MILF: Diluted BBL to slow down decommissioning

MANILA, Philippines — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Thursday claimed that a diluted Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) would delay the decommissioning of its armed combatants and its firearms.

In an editorial posted on its website luwaran.com, MILF said it considers the passage of a watered down BBL the "worst case scenario."

"For sure, the MILF will reject it (diluted BBL) outright, and worse the various aspects of the normalization process including decommissioning of its weapons (and combatants) will come to a halt," the group said. 

"Likewise, we do not know if the various mechanisms including the international bodies will continue to stay," it added.

MILF said the issue about a diluted BBL is not about how many provisions of the original draft are deleted.

"Just one issue, for instance, the aspect of natural resources, can make the BBL diluted and would force the MILF to reject it," MILF said.

"Of what use an entity, dubbed as autonomous, if it has no access or power over or share of the revenues derived from the natural resources? Both the House and Senate versions have deleted or seriously diluted this provision," it added.

The BBL aims to establish a new Bangsamoro entity with enhanced economic and political powers. The entity will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which the government said did not solve the decades-old problem in the south.

The peace agreement signed by the government and the MILF last year serves as the basis of the draft law.

Opponents of BBL, however, are suspicious about the extent of the powers of the proposed Bangsamoro government. They also believe that the BBL will not withstand the legal challenges to be filed before the Supreme Court.

Other challenges confronting the supporters of BBL are the lack of quorum in the House of Representatives and differences over some key provisions of the measure.

The MILF has been pushing for the passage of the original BBL draft but some lawmakers insisted on introducing amendments.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. previously admitted that the notion the two chambers of Congress could agree on a BBL version before focusing on the 2016 budget is "really becoming an impossible dream."

He also said that time is running out on the BBL because lawmakers will soon be preoccupied with the budget deliberations and election campaigns.

The MILF said a real and genuine autonomous entity "has the right or condition of self-government, especially in a particular sphere." Such autonomy, the group explained, is more seen in terms of powers and shares of the wealth of the nation.

"Shares in powers and resources can be likened to a human being, who can stand firmly and on his own if he has two feet," MILF said. 

"Both the House and the Senate versions of the BBL have seriously unnerved or mutilated the right leg and amputated the left leg, so much so that if it is not restored would render the Bangsamoro entity inutile," it added.

The MILF stressed that depriving the Moros of their rightful place in the country is "not a sure antidote to secession."