide whether to accept or reject federalism. But there are also many lawmakers who wanted to cling to power and extend their term of office until 2022 when voters would have to choose their leaders in national elections.

BBL

Duterte has previously backed the BBL and expressed optimism that the draft law will pass the scrutiny of Congress that previously opposed it – during Arroyo and Aquino’s presidency.

But Duterte himself has been campaigning for BBL and federalism even before he won the presidency in 2016. And his political allies in Congress are supporting the proposed shift from the current presidential system to federalism, and not the BBL.

The MILF, whose ageing leaders, called for the passage of BBL may be overridden by Duterte’s plans to grant regions autonomy through federalism. It said the administration of Duterte should immediately work for the passage of the BBL where the Aquino government left off. It stressed that the negotiation is completed following the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the MILF and government peace panels.

Politicians questioning the BBL said the provisions in the draft law remain the same.  Zamboanga City Representative Celso Lobregat, who was one of those who opposed the BBL during the Aquino administration citing unconstitutional provisions in the draft law, is again raising the same issue.

Unconstitutional

In a previous statement, Lobregat made it clear, he will be vigilant and consistent with his stand with regards to the BBL. “I am for peace, I am not anti-peace, but we need a Bangsamoro Basic Law that is just, that is fair, that is acceptable, feasible and more importantly, it should not be contrary to the Constitution and existing laws,” he said.

He said the BBL which the Bangsamoro Transition Commission submitted to Duterte still contains the same and even more contentious and questionable provisions. “Among the contentious provisions in the present version of the BBL is that there will be six plebiscites - one for ratification of the law, and second the periodic plebiscite every 5 years for a period of 25 years in the cities, municipalities and other geographic areas outside the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao which did not join the Bangsamoro after the ratification of the BBL,” Lobregat said.

Lobregat, who was also former mayor of Zamboanga City, said Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) was the predecessor of the old BBL filed during the previous 16th Congress. The MOA-AD was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2008 describing the process that led to its crafting as “whimsical, capricious, oppressive, arbitrary and despotic.”

He said the MOA-AD and the BBL have similar provisions, with some unconstitutional and controversial provisions. “Instead of promoting peace, there will be a constant tug of war on the political boundaries that will promote instability. The Bangsamoro will try to expand its area of jurisdiction and in turn, the local government adjacent, surrounding or neighboring the Bangsamoro will also fight tooth and nail in order to retain their territory,” Lobregat said.

Lobregat said he will again be active and vigilant in the committee deliberations, plenary debates and caucuses to ensure that the interest of Zamboanga City and the rest of Mindanao are protected.

Davao del Norte Representative and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Duterte’s ally in the lower chamber, said the country’s push for federalism has almost the same concept of the BBL.

“The BBL will be absorbed by the federal form of government, because that’s the same. The concept of BBL is the same in federal form of government,” he said, suggesting an amendment in the Constitution. “How can you implement the provisions of the BBL without amending the Constitution? You cannot do it because there are provisions in the BBL that run contrary to the provisions of the Constitution,” said Alvarez.

MILF's rival group, the Moro National Liberation Front under Nur Misuari, has strongly opposed the government peace talks with the MILF, citing a 1996 peace accord with Manila.

And Misuari, who eventually became government of the Muslim autonomous region, is now facing rebellion charges for deadly attacks in Sulu's Jolo town and in Zamboanga City in 2001; and another raid in 2013 in retaliation to government's failure to fully comply with the peace agreement.

Under the accord, Manila would have provided a mini-marshal plan in the restive region and livelihood and housing facilities for thousands of MNLF rebels. Misuari, a close friend and political ally of Duterte, also wanted to become a perpetual regional governor. He is also being accused of graft and corruption with cases dating back during his time as governor, but Duterte ordered authorities not to arrest Misuari because of the peace process.

Strong BBL support

Murad Ebrahim, the MILF chairman, said Duterte has voiced his support for the BBL, which will set a precedent for a federal model to be pushed out across the country. He previously said that the MILF will not settle for anything other than the BBL.

The MILF said the people of Mindanao, not just the Bangsamoro, are looking forward that the BBL to ultimately pass and become a law. “The signal is very positive and encouraging now that the President has announced his certification of the proposed bill to Congress as an urgent measure,” it said, adding, the BTC which drafted the original BBL, proceeded with legal and meticulous care to conform to the mandate of the 1987 Constitution.

Defending the provisions in the BBL, the MILF cited Article 10, Sections 15 and 18 of the Constitution, which state that the autonomous Bangsamoro entity may define the basic structure of government, provided it is democratic, and consonant with its distinctive historical and cultural heritage.

The BTC, which originally had 15 members both from the MILF and the government, was expanded to 21 members after Duterte signed an executive order in November last year to review the provisions of the BBL. The MILF said the BTC sought the opinions of the 18 members of the original framers of the Constitution - Father Joaquin Bernas, former Chief Justice Hilarion Davide, former Commission on Elections Chairman Christian Monsod, Supreme Court Justice Adolfo Azcuna, among others, who all stated that the BBL is constitutional and can stand charter challenge.

“Furthermore, it must be emphasized that the BBL is not an ordinary bill that should be subjected to the plain letter of the Constitution, but it is an organic act to create a Bangsamoro entity which would reach far beyond the wisdom of our framers when they drafted Article 10 of our present Constitution—the wise men who were desirous and had the vision to solve the centuries of nagging problems that caused enormous suffering and death, as well as, to support the proposed measures for lasting peace and comprehensive development throughout the whole region and ultimately the nation at large,” the MILF, the country’s largest rebel group, said.

It said never has a piece of legislation been proposed to the two Houses of Congress that has been consulted so extensively throughout Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon to ensure that the people were properly apprised of the significance and importance of the proposed bill. It said more than 600 dialogues, symposia, open forums have been conducted by the BTC and the committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate, together with the involvement of nongovernmental organizations.

The MILF said the proposed law can be a potent and substantive demonstration of the cooperation and collaboration between the government and the Bangsamoro people to forge a lasting peace and to ensure the progress on political, social, cultural and economic development, and the preservation of national integrity. “With the current rise of extremism in Mindanao in recent months, there is a most urgent need to constrain its escalation and tragic effects. The BBL can and will be an instrument of peace and national unity, and a landmark legislation to arrest the rising tide of violent extremism and radicalism not only in Mindanao, but in this country, as well,” it said.

The BBL aims to expand the Muslim autonomous region – which comprises of Basilan, Sulu, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Tawi-Tawi provinces – but their governors were not even included in the BTC or consulted by the body. And public consultations by the government on the BBL in the provinces came late and was more of a show rather than get inputs from various sectors and Muslims themselves.

And the ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman, a known political ally of then President Benigno Aquino Jr, who appointed him as acting governor prior to winning the elections, said he is supporting the BBL. “We are for the passage of BBL as we underscore the need for a Bangsamoro that is stronger than the ARMM, a new government that will bring our people a life of greater opportunities and deliver the promises of a lasting peace,” he said.

Many Muslims do not even know the BBL or its provisions, except that majority of them wanted an independent Bangsamoro nation and the return of their ancestral lands now in the hands of wealthy Christian landowners and businessmen. Islam reached the country in the 14th century and eventually spread in other parts of the Philippines. Mindanao was formerly under the rule of the sultans. (Mindanao Examiner)

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