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Conducted by the

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AD HOC COMMITTEE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 4994 ON THE BANGSAMORO BASIC LAW

October 28, 2014

Nograles Hall, South Wing Annex, House of Representatives

               

ATTENDANCE

Presiding Officer:            

Cong. Rufus Rodriguez, Chairman, HRep Ad Hoc Committee on House Bill No. 4994

 

Committee Members Present: Rep. Celso Lobregat, Rep. Vicente Belmonte, Rep. Rosemarie Arenas, Rep. Bai Sandra Sema, et. al…

                                               

Panelists and Guests:

Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, Chair for Peace Negotiation with the MILF

Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process

General Edilberto Adan

Gen. & Former Defense Secretary Renato de Villa

Col. Cesar Pobre

Former SC Assoc. Justice V.V. Mendoza

Former SC Justice Adolf Azcuna

Ateneo School of Gov’t Dean Antonio La Vina

Atty. Oscar Franklin Tan, Phil. Bar Association

 

Summary of the proceedings

 

The morning meeting was intended primarily to solicit the views of the retired personnel of the armed forces, the academe, eminent former justices of the Supreme Court on the Bangsamoro Basic Law. The afternoon meeting was to solicit the views of the business and labor community on the proposed law. Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles (Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process), Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer (Chair for Peace Negotiation with the MILF) and other resource persons were on hand to answer the questions raised by the guests and also some questions raised by the members of the ad-hoc committee.

 

As the meeting progressed, the guests raised pertinent issues on certain provisions of the proposed law that needed to be expounded/clarified further, to wit:

 

 

For former generals, the main issue is the asymmetric relationship between the proposed Bangsamoro government and the Philippine government. This relationship may curtail the sovereignty of the Philippine government. Examples include: (1) the creation of a sub-state is not allowed under the Constitution; (2) Certain devolved powers to the Bangsamoro seemingly impinge on national sovereignty; (3) Certain provisions place the national government on equal footing with the Bangsamoro government; (4) Problems with national security and peace and order coordination if the proposed Bangsamoro Police Force is organized and (5) the Normalization provisions seem one-sided in favor the MILF.

 

 

Sec. Deles commented on the last point, saying that the normalization is not one-sided. She also said that while the MILF is party to the peace agreement, they are not equivalent to the Bangsamoro people and that the MILF agrees that it will transform itself to a political party to be able to participate in the Bangsamoro government.

 

 

For Professor Clarita Carlos of UP, the BBL is good because it does away with the concept of the nation-state because it is giving the local government more autonomy and less power to the federal government. The BBL can be a step to prepare for the transition to the ASEAN 2015 and the eventual federalization of the Philippines. Dr. Abueva raised the same point regarding the Bangsamoro as a trial for the federalization of the Philippines.

 

 

For former Justice V.V. Mendoza, the BBL is problematic with respect to five issues: (1) the wording of the BBL with respect to the Bangsamoro territory; (2) the definition in the bill of the Bangsamoro People; (3) the parliamentary form of government; (4) the sharing of the powers of the Government; and (5) the general supervision of the Bangamoro government.

 

 

Usec. Chito Gascon replied to Justice Mendoza’s concerns by stating that the spirit of the BBL is consistent with the Constitution. He added that the Constitution mandates establishment of Autonomous Regions but leaves to Congress to define parameters. He then gave a reply to some of his concerns: (1) On territory: there is nothing wrong with referencing territory as subdivision of the State, that it is just in the order of things to define territory for the Bangsamoro and that the right to self-determination is a fundamental human right and that this only pertains to internal self-determination; (2) On the Bangsamoro People: What is being done is a Bangsamoro government for Bangsamoro people but it does not exclude non-Bangsamoro and it does not create a two-tiered system of citizenship; and (3) On the parliamentary form of government: The Constitution does not preclude a parliamentary government in an autonomous region, that the executive and legislative powers will still be in different bodies and what is only different is the manner by which they are elected: the legislature will be elected directly and the Chief Minister will be elected by the legislature among themselves.

 

 

For former Justice Azcuna, the BBL is an out of the box solution to the Moro problem. He respectfully disagrees with the issues raised by former Justice Mendoza by stating that the BBL is in consonance with the Constitution. It is an attempt to address the redress the injustice done to the Moros and it is being done to suit the local situation in Mindanao. Atty. Oscar Tan agrees with this view, adding that the congressmen should be the one to decide how the BBL should be crafted, as the duly elected people’s representative. However, Congress should be careful in making sure that it reads like a law and not a Constitution. Dean La Vina also echoed this view, adding that the draft must be revised with due diligence so that the Supreme Court will not find it unconstitutional. He also advised to add a definition of terms for problematic terms so that the Supreme Court might be guided; otherwise, the SC might look for other sources to discern their meaning.

 

 

Cong. Lobregat’s concerns are on two points: (1) the issue of what should be considered geographical areas for the plebiscite and (2) the issue of whether the Congress has wide latitude in creating Autonomous regions. He maintains that municipalities and barangays are not to be included as geographical areas on the basis of the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission records. He also points out that there are limits on Congress in creating Autonomous Regions, an example of which is that they cannot delegate powers of the National Government.

 

 

Professor Miriam Colonel-Ferrer replied to Cong. Lobregat’s first concern by saying that the Constitution is worded differently: that only “geographical areas” is worded in the Constitution, it was not qualified. Therefore, this gives Congress the power to interpret what “geographical areas” may mean. She also said that inclusion of these “geographic areas” are the most contentious provisions of the BBL. This was a compromise with the MILF so that they may agree to a much more limited territory. (StatCon Note: If the Constitution is clear, then the court must interpret its words without resorting to other sources)

 

 

Different guests gave their views on Cong. Lobregat’s second query.

 

 

Justice Mendoza: Legislative powers can be delegated but constituent powers cannot be delegated.

 

 

Justice Azcuna gave examples of what are constituent and not constituent powers to wit: customs – not constituent, auditing – constituent and quarantine – not constituent.

 

 

Dean La Vina: natural resources can be delegated. He also said that the definition of terms is important. Also, even if some powers are exclusive to the Bangsamoro, it is still constitutional because the President still retains the power of general supervision.

 

 

Atty. Tan: The BBL must be clear that it does not transfer power of COA to Bangsamoro. However, SC allows supplemental auditing.Justice Azcuna is correct on the point that the words of the Constitution are controlling, not the Constitutional Commission deliberations.

 

 

Cong. Lobregat further asked the guests their views on the following: (1) Can BBL amend IPRA [VV Mendoza – Yes because Congress can amend previous laws]; (2) Power of the Police with Chief Minister, not with mayors as per LGC [Sec de Villa – arrangement violates the control of mayors and National HQ, may be source of conflict in police administration]; (3) What if only 3 or 4 barangays [out of 39] of North Cotabato vote yes in the plebiscite, will they be part of Bangsamoro territory [Dean La Vina – Yes, but it should be done in the law so that said barangays will remain with mother province, city and municipality. Otherwise, it will disenfranchise them from Congressional representation]

 

 

Other clarifications by the morning guests:

 

 

(On those eligible to vote for plebiscite) VV Mendoza: If it is in North Cotobato, it must be a municipality, if in Lanao del Norte, must be a barangay.

 

 

(On meaning of geographical areas) Dean La Vina: not equivalent to municipality or barangay

 

 

(On contiguity) VV Mendoza and Azcuna: Refers only to land and not by air of sea

 

 

(Opting out of the Bangsamoro territory, as was the clamor of a specific municipality) Azcuna: not contemplated because the clamor is for opting in.

 

 

The afternoon panel was composed of businessmen and representatives of labor groups. Basically, the businessmen were concerned of the ease of doing business, the regulatory measures and the openness as regards the laws in the proposed Bangsamoro government. Some guests expressed their concern that the one-year transition period is too short and proposed a longer transition process. The representatives of labor groups meanwhile are mainly concerned about the security of tenure of the ARMM government employees as well as their benefits if separated.

 

Concluding statements

 

According to the Committee Chairman, this meeting was successful in ventilating the concerns of stake-holders in the proposed BBL since the success of the Bangsamoro is of prime importance to all the members of the Committee. He then thanked all those who participated in the hearing, from guests and his fellow Congressmen.