Bangsamoro basic law seen to get Congress nod before year end

(Updated 7:08 p.m.) Congress leaders on Thursday committed to pass the basic law embodying the peace deal between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front within the year.

At a press briefing with members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, Senate President Franklin Drilon said he sat down with House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and other Congress leaders to set the timetable of legislative action on the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

"All of us agreed that the enactment of the Basic Law should be made by the end of this year. That is our target. We want to see 2015 as the year for the ratification by areas covered. This is our commitment," Drilon said.

Congress' timetable is consistent with the target set by the government peace panel to have the Bangsamoro Basic Law ratified in mid-2015.

Members of the transition commission drafting the Bangsamoro basic law visited the Senate on Thursday morning to seek the chamber's support for the legislation, which will create the legal framework for the creation of a new political entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Peace process adviser Teresita Deles described the meeting between Senate leaders and the Bangsamoro Transition Council as a "historic moment" that marks the shift of the peace process to legislative "arena."

"This coming together is a very important moment. It shows us that... the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement is moving. It is now here, in the arena of Congress," Deles said during the press briefing.

Under the framework agreement, the Bangsamoro Transition Commission will draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will be submitted to Congress for further deliberations and approval.

Late last month, the government and MILF panels signed the last annex [on normalization] to the framework peace agreement, which deals with decommissioning of the armed wing of the MILF and outlines steps to disarm private armies in the proposed Bangsamoro area.

The signing of the normalization annex marked the completion of the framework agreement.

No Cha-cha

Drilon also told members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission to make sure that the basic law will not require any amendments to the 1987 Constitution.

"We are not saying that the Bangsamoro people cannot advocate Charter change. What we are just saying is that the Basic Law is not the avenue through which amendments can be done," the Senate leader said.

He added that he will personally make sure that congressional discussions on the Bangsamoro Basic Law will be "limited to the four corners of the Constitution."

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief peace negotiator and Bangsamoro Transition Commission head, meanwhile admitted that the panel may encounter "technical" problems in crafting the draft of the Basic Law.

"We know that it's not an easy job, especially for people who are not used to crafting a law like us, but we have the determination, and for whatever limitations that we have, we are in close coordination with the Office of the President," Iqbal said during the press conference.

'Parties can stand firm'

Deles, for her part, maintained that the peace process will not be derailed by clashes between the military and the MILF's breakaway group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

"What we are showing here is that the parties can stand firm and the parties on the part of the government includes not just the executive but the legislation. we can stand firm against these challenges and overcome them," Deles said.

She also once again called on members of the BIFF "to look into" the peace process.

"This process is for the entire Bangsamoro. Hindi lang ito pang MILF. Hindi lang ito para sa mga lumaban but ang objective ay makalabas ng batas that will have an inclusive government that is taking the best care of its people as possible," she said. — LBG/BM, GMA News