Bangsamoro draft law complete, set to be submitted to Palace

MANILA, Philippines – Two weeks after its self-imposed deadline, the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) is set to transmit the final draft of the basic law for an enhanced political entity in Mindanao to President Benigno Aquino III on Monday, April 14.  

Members of the BTC are expected to join the march from Mendiola to Malacañang led by the Mindanao Civil Society Organizations Platform for Peace (MCSOPP) Monday afternoon, said BTC communications officer Abdullah Cusain. 

Quoting the MCSOPP, Mindanews on Saturday, April 12 reported that the BTC is ready to submit the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law to Malacañang for evaluation and review. The MCSOPP – a network of over 120 groups across Mindanao – has been tapped by the BTC to hold public consultations and information dissemination campaigns about the Bangsamoro. 

The draft law is expected to undergo intense scrutiny, especially with regard to its constitutionality. But the public will have to wait for the content of the law. 

The BTC version of the draft law will not be released to the public yet. “There are protocols to be observed,” Cusain said. “It will still be evaluated by Malacañang. It would be difficult if analysis would already come in when the evaluation has not been completed.” 

The Bangsamoro Basic Law puts into a legal framework the agreements under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on March 27, 2014.

Mohagher Iqbal, who served as the chief negotiator for the MILF, also heads the BTC. 

Timeline 

Malacañang has 3 weeks to review the proposed law before Congress resumes session on May 5. 

Palace Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr did not provide a definite deadline on when the Malacañang-approved version of the measure will be transmitted to Congress. 

“Ang nilalayon ay maisumite ito sa ating Kongreso sa lalong madaling panahon para [sa] kanilang talakayan at maganap ‘yung pagsasabatas nito na naaayon sa takdang timetable,” Coloma said Sunday, April 13. 

(Our goal is to submit the draft law to Congress at the soonest possible time for their deliberations and its passage according to the timetable.)

As indicated in the final peace pact, President Benigno Aquino III will certify the proposed law as urgent once it is transmitted to Congress. 

Both Senate and House leaders have vowed to pass the law by the end of 2014 but the journey of the law in Congress is not expected to be smooth-sailing. 

This early, lawmakers, including Sen Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Zamboanga Rep Celso Lobregat, have raised issues about the legality of the measure.  

The government, for its part, have repeatedly said that the peace pact was forged according to the “flexibilities” of the Constitution. 

Roadmap 

The longer each stage of the peace process takes, the shorter the transition phase from the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) towards the Bangsamoro becomes. 

Once the basic law is approved in Congress and signed into law, residents of areas in Mindanao earlier identified in the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro will vote on whether they want to ratify the measure and be included in the proposed region in a plebiscite. 

Should it hurdle the plebiscite, the interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority – to be led by the MILF – will take over until the election of the first set of officials during the 2016 national elections. 

Under the final peace pact, the envisioned Bangsamoro political entity is designed to have a wider territory than the ARMM and enjoy greater political and fiscal powers than its predecessor. 

Both the government and the MILF hope to complete the transition phase, including the decommissioning of rebel firearms and troops, by 2016 – a process that aims to end 4 decades of armed struggle in parts of Mindanao. (INFOGRAPHIC: The Bangsamoro peace deal at a glance) – Angela Casauay/Rappler.com