BBL Does Not Guarantee Peace in Mindanao – Ferrer

(PNA) — Enacting the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) into law even in the form desired by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will not guarantee peace in Mindanao, the head of the government peace panel admitted in an interview with the Philippines News Agency at the sidelines of a journalism seminar in Anilao, Batangas, on Sunday.

Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said passing the draft BBL into a law will not totally solve the conflict in Mindanao as there are still other armed groups that are sowing chaos in the region.

“BBL is not equal to peace, it’s too narrow a view,” she stressed.

Ferrer said there are still a lot of reforms that must be introduced and more armed groups that must be dealt with before peace can even have hope in Mindanao.

But, the government panel head said, enacting the BBL would at least eliminate the MILF among the government’s concerns in Mindanao, and “it’s a big thing, because you know how difficult it is if they (armed groups) unite.”

Ferrer also said they are open to discussing the changes in the draft BBL that the Congress wants to introduce but they are waiting for the Office of the President to initiate the talk with the legislators.

“Maybe it’s just a matter of explaining the provisions being objected to by the legislators or changing some of the words in the BBL if they are causing confusion,” she said.

The chief negotiator also clarified the misconception on the provisions on the Shari’ah Court, saying the Supreme Court (SC) will still have jurisdiction over it.

Section 7 of Article X of the BBL states that “The decision of the Shari’ah Court shall be final and executory.”

Ferrer said it is just similar to the quasi-judicial power of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) whose decisions are also final and executory but did not mean that the SC has lost jurisdiction over it.

She said they are doing everything to ensure that the draft law, once enacted by Congress, will pass the constitutionality test so it can be smoothly implemented. (PNA) CTB/FGS/BQL/CBD