Congress to make BBL comply with Charter

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives and the Senate will have to rewrite the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to make it conform to the Constitution, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday.

“We have to make it constitutional. We have to make it comply with the Constitution,” Belmonte said in a television interview.

He said Congress has to come up with a version of the proposed law creating a new autonomous Bangsamoro region and approve it.

“We have to pass it. Otherwise, what is the alternative, war?” he asked.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who chairs the House ad hoc committee on the draft BBL, said there are several provisions in the proposed law his panel considers as constitutionally questionable.

He said the provisions include those that seek the creation of regional commissions in charge of elections, audit, civil service and human rights, and a regional ombudsman.

“The Constitution provides for only one Commission on Elections, Commission on Audit, Civil Service Commission, Human Rights Commission and ombudsman. Their jurisdiction is national in scope,” he said.

He stressed that by making the draft BBL conform to the Constitution, Congress would not be “watering it down, but enhancing and improving it.”

The draft BBL is the product of peace negotiations between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government. The MILF has warned lawmakers against watering down the proposed law, as it might not be acceptable to its constituents.

In a separate television interview, Rep. Lito Atienza of party-list Buhay said he and his independent bloc colleagues would oppose the provision in the draft allowing the envisioned Bangsamoro region to have its own police force.

“That’s against the Constitution, which provides for only one national police organization that is civilian in character. The Bangsamoro region or any other region or local government unit cannot have its own police force,” he said.

“What is worse in the case of the Bangsamoro region is that the MILF will be permitted to keep its firearms for its regional police force. It will even be able to buy more powerful and heavier weapons with its P75-billion annual subsidy from taxpayers. We should not allow that to happen,” he said.

Atienza also questioned the provision creating a separate system of government for the planned Bangsamoro region.

“They will have a parliamentary system, with a chief minister and parliament, while other parts of the country will continue to have the presidential form of government. We cannot understand why our peace negotiators agreed to that provision,” he said.

He said he is almost certain that if this provision is not taken out and the BBL that Congress would approve is questioned before the Supreme Court, the tribunal would declare the law as unconstitutional.

“So let us be careful in writing this proposed legislation. Let us remove all its unconstitutional parts so that our efforts in trying to bring peace to Mindanao would not be in vain,” he said.

He pointed out that he was addressing his appeal particularly to administration allies, who he said are determined to pass the proposed BBL possibly in June “upon President Aquino’s behest.”

“They have the numbers to approve it, so they might as well refine it. On our part, we will submit our proposals to make it constitutionally compliant,” he added.

For his part, Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, defense committee chairman, said he would oppose a provision in the draft BBL requiring the President to coordinate any military or police operation in the envisioned Bangsamoro region with the chief minister.

“That would be fragmenting and weakening the authority of the President. It would violate the Constitution. I will not agree to it,” he said.

Dead by June

Meanwhile, a key leader of the House of Representatives said yesterday that the proposed BBL “will be dead” if Congress fails to approve it before its June 12 adjournment.

“This was our consensus during the Senate-House leaders’ meeting on Monday. That is why we agreed on the June timeline for the approval of our version of the BBL,” ways and means committee chairman Rep. Romero Federico Quimbo of Marikina told a news forum.

Quimbo said they agreed on passing Congress’ version of the BBL before the annual mandatory adjournment “because the Commission on Elections will need four to six months to prepare for the plebiscite for the approval of the law in areas to be included in the envisioned new Bangsamoro autonomous region.”

“The Comelec has to conduct the plebiscite in December and the members of parliament of the new region will be elected together with national and local officials in May next year,” he said.

Quimbo said if this timeline were followed, there would be a six-month transition to the new Bangsamoro regional government, instead of the original one-year as recommended by peace negotiators of the government and the MILF.

“If we cannot approve the BBL in June and pass it say in September or October, the consensus in the leaders’ meeting was that there would be no successful implementation of the law. In that case, we felt that it’s June or the BBL will be dead,” Quimbo said.

No rush

Several senators, on the other hand, have indicated that they will not be rushed into passing the proposed BBL by June this year as agreed upon by leaders of Congress and Malacañang.

Sen. Grace Poe said that the primary consideration should be to come up with a fair, inclusive and constitutional BBL and not any timetable set by any person or group.

“Passing the BBL quickly will depend on the frequency of the committee hearings. Again, I will not compromise a just BBL for the sake of expediency,” Poe said.

Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said that he has no problem with continuing discussions on the BBL but will not stand for the railroading of the bill.

Cayetano said that approval of the BBL should not be rushed and its proponents should instead focus on coming out with a solution that would ensure “just, inclusive and lasting peace.”

Cayetano said that the investigations into the Mamasapano clash last Jan. 25 that left 44 members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force dead should be completed first so that the truth about the incident is known by all.

He said that it is important to determine if the MILF could still be trusted after the encounter.

Sen. JV Ejercito said that he does not believe that the Senate would be able to pass the BBL after the Mamasapano clash based on his conversations with his colleagues.

“A lot of them are not supportive anymore of the BBL. Mamasapano was an eye opener of what dangers the BBL might pose,” Ejercito said.

Acting Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III said that the BBL cannot be rushed just because of the administration’s desire to have it approved by June.

“We’ve had this problem for 40 years. Have we talked to all the tribes and groups in Mindanao? We want lasting peace in Mindanao, not peace found by the Fallen 44 in a memorial park,” Sotto said.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., chairman of the Senate committee on local government that is conducting hearings on the BBL, said he cannot resume deliberations on the bill until he receives all reports on the various investigations into the Mamasapano clash.

But Senate President Franklin Drilon, who is pushing for the approval of the BBL before the adjournment of plenary sessions, appealed to his colleagues to treat the Mamasapano clash as a separate issue from the BBL.

“The Mamasapano incident is dealt with separately. Of course, emotions have run high and this has affected our timetable. But the standards that we have used in the BBL will be basically the Constitution. The proposed BBL must strictly adhere and be consistent with the Constitution. Otherwise, we don’t see how it will pass with unconstitutional provisions,” Drilon said.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III agreed with Drilon that the two should be treated as separate issues. “But I know this is easier said than done,” Pimentel said.

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III said that the June target is something that Congress must strive to achieve if the BBL is to be enacted under this administration.

Guingona said that the Mamasapano clash investigations are all moving forward and the demand for justice for the slain SAF members is being addressed.

Sen. Ralph Recto also echoed the sentiment of his colleagues that reports on the investigations into Mamasapano should be taken into consideration in the crafting of the committee report for the BBL.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said that he will “scrutinize the BBL to make sure that it will be the right prescription for the decades old war in Mindanao.”

Open to modification

Malacañang, for its part, said senators and members of the House of Representatives have all the right to modify or amend provisions in the draft BBL that they deem are riddled with constitutional infirmities.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said this is a regular part of the legislation process and the Palace respects this.

He said President Aquino only wants the substance of the bill retained so he asked the lawmakers not to dilute the proposed BBL. – With Delon Porcalla, Marvin Sy