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Video by RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Who gave President Benigno Aquino III and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) the authority to negotiate peace and propose a substate in the South?

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago asked this question on Thursday as she described the whole process of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in Congress unconstitutional.

“What is the constitutional basis for the authority to negotiate on the part of the Philippine government? The President simply assumed that he had the power. That’s not so,” she said during a press conference in the Senate.

“The President does not have sole power over the foreign policy of the Philippines,” she said.

The senator explained that under the Constitution, “foreign policy power” must be equally shared between the President and the Congress, specifically the Senate.

“Now where is the Senate authorization for the President to conduct these negotiations sometimes the so called peace process? He does not have an instrument of that nature. He just assumed that he had the power but he does not,” she said.

“Treaty pa lang kelangan na ng concurrence ng Senado ‘yun pa kayang magagagawa ng substate?”

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(A treaty already needs the Senate’s concurrence, what more the creation of a substate?)

Santiago added that, “If the Constitution requires that the President cannot move in foreign relations unless he has the concurrence of the Senate, how much more that the spirits of the Constitution require that there should be Senate concurrence when the President authorizes a so-called peace process to a so-called peace panel..?”

“Who gave him the authority? It should be the Senate of the Philippines, at least we are representatives of the people, he (Aquino) is not,” she further said.

On the part of the MILF, Santiago also wondered who gave the group the authority to represent the Bangsamoro in the peace negotiations.

“Who gave the MILF authority to represent the Bangsamoro? Among all those scions of the breakaway group, MNLF, MILF, BIFF and others…,which one of them shall be validly allowed to claim that it represents the Bangsamoro or the entire Islamic people within the Philippine territory?”

MNLF is Moro National Liberation Front, while BIFF is Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Asked then if the entire process of hearing the proposed BBL in Congress was unconstitutional, Santiago said: “In my view. I can’t speak for the others, but it’s possible the Supreme Court might see it that way.”

Nevertheless, Santiago said the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, which she chairs and that conducted hearings on the BBL, will come up with a report on the proposed measure.

“Yes of course because it’s my job. Yes of course, I will submit a report…” she said.

Asked again if the BBL should now be scrapped given the constitutional questions she raised, the senator said: “Well, in my personal view it will be best if we start the process all over again.”

“First of all, let’s find out from the Senate whether it’s willing to grant the power to the President to negotiate a separate form of government without specifying a substate and if so, what kind, what form of government?”

But since the process has already started, Santiago said it would be best if Malacañang forms its own committee to review the constitutionality of the BBL.

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