House panel defers Bangsamoro law hearings

MANILA, Philippines - The special committee on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) has deferred its hearings on the proposed legislation until the reports it is seeking from authorities on the Mamasapano, Maguindanao carnage are submitted.

The committee, chaired by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, which is drafting its own version of the proposed law has not been meeting since Wednesday afternoon.

“We will convene on Monday to receive the reports on the horrible death of our policemen in Mamasapano. It is the consensus of the committee that we cannot continue discussing the BBL until we know what happened in Mamasapano on January 25,” Rodriguez said yesterday.

He said committee members felt that the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) cannot continue talking about “peace without justice.”

The Rodriguez panel has been holding closed-door sessions since last week to draft its own version of the BBL after holding at least 36 consultations in Mindanao and other parts of the country over a four-month period.

Last Wednesday, acting Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina visited the panel and promised to submit a report on the death of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) members in Mamasapano on Jan. 25.

After receiving Espina and hearing his complaints about the death of the policemen, the committee decided to cancel its sessions for that day and the rest of the week.

The day before, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang personally promised the committee that he would submit the AFP report on Monday.

Similar reports have been sought from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The 44 policemen, who were on a mission to arrest two terrorists, died in an encounter with members of the MILF and its breakaway faction, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

An increasing number of House members have been clamoring for the suspension of discussions on the BBL until two House committees finish their inquiry into the Mamasapano bloodbath. The investigation will begin on Wednesday.

MILF vice chair for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar said the peace negotiations with the government should be pursued to its end.

The MILF insisted that what they did during the clash in Maguindanao was self-defense, as it was the government forces who encroached into what was considered the rebel group’s territory.

“As far as the peace process is concerned and as far as we in the MILF are concerned, we intend to go on until we finish the peace process,” Jaafar said.

Jaafar said the MILF hopes that the negotiated political solution to the problem of the Bangsamoro in Mindanao – the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) – would be implemented as earlier agreed upon with the government’s negotiating panel despite the bloodbath in Maguindanao.

However, in privilege speeches and press statements, lawmakers have been expressing what they describe as the collective sentiment of members who are demanding that justice be served first and that the MILF cooperate with the government in identifying the killers of the 44 policemen.

“I reiterate my call for the suspension of all deliberations on the BBL while the killing of the 44 policemen is being investigated, while the truth is being determined and justice is not rendered,” Rep. Lito Atienza of party-list group Buhay said yesterday.

“What is the point of rushing it when it is more important to seek justice and ferret out the truth of what happened in Mamasapano?” he asked.

“I’ve noticed that since the first time we aired our appeal to suspend the hearings, there has been an outpouring of the same sentiment from House members on the floor,” he said.

Atienza said he has talked to many members of the Rodriguez committee.

“They don’t want to continue with the hearings. A growing number of House members and even members of the majority are withdrawing their earlier support for the BBL and advocating slowing down, if not deferring the hearings to a later date. Instead of rushing the hearings on the BBL, more members are demanding an immediate investigation,” he said.

Atienza pointed out that one provision in the draft BBL is to allow the envisioned Bangsamoro region to have its “own armed group.”

He was apparently referring to the proposed regional police security force, which would be under the PNP.

“The armed conflict that killed the 44 SAF members should make us all pause and think very carefully,” he said.

‘Probes necessary’

While the peace process has brought increased hope for security and development in war-torn Mindanao, the Mamasapano bloodbath should serve as a reminder that violence can erupt unexpectedly and investigations are necessary, the European Union said yesterday.

The EU delegation and embassies of EU member-states expressed their condolences to the families of those who were killed in Maguindanao.

“In the last three years, the peace process has brought increased optimism for future security and prosperity. However, this event has reminded us that this cannot be taken for granted and that violence can erupt unexpectedly,” the EU said.

The EU welcomed the government and MILF’s commitment to the peace process, noting that a full and transparent investigation will contribute to the establishment of confidence by the public in the process.

The EU is a member of the International Monitoring Team (IMT), which is also looking into the Maguindanao clashes.

“The EU and its member-states are convinced that a negotiated political settlement in Mindanao remains all the more necessary to achieve peace in the southern Philippines,” it said.

– With Pia Lee-Brago, Edith Regalado