Marcos slammed for alleged Machiavellian move to craft alternative BBL 

Peace advocates expressed alarm over Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s plan to craft his own substitute bill to the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, saying it is reminiscent of the "Machiavellian" tendencies supposedly exhibited by his father, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

 

Mindanao Peoples Caucus secretary general Mary Ann Arnado expressed doubt that the younger Marcos' alternative to BBL will be better than the original draft measure submitted by Malacanang to Congress last year. 

 

"I personally doubt if he'll be able to approximate at all the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people. How can they exercise their right to self-determination if it's going to be someone like him who will create a law defining that?" Arnado told reporters in a press conference Thursday.

 

Arnado noted that the bill has been pending for months before the Senate committee on local government headed by Marcos, but the senator proposed the creation of an alternative bill to the proposed BBL just recently. 

 

"What makes him think that the alternative he proposes will be better than the one crafted with the help of various experts, lawyers, negotiators, and peace advocates? If he wanted to create a more inclusive bill, he should hold consultations with people from Mindanao, not craft the bill all by himself," she said.

 

Utter disregard

 

In a statement, the coalition of 32 peace advocacy groups called Marcos' plan to draft an entirely new version of the BBL as indicative of the "depths of megalomania he is capable of and the utter disregard he has for all government institutions and peace process."

 

"Like his father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Bongbong is setting himself up as the protector of the Filipino people, defender of peace, and champion of the Constitution while cleverly disguising his 'Machiavellian' manipulation of the situation to forward his own self-serving political interest," the coalition said. 

 

Earlier this month, Marcos said  he will soon come out with a substitute Bangsamoro bill "that will be for the good of all" because he cannot support Malacañang's version of the BBL, which he claims is riddled with questionable provisions.

 

The Bangsamoro is still at the committee level in the Senate while its counterpart measure in the House is under the period of interpellation. House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. is eyeing its passage on third and final reading in September.

 

The proposed BBL seeks to formalize the creation of a new political entity that will replace the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. It was a product of the comprehensive peace pact signed by the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front last year. 

 

Ads for political plans?

 

The peace advocates challenged Marcos to prove his commitment to peace by stopping his supposed use of the BBL to advance his political plans.

 

"If Bongbong wants to help bring peace in Mindanao, then what he must do is to stop his shameless use of the issue of the BBL for his political campaign ads and work towards the passage of a genuine BBL that is refelctive of the spirit and letter of the CAB (Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro)," they said. 

 

Marcos has defended the airing of his television ads where he discusses the BBL, saying he is only giving the public an update of the bill's progress in the Senate. - JJ, GMA News