Christian bishop asks Congress not to ‘emasculate’ Bangsamoro law

(Updated 4:35 p.m.) A Christian bishop on Friday appealed to Congress not to “emasculate” the Bangsamoro Basic Law when it is submitted to them for deliberation and passage.

Bishop Efraim Tendero of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches asked the Senate and the House of Representatives to respect and be faithful to the recently reached peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

To stress his point, he noted the agreement signed by the government with the Moro National Liberation Front in 1996, which he said was good until Congress passed the law creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“Sa final stages nagkaproblema nung dalhin na yung ARMM Law. Sabi ng MNLF what came out was an emasculated version of the agreement,” he said at a forum on the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement.

Tendero added, “Napakahalaga na hindi na ito mangyari, na yung talagang napag-usapan sa loob ng maraming taon ng negosasyon ng MILF at gobyerno ang lumabas. Sana hindi ito babuyin ng ating Kongreso. I-honor nila ito at hindi basta sabihin na papalitan lahat.”

The bishop said there will always be groups which will try to block the peace agreement because they will lose their political power, but these should not be allowed to prevail.

“Hindi ito dapat paumuno ng minority dahil tayo ay nasa isang democratic society,” Tendero said.

He said he believes the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a splinter group from the MILF opposed to the peace agreement, can still be “contained” and urged the government to “talk with them.”

“Pwede pa yang ma-contain. We are pushing for negotiated settlement. Talk with them, the leadership of BIFF and MNLF. Wala naman sigurong may gusto na ang buhay nila patuloy na on the line, kahit na ang militar. The masses are tired of war,” said Tendero.

In the same news forum, Akbayan Reps. Barry Gutierrez and Walden Bello said they are committed to pass the Bangsamoro law and are willing to become among its authors once the Bangsamoro Transition Commission submits it to Congress.

The Commission is expected to finish the draft by April.

Gutierrez said he expects an active and vigorous discusssion of the issue on the floor judging from the initial reaction of the lawmakers during the briefing conducted by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

He said among the questions asked that time were the process of decommissioning, the time frame, and the police force in the areas covered.

Level of distrust

Gutierrez said one of the obstacles that could hinder the passage of the Bangsamoro basic law is distrust.

“One of the things na kailangan nating malampasan is a level of distrust that has actually built up over the years. Obviously dekada na ito ng gyera, there's a lot of bad blood na na-create between iba-ibang grupo na na-involve sa away,” he said.

He said both the MILF and government should continue engaging in the process of good faith and working out their differences.

“We are confident na pag nagkaliwanagan at na-engage ng maayos, even distrust will fade away and we can get down to the business of talking about how we will implement the key principles found in this agreement,” he said.

Gutierrez expects the deliberations will be long and exhaustive, but “we are prepared to do that as this is the best chance for peace.”

Bello said some sectors will question the agreement but “we are confident that majority will know that this is the solution, it is for the good of the whole country.”

Gutierrez also ensured that no move to change the Constitution will be initiated to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

“No Constitutional amendment will be required because the Basic law will be enacted under the present one,” he said.

However, the Transition Commission can suggest or propose amendments after the enactment of the Basic Law but it will have to go through the regular process in Congress. — KBK, GMA News