Government, MILF Peace Panels Urge Lawmakers to Pass Bangsamoro Draft Law

The peace panels of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Thursday renewed their call for the immediate passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

In an open letter to Congress, signed by Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and Mohagher Iqbal, chief peace negotiators of the government and the MILF respectively, the peace panels urged legislators “not to lose time”.

“Time is of the essence, and opportunity knocks only once. The passage of the law will pave the way for the decommissioning of thousands of weapons and combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. It will enable the peaceful transition of an armed group into regular members of society, participating and competing in free and fair elections,” they stated in the letter.

“Let us allow the MILF to proceed to the third and last stage of their struggle: from pure armed struggle from 1972 to 1997; political struggle from 1997 to the passage and ratification of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL); to democratic struggle where their rights and aspirations are pursued solely through civilized and democratic means,” they added.

According to the peace panels, the Bangsamoro law will establish a more representative and responsive autonomous government, without the structural flaws found in the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“It will sustain the development initiatives that have flourished under the current ceasefire and the normalization programs provided for in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro,” the panels said.

They further noted that “a good legislation passed in this Congress will redound to the benefit of the next administration”.

In the open letter, the peace panels explained that the passage of the BBL would place the next president “in an immensely better position to continue the peace and development efforts that have been gradually put in place, without the difficulty of having to reinstate a stalled process”, and spare the next Congress “the burden of having to go through new rounds of committee hearings and plenary interpellations on a Bangsamoro law”, thus enabling lawmakers to focus on other important laws.

The panels also warned of the possible loss of “precious time that could have closed the door to extreme, violent movements that recruit followers by exploiting the alienation of segments of the population from government and society at large”.

The peace panels noted the letter of National Security Council Director-General Cesar Garcia, Jr., read before and submitted to House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee Chair, Representative Rufus Rodriguez, on October 20, 2014 on the draft BBL in the light of the recent spate of violence in Paris, Mali, Syria and other parts of the world.

According to Garcia, the passage of the BBL will settle “one of the more serious internal armed conflicts and essentially free up a significant component of the Armed Forces of the Philippines… to shift resources to focus on external concerns, principally the protection of our external territorial integrity and maritime domain which is now being threatened.”

The BBL can help curb the spread of extremism in Mindanao, Garcia said, pointing out that “the Bangsamoro government would be able to help moderate Islamic leaders to counter the ideology of radicalism being promoted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and steer the Muslim community away from ISIS influence”.

In their open letter, the peace panels claimed that “from this global lens, the Philippine peace process on the Bangsamoro has earned the support of the international community for providing a model whereby an Islamic movement can find redress of its grievances through a civilized and democratic process, within the country’s territorial integrity and constitutional framework”.

The panels called on House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. and Senate President Franklin Drilon, as well as Representative Rodriguez and Senate Local Governments Committee Chair Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., “to see through the legislative process leading to the passage of the law”.

“We ask you, our legislators, to open your hearts and to give our Bangsamoro brothers and sisters this one good chance to enjoy the right to peace, and partake of meaningful reforms and development,” the letter concluded. PND (jm)