Core concepts of BBL patterned after Malaysia constitution, experts warn

IBP to keep an open mind until law is passed

MANILA - The draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) paves the way for the absorption of Muslim Mindanao as a territorial ward of the Malaysian state, three constitutional experts warned at the launch of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) journal on the controversial measure.

The core concepts of the BBL are patterned after the constitution of Malaysia, the third party mediator in long-running, on-and-off negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), according to retired Supreme Court Associate Justices Florentino Feliciano and Vicente Mendoza, and former University of the Philippines College of Law Dean Merlin Magallona.

The draft BBL, according to Magallona, restructures and re-organizes the powers of government to create a substate, relatively independent of national government and patterned on the Malaysian structure of government.

OPEN MIND

At the launch, Integrated Bar of the Philippines national president Vicente Joyas, said the organization will wait for passage of the Bangsamoro Law before it decides to support or challenge the historic measure aimed at ending decades of conflict in Mindanao.

"The IBP will keep an open mind," Joyas said at the launch of a special journal on the BBL.

"We will keep in mind that we want to see peace in Mindanao. If the final BBL is within the parameters of the Constitution, then the IBP will fully support its implementation," Joyas said.

PH USED KL DRAFT?

Feliciano gave an even harsher review, saying Philippine representatives "negotiated from a draft prepared by lawyers by the Malaysian government."

The retired justice offered little proof on his claim other than citing news reports.

However, he said the provisions of the BBL, including those on expansion of territory and the powers granted the regional government, raises the possibility of losing the territory to Malaysia or an independent party.

He and Mendoza claimed the draft BBL usurps powers reserved for the national government, including the creation and implementation of foreign policy,

'NOT JUST TWEAKING'

Mendoza, meanwhile, said the flaws of the BBL cannot be resolved by mere tweaking of language.

"It is not enough to reword. Concepts are unconstitutional," he added, citing provisions on constitutional bodies.

Mendoza said the BBL draft dropped provisions of the law that created the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that guarantee territorial integrity and inseparability, and fealty to the Constitution.

"Government must be prepared to defend, by arms if necessary, to defend natural resources," Mendoza said. "Our peace panel seems ready to give (these) away.

"They should submit the proposed changes to a national plebiscite or take away provisions that would need constitutional change."

'RECTIFY THE MISTAKES'

Nasser Marohomsalic, IBP national secretary and one of the convenors of the Peace Council, was the only one fully supportive of the BBL during the forum.

While he had suggested re-wordings to ensure the measure hews to the Constitution, Marohomsalic said the basic Charter itself is designed to resolve the conflict through autonomy and self determination.

Previous agreements were failed experiments partly because these were never implemented fully, he stressed.

The BBL is meant to "rectify the mistakes of the past," Marohomsalic said.

"While it doesn't totally wipe slate clean, it is a right step in the right direction and a reflection of internal self-determination."

Earlier, an official of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law is not designed to benefit the MILF alone.

'NOT JUST FOR MILF'

Jose Lorena, undersecretary for Bangsamoro Affairs of the OPAPP, said the BBL seeks to address the clamor for genuine autonomy in Mindanao and not to appease any revolutionary group.

"The BBL is not for MILF alone. BBL should be equated with meaningful autonomy, which is to capture the articulation not only of the Moro fronts but the Muslims in Southern Philippines," said Lorena, who served as a panel discussant on the historical perspective and context of the Bangsamoro peace process during the launching of the "Pro-POLITICS for Peace."

"It is not a negotiation with the MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front), neither it is a negotiation with the MILF. It is the recognition of the just causes of the Muslims in southern Philippines for meaningful autonomy, and therefore it should be inclusive," he added.

According to Lorena, the gains of previous peace agreements have been incorporated in the draft BBL, which is the product of the government's peace negotiations with the MILF.

The MNLF, which initially led the Bangsamoro rebellion in the 1970s, had also signed a peace deal with the Philippine government.

"I would correct the impression that the law that we are crafting loses sight of the historical past because if you look into the draft law, there is the linking of the powers achieved in the 1996 Final Peace Agreement to the present agreement," Lorena said.

"Any law that will be crafted now would not be for the MILF, neither will it be for the MNLF, that is why the MILF and MNLF have always said that they are the vanguards of the Muslim people and therefore the representatives of the Bangsamoro people."