AMIDST the focused attention casted on the ongoing Senate review of the proposed federal charter, a minor but equally important development, that may have escaped public attention, occurred in the ongoing Congress Bicameral Conference Committee currently reviewing the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law intended to abolish the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), and replace it with a Bangsamoro Region.
This is the view posited by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) Chairman Ghazali Jaafar who stated in a recent media interview that they (BTC) do not agree with the proposal that the Bangsamoro parliament to be created should always legislate laws that should be in accordance and in adherence to the national law. It should be recalled that before the start of its deliberations the Bicameral panel came up with a position that the BBL will be compliant with the 1987 Constitution.
The Bicam panel was unable to approve the final version of the BBL this week due to some issues such as the one raised by BTC chairman Jaafar.
It must be noted however that much as the national government would want to accommodate the wishes of our moro (muslim) brothers for them to chart their own fate and destiny this must be done within the context and framework of the present basic law of the land which is the 1987 Constitution.
For the proposed Bangsamoro parliament to have unfettered power to legislate its own laws beyond or perhaps even against the dictates of the constitution would allow the abuse of such lawmaking powers and eventually prejudice the very interests of the entire nation in so far as sovereignty and territory is concerned.
However, the position of BTC chairman Jaafar is precisely the underlying motive behind all the posturing and manipulation done in order to bring into fruition the ultimate objective of the moro cause which is to secede from the country and established their own muslim state and nation. This is what the BBL is all about.
That is why, perhaps in hindsight, in the proposed draft charter for a federal government crafted by the Consultative Committee created by President Rodrigo Duterte it is provides in Section 2 thereof that, “All Regions are permanent and indissoluble parts of the Federal Republic of the Philippines. It is prohibited for anyone to advocate, demand for, or support the secession of any Region from the Federal Republic.”
In the same draft charter it also provides in Section 26 thereof that, “Within the framework of the Federal Constitution, the Bangsamoro Parliament may enact necessary and appropriate legislation to complement and implement their Organic Act.
Very clearly therefore, both the 1987 Constitution and the proposed federal constitution expressly forbids any attempt to dismember the Philippine territory either through secession or some other means, and the BBl which will become the basic law of the Bangsamoro region should never contain provisions that would allow such incidents to come to pass.
Now that the cat is out of the bag on the real intention of those seeking the passage of the BBL, the Bicam should be extra vigilant in its review of the said proposed law.