MILF, AFP confident Bangsamoro Organic Law can stand legal test

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines expressed confidence that the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) would be declared constitutional by the Supreme Court.

MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Carlito Galvez, Jr. made the pronouncement in response to the petition filed by the Sulu provincial government led by Governor Abdusakur Tan II.

The petition alleged Congress committed grave abuse of discretion in passing the BOL since only the Constitution, not Congress, has the authority to establish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The BOL will pave the way for a new juridical entity that would replace the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“We are very confident that the issue of constitutionality of the BOL has already been addressed not only by us [in the MILF], but the government panel as well. Both panels made sure that it is constitutional,” Murad said.

“This has also been reviewed by the Office of the President’s legal team, subjected to the review of the House [of Representatives]. Even Constitutional framers have declared that BOL is constitutional. That is why we are quite confident that there are no unconditional provisions in the BOL,” Murad added.

For his part, Galvez said he believes the lawmakers made sure that the law  will hurdle any legal scrutiny.

“Congress has reviewed the measure diligently, working until the wee hours of the morning. That is why we are confident that it will survive the scrutiny of the Supreme Court,” Galvez said.

A plebiscite will be conducted in January 21, 2019 to determine if majority of those residing in the ARMM provinces are agreeable to abolishing it and establishing the Bangsamoro Region.

A memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) was also inked between the government and the MILF in 2008, a pact which creates a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) that will be “associative characterized by shared authority and responsibility with a structure of governance based on executive, legislative, judicial and administrative institutions with defined powers and functions in the comprehensive compact,” and that “a period of transition will be established in a comprehensive peace compact specifying the relationship between the central government and the BJE."

The MOA-AD, however, was declared illegal by the Supreme Court in October 2008. —LDF, GMA News