ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Cagayan de Oro second district Representative Rufus Rodriguez vowed that Congress will pass a Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that will safeguard the welfare and serve the interests of all stakeholders during a public hearing and consultation held Friday last week in this city.

Rodriguez, chair of the House of Representatives' Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL, and 17 other lawmakers explained to local residents the provisions of the Bangsamoro bill, also known as House Bill (HB) 4994, and listened to concerns of stakeholders in a bid to come up with an inclusive law for all.

“HB 4994 is far better, far-reaching and more comprehensive than RA (Republic Act) 9054 [or the Organic Act for the Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)],” Rodriguez said. He further pointed out that the bill is an “affirmative action” to address the historical injustices committed against the Bangsamoro by providing them genuine autonomy in Mindanao.

At the same time, A Teacher party-list Rep. Mariano U. Piamonte emphasized that Congress is scrutinizing the proposed BBL in order to improve and strengthen some provisions.

According to Rodriguez, proper context is needed for the public to understand fully the current efforts to establish the Bangsamoro which will replace the ARMM.

The BBL is the legal iteration of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro,  a product of more than 17 years negotiations between the Government of the Philippines and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), signed on March 27.

Addressing local concerns

During the consultation, issues such as the definition of contiguity, scope of the Bangsamoro territory, among others, have been explained in detail by Congress members and resource speakers coming from the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, and Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

“Those who drafted this bill are qualified people. The BBL is the result of in-depth studies. We pray in God’s will [that] we can achieve our yearning for a lasting peace in Mindanao,” Alih Urao, a member of a Muslim group Golden Crescent Consortium of Peace Builders and Affiliates, said.

Zamboanga City 1st District Representative Celso L. Lobregat pointed at the need to arrive at a harmonized understanding on the issue of contiguity to ensure that the sentiments of the people residing outside the Bangsamoro will be respected and prevent misinterpretation.

“We would like to reiterate that Zamboanga City is not against the BBL,” Lobregat said.

According to Rodriguez, the BBL is clear in its provisions on contiguous areas. He noted that Zamboanga City is not adjacent or contiguous to Bangsamoro, therefore it will not be subjected to the parameters set forth in the bill, he said.

"You have been assured that Zamboanga City will never be included in the Bangsamoro, but please also assure that you take care of our Muslims here in Zamboanga,” Lilia Nuno, representative of this city’s second district, said.

Jose Lorena, undersecretary of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, explained that people should not be afraid of the BBL, and called on the residents to study the bill.

Meanwhile, Arayo Jose, a representative of internally displaced persons, said that they are happy that the Bangsamoro bill guarantees the well-being of victims of armed conflict under the transitional justice mechanism.

“We are grateful that the BBL ensures our welfare. We don’t want war. We want to return to our place,” she said.   

Article IX, Section 4 of the proposed BBL creates a mechanism to address the grievances of the Bangsamoro people, such as historical injustices, human rights violations, marginalization through unjust dispossession of their territorial and proprietary rights and customary land tenure.

Rufus said there is an existing body called Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission, which is composed of international and local experts who are now doing rounds in Mindanao to recommend measures to correct historical injustices and address legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro people.

"If there is the unjust dispossession, which is land grabbing, then it is [in] the law that both national and the Bangsamoro government will pay for the value of properties that were dispossessed and so that is the transitional justice and reconciliation,” he said.

The HOR Ad Hoc Committee will likewise be holding public hearings in Isabela City, Basilan on November 20 and Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay on November 21.