ILIGAN CITY -- Civil society organizations in Mindanao appealed to various interest groups and individuals to think twice about their threats to drag the upcoming Bangsamoro Basic Law before the Supreme Court.
“We humbly appeal that this should not be done for purposes of legal calisthenics and to merely prove an academic point; that would be a very scary adventure,” read a statement from the Mindanao Civil Society Organizations Platform for Peace (MCSOPP).
The statement was issued in time for Monday’s submission of the draft Basic Law by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) to the Office of the President.
“Let us remember that we are implementing here a political settlement that means much for the people of Mindanao,” the MCSOPP stressed.
The Basic Law will serve as charter of the future Bangsamoro government, the entity that will replace and have greater political and economic powers than the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm). It has to be enacted into law by Congress.
According to BTC chair Mohagher Iqbal, the Basic Law was drafted with due consideration of the inputs from communities and various sectors in Mindanao that were gathered through public consultations mostly conducted by civil society groups.
The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) that was inked last March 27 serves as the principal guidance for drafting the Basic Law.
But even prior to the CAB signing, various groups and individuals have threatened to hail any upcoming Basic Law to be enacted by Congress before the Supreme Court on account of its constitutionality.
“I think it is still premature to say this. And it is not also fair to our legislators who are duty bound to uphold the constitution in every piece of legislation that they produce,” said lawyer Mary Ann Arnado of the nongovernment group Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC).
“Let us await the public disclosure of the Basic Law, and from there, study it carefully and conscientiously,” Arnado added.
The MCSOPP, which gathers 120 groups under its umbrella, said it is confident “the government panel carried out its negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) consistent with the basic tests of constitutionality and implementability as set by President Aquino.”
“As our dear legislators soon consider the draft Basic Law, we urge them to add a third test—that of its responsiveness to the needs and aspirations of communities within the future Bangsamoro territory,” the MCSOPP stressed.
The Palace has announced that by May, when Congress resumes session after the Lenten break, President Aquino will endorse the measure as an urgent bill before the House of Representatives and the Senate.
During his 2013 State of the Nation Address, Aquino urged Congress to have the Basic Law enacted before the end of 2014.
“We hope our national legislators follow the example of President Aquino’s open-mindedness to creative solutions to resolve the country’s lingering problems such as the four-decade long Moro rebellion in Mindanao,” the MCSOPP appealed.
“We further hope that they also imbibe President Aquino’s passionate drive to put finality to the conflict that has wasted precious lives and vital economic resources, and development opportunities,” it added.
The Moro rebellion has claimed at least 120,000 lives and has kept much of Mindanao’s regions poor.
“We have entered the most difficult part of the Mindanao peace process. But we are comforted by the thought that many of us now want to move forward because shirking on this moral duty means continuing injustice to the Bangsamoro people,” the Mindanao groups said.