Proposed inclusion of Palawan in Bangsamoro region bucked

MANILA, Philippines - Palawan Rep. Douglas Hagedorn expressed support for the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, but warned the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) against insisting that Congress include his province in the new autonomous region that the BBL seeks to create in Mindanao.

Hagedorn said yesterday the proposal to include Palawan is unconstitutional because the province is not a part of Mindanao, since it is geographically located in Southern Luzon.

Palawan is also not contiguous to any part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao – which the BBL seeks to replace with a new Bangsamoro entity – or any portion of Mindanao, he added.

He noted that the MILF leadership should realize that if they insist on including Palawan, they would only unwittingly delay the passage of the BBL.

He warned that if the MILF will insist, he will be constrained to challenge the constitutionality of the inclusion of Palawan in the draft BBL before the Supreme Court. 

“To prevent further stretching this question of law and likewise to avoid embarrassment, waste of time, energy and money, Palawan should be deleted from the BBL,” Hagedorn said.

He said that if constitutional issues in the BBL are resolved and enacted, it would usher in a more efficient and effective political entity that could deliver peace and human development for all Filipinos living in the region – Muslim, Christians and Lumads alike.