Bangsamoro law cannot abolish ARMM, says ex-solon

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) cannot be abolished by the proposed Bangsamoro law currently pending in Congress, a former lawmaker said Monday.

Facing senators at a hearing, former House deputy speaker Pablo Garcia said ARMM, being a constitutionally created body, is the most formidable obstacle to the passage of proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), the product of the final agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“But the intended abolition of ARMM is easier said than done. It cannot be legally done at all. The ARMM being a Constitutional creation cannot be abolished,” said Garcia in his speech during the hearing of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes.

He noted that Sec. 5 Article 12 of the proposed law mandates that ARMM should be abolished after the ratification of the BBL, as the two “have the same geographical areas and constitutional areas.”

Garcia said the creation of ARMM, including its powers and functions, is in eight sections of the Constitution.

“The BBL cannot repeal and nullify a mandate of the Constitution. It has been said that the spring cannot rise above its source… The manner of subdividing the Philippine cannot go out of existence except by Constitutional amendment,” he said.

BBL unconstitutional

Garcia said the “BBL is palpably and incorrigibly unconstitutional.”

“I’d like to begin  by stating the inconvenient yet fundamental and compelling truth: unless and until the Constitution is amended or revised by the Filipino people, Congress cannot and should not enact the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law,” he said.

Garcia added the Bangsamoro political entity is a total stranger to the Constitution as it will be a new legislative creation that is vastly different from the ARMM.

He further said that Congress has no power and authority to create the Bangsamoro political entity.

“To the question whether Congress has the power and authority or competence to create the Bangsamoro, this is one question where the answer is not only probable but it is inevitable. The answer is of course, a resounding no. No, No. No. Congress cannot and should not create a new and different territorial and political subdivision. Congress is the creation of the Constitution. It cannot operate outside the four walls of the Constitution,” he said.

Nothing wrong with BBL

However, political affairs undersecretary Jose Luis Martin Gascon said the Congress is well within its powers to enact a law that will provide autonomy to the Bangsamoro people.

“Every single aspect of the BBL is written in consonance of the Constitution,” he said, adding that the BBL will not restructure Congress or the local government but will address small aspects concerning the Bangsamoro.

“The BBL fully recognizes the territorial integrity of the Philippines. The bill affirms the preservation of the wholeness of the Philippine territory. The Bangsamoro territory shall remain a part of the Philippine territory,” he said. —KBK, GMA News