THE House and Senate panels are poised to push for their respective versions of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) when they meet for a bicameral conference on Monday, July 9, to July 13.

But lawmakers from both chambers of Congress agree that the final outcome of the proposed measure should be in accordance with the Constitution and will help bring peace in Mindanao.

JUDICIAL REVIEW
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, sponsor of the Senate version of the draft BBL, said the Senate Subcommittee on BBL will make sure its version will prevail in the bicameral conference committee, especially with regards to provisions in the bill that are consistent with the 1987 Constitution.

The subcommittee, which is under the Senate Committee on Local Government, is the counterpart at the bicameral level of the House Committee on Muslim Affairs, Local Government, and Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity.

Mr. Zubiri said the bill, once enacted into law, needs to withstand judicial review to prevent what happened to the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD) during the Arroyo administration.

The MoA-AD once sought to establish the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity but was stalled during the administration of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo after it was met with strong opposition. Peace talks collapsed between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) after the Supreme Court in 2008 issued a temporary restraining order on the draft peace agreement and later declared it unconstitutional. Some members of the MILF then staged attacks in villages in the provinces of Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato (officially, Cotabato).

It was in the succeeding administration of Benigno S.C. Aquino III that the MILF returned to negotiating with the Philippine government and in 2014, both sides came up with a Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. Mr. Zubiri said the proposed BBL is the final stage of the peace process before the MILF finally surrenders its arms.

The senator from Bukidnon province also recognized the need for the involvement of security officials and President Rodrigo R. Duterte in a possible deadlock during the bicameral hearings. He stressed that whatever Congress members decide on the bill has security implications in the region.

“If we don’t comply or if the final version is flawed and gets struck down by the Supreme Court, definitely, it will endanger peace in Mindanao,” Mr. Zubiri said.

House panel member and ABC Rep. Eugene Michael B. de Vera agrees with Mr. Zubiri. “The first thing that we have to do is look at the constitutionality of every provision, then we have to check it out with the corresponding jurisprudence as promulgated by the Supreme Court. Iyan ang guide namin (That is our guide),” Mr. de Vera said.

He noted the House leadership has been strict in addressing “all possible constitutional breach.”

Also sought for comment, Zamboanga City Representative Celso L. Lobregat said in a phone interview: “I cannot speak for the whole panel. But, of course, we will push for the provisions of the House. We will try to convince the Senate concerning (the) position of the House, since most of us… are closer to the ground.”

Mr. Lobregat is one of 18 members of the House Committee on Muslim Affairs, Local Government, and Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity.

“We’ll now have to sit down, rationalize, (and) convince each other which is best in each and every disagreeing provision. (It is) very important that we pass the law, but again, the Constitution is more or less the prime parameter,” he said.

VIEW OF MILF, MNLF
MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Q. Iqbal, who was also sought for comment on this story, expressed optimism in the outcome of the bicameral conference.

“It’s the job of the bicameral conference (to reconcile the versions), and all those lawmakers are professionals. They’ve been with their job for (such a) long time,” Mr. Iqbal said.

He added: “Maybe as part of the process, there is difficulty, but at the end of the day, they have to do it and produce the final BBL.”

A representative of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was also sought for comment. The MILF broke away from the MNLF in the late 1970s, soon after the mother organization led by Nur Misuari entered into a peace agreement with the Marcos regime in 1976. Exactly two decades later, the Ramos administration entered into a final peace agreement with Mr. Misuari that led to his administration of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

But Mr. Misuari’s tenure in government became mired in controversy as his standing in the officialdom deteriorated, leading to the MNLF’s siege of Zamboanga City in 2013. Meanwhile, the MILF began negotiating peace with the government, culminating in a draft charter that proposes a Bangsamoro region to replace the ARMM.

Randolph C. Parcasio, a lawyer and spokesperson of Mr. Misuari, said when asked about the MNLF leader’s position on the BBL, “As of this time, I haven’t heard him say he would support it.”

Mr. Parcasio also said, “I will be briefing him (Mr. Misuari) on July 7, so I don’t have yet any idea on how he would respond to the BBL.”

Mr. Iqbal, when asked about the House and Senate versions of the BBL, said, “I cannot set a preferred version because we are hoping for the final version to be met by the bicameral conference.”

He added that “we’re hoping (that) the best part of the version of the Senate and the best part of the House version would be the one that will be assembled to make up the version of the BBL.”

KEY PROVISIONS
If approved at the bicameral, enacted into law and approved in a plebiscite, the consolidated version of House Bill No. 6475 and Senate Bill No. 171 will establish the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. The authority of the Bangsamoro government presiding over this region will be vested in the Bangsamoro Parliament to be headed by the Chief Minister. The Bangsamoro government will also have a “Wali,” who serves as the ceremonial head of the Bangsamoro.

The versions of both chambers of Congress differ on several key provisions, such as the powers of the Bangsamoro government, the share in national government revenues, and the amount for this region’s special development fund (SDF).

The Senate removed the provisions on the reserved, concurrent and exclusive powers of the Bangsamoro government and the provisions on its power to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation and subpoena powers. This was retained in the House version.

The territorial jurisdiction for the region, once the BBL is enacted into law, will also be determined through a plebiscite. The proposed region will have an expanded territory, to include portions of Lanao del Norte and Cotabato provinces. Whereas the Senate retained 39 barangays (villages) in six municipalities in Cotabato as part of the territorial jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro region, the House removed these villages in its version of the BBL.

The Bangsamoro government will enjoy fiscal autonomy in order to attain economic self-sufficiency and genuine autonomy. The Senate changed the share in the national government taxes collected in the region to 50-50, while the House proposed a 75-25 share in favor of the Bangsamoro region.

The House set the annual block grant to 6% while the Senate set it at 5% of net collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.

The House set the SDF at P10 billion annually for a period of 10 years. The Senate version reduced the SDF to P5 billion annually for 10 years.

The proposed region will also be given the authority to create economic zones, industrial estates, and free ports. The Bangsamoro economic zone authority will also be created and will have jurisdiction over any corporation, firm, or entity established within the region, which will continue to enjoy benefits granted by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

On the proposed Bangsamoro police, the Senate version provided that the Chief Minister will select the police regional director. In the House version, the Interior Secretary will appoint the regional director.

The justice system in the region will follow the Shari’ah law, but this will apply to Muslims only. The Bangsamoro Parliament will be mandated to enact laws to promote and support traditional or tribal justice systems for indigenous peoples. Regular courts in the region will continue to exercise their judicial functions.

FALLBACK
Sought for comment, lawyer and veteran observer on Mindanao affairs Michael O. Mastura sees that the House and Senate versions are “very hard to reconcile.”

“We cannot expect that it will be better than ARMM,” said Mr. Mastura, who was also a delegate in the 1971 Constitutional Convention. “(And) because I see that it is short of the ARMM, I would rather have the ARMM that was the status quo.”

According to Mr. Mastura, there are powers already granted to the ARMM that have been withdrawn in the BBL. “You know what the House did was ‘yung mga enumeration of exclusive powers for that parliament, nilagay sa concurrent (You know, what the House did was that the enumerated exclusive powers for that parliament were put under concurrent powers [or powers shared with the national government]),” he said.

A review of the proposed BBL by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) showed exclusive powers on budgeting, the banking system, power and energy, and health, among others, placed under the provision on Concurrent Powers in the approved House Bill 6475.

The Organic Act of the ARMM, Republic Act 6734, did not specify shared or exclusive powers of the ARMM, but stated reserved powers of the government, which did not include any of those stated above.

On questions of constitutionality, Mr. Mastura said, “If the premise is if it runs counter to the Constitution, why will you pass the BBL? If the BBL does not comply with the demand and desire of the MILF, then why should we push it?”

He said the BTC has two functions — create the draft BBL and propose amendments to the Constitution.

“There is a fallback in case the BBL is not passed, or (if) something goes wrong, then we have a proposal for a constitutional amendment,” Mr. Mastura said.

He also pointed out that the BBL, which will operate under the 1987 Constitution, is more suited to a federal system.

“This BBL is for the 1987 Constitution, and, yes, it is full of questions about constitutionality. Hindi makalusot dahil (It can’t get through because) it falls into a picture of a federal system,” Mr. Mastura said.

To address this, Mr. Mastura led the All Moro Convention, a group of Mindanao stakeholders of which he is president, in drafting the Bangsamoro State Constitution, which proposes a parliament that will fit in a federal-presidential system.

A copy of the draft was submitted to Mr. Duterte on June 16, during the celebration of Eid’l Fitr on June 15.

‘DIFFICULT PART OVER’
Mr. Iqbal noted the significance of both chambers of Congress having already passed their respective versions of the bill. “It had already been passed by both houses. I think at this point, (that was the) difficult part (that) had been overcome already. Passing their respective (bills) — that’s the most difficult part of the process,” he said.

Also sought for comment on the BBL, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (PCCI) chairman George T. Barcelon said in a phone interview, “If it satisfied some sector of our community where their authority to run the area is expanded (and) if it’s good, I think we should support it.”

Guenter Taus, president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), said via e-mail when also asked for comment: “ECCP fully supports the peace process as peace in Mindanao is the basic prerequisite in attracting investments and creating inclusive growth in large parts of Mindanao.”

He added: “Should the BBL not push through, we strongly urge the Philippine government to continue pushing for peace and stability in the region in order to sustain and continue to increase investor interest in Mindanao.”

American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. (AmCham) Senior Advisor John D. Forbes said via text when asked for comment, “AmCham has not taken a position on the actual BBL this year but follows and supports the peace process that we hope will improve security and enable needed and overdue economic development in the conflicted regions of Mindanao.”

Mr. Forbes also cited the potential in Mindanao for agribusiness, mining, and tourism.

Mr. Zubiri, for his part, said, “What is important (for businessmen) is peace. What is important is that they are not being kidnapped. What is important is that when they place establishments in the area, especially malls and restaurants, they are protected.”

He said the region may look into tourism in developing its economy, citing the potential of beaches in Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Basilan — the island province that has been frequently cited in incidents of terrorism and kidnapping, but which used to be a tourist destination until the late 1960s.

Mr. de Vera, for his part, said, “If the BBL would be the very reason why peace would be established in the region, it would be for the benefit of everybody, including the businessmen.”

But he also flagged “atrocities in Mindanao, between warring factions with the Muslim people.”

“(There’s) MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front), MILF, (there are) breakaway groups and, of course, we have to consider the Christians living there, the lumads living there,” Mr. de Vera said.

Mr. Lobregat said the consolidated bill, if enacted into law, will not guarantee immediate results.

“There’s no guarantee because you cannot legislate peace, but it’s closer to giving peace a chance,” he said.

This article was originally published on July 8, 2018 on Business World »