Debating BBL puts cart before horse
There are so many things that have come into play in the aftermath of last January 25's massacre of 44 members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force by a vastly superior number of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. A common thread sews up all these things together -- anger over the incident.
This anger is responsible for allowing so many of these things to come into play, resulting in us getting distracted from what we really ought to focus on, and that is whether or not we ought to have the Bangsamoro Basic Law at all. Unfortunately, even attempts to fully understand what we are getting ourselves into are being waylaid, wittingly or unwittingly, by those who ought to help ensure we do get to understand.
The most glaring example of where our focus has gone awry happened last Monday at a hearing of the House of Representatives. A battery of distinguished people were invited to lend their genius to the troubling question facing the nation. But of all the guests who appeared at the House that day, to me it was Cebu's own Pablo Garcia, a former governor and congressman, who gave the best, the clearest, and the most compelling reason why the BBL should not see the light of day.
In words strongly delivered but easy to understand, Garcia argued that the BBL cannot be passed because it is unconstitutional. It was that simple. Garcia did not allow himself to be trapped into arguments about how the BBL is important in achieving peace in Mindanao or whether how essential it is in developing an area that has not seen the kind of development seen elsewhere.
To Garcia, all that would not matter if the BBL is a big fat no-no from the start. That is the reason why he did not allow himself to waste his time going into that. Instead Garcia focused, in a most persuasive and enlightening way, and in language plain enough for even a Grade Three pupil to understand, why the BBL is dead from the start. To Garcia, the only way to save the BBL is to amend the Constitution first.
Unfortunately for Garcia, and for the entire Filipino nation as well, his wisdom was not delivered to the length and breadth of the nation. Except for people who caught him live on tv in his discourse during the hearing, what he said was destined to be lost almost forever, unless they are willing to secure copies of the tape on the only station that covered the proceedings.
So what happened? What happened was that the media who covered the hearing chose to focus on what the other resource speakers said. The media were more interested in the arguments swinging back and forth as to whether the BBL can bring peace and development to Mindanao or not. Whether by design (because Garcia was a probinsyano from Cebu) or simple failure to get it, the Manila-centric media chose to put the cart before the horse.
Whether peace and development can come to Mindanao as a consequence of the BBL's passing must be premised on whether or not there will be a BBL in the first place. That was what Garcia had tried to make clear to everyone present or watching on tv. And to Garcia, there can be no BBL without first amending the Constitution. Why the media focused on everyone else but Garcia is a plain screw-up by the media if you ask me.
This clear misunderstanding about the BBL is, to me, the single biggest cause of why we have these current problems hounding the nation. Dreams of a Mindanao Camelot have been sparked by a BBL that almost everybody expected was forthcoming until the massacre happened. The charge of the BBL Brigade was led by no less than the president who wanted it as a legacy before he steps down in 2016.
The president is obsessed with the idea of becoming a Nobel peace laureate that, knowingly or unknowingly (he is not fit to be president, remember?) he is bent on becoming one and never mind if he sell the country down the river. He should have watched that House hearing last Monday and get a crash course from Garcia on what his responsibilities are, not only a public official but more importantly as the president and chief executive.
Garcia said every public official, from president down to barangay councilman, takes an oath to defend the Constitution, the same constitution that will be violated if the BBL is passed without an amendment. Garcia said the language of the Constitution is very clear and precise -- the only local governments that can be created are provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays.
As to the Cordillera Autonomous Region and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, these were also specifically created under the same constitution. Outside of these specific creations, there can be no more creation unless the Constitution is amended to allow it. But the nation was not allowed to see this point because the media chose to let things become more interesting, like debating the pros and cons of the BBL, completely ignoring that there might be no BBL at all.
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