By Christian V. Esguerra in Philippine Daily Inquirer

 

Manila, Philippines–Malacañang on Wednesday acknowledged concerns coming from its allies that Congress might fail to meet the administration’s December 2014 deadline to pass a law that would establish a new Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

 

The Palace, however, did not say what exactly were the disagreements between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that delayed the submission of the proposed Bangsamoro basic law to Congress.

 

But Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief peace negotiator, said about 70 percent of the nearly 100-page draft Bangsamoro law was either deleted or revised by the government’s lawyers, who reviewed the document for two months after it was submitted in late April for vetting.

 

Iqbal was quoted in an interview with Reuters that they could not accept the proposed law as it is.

 

“We will lose face if we agree to this. Their version clearly departed from the letter and spirit of the peace agreement, which was the basis in crafting the proposed law,” Iqbal said.

 

Urgent talks

 

The two sides, who signed a peace deal in March to end four decades of conflict in Mindanao, are holding urgent talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this week to try to iron out the unexpected obstacles to what had been seen as one of President Aquino’s landmark successes.

 

A breakdown would risk a return to violence and a blow to hopes for an economic revival for resource-rich Mindanao, as potential investors in sectors such as agriculture and mining wait on the sidelines for the peace deal to be implemented.

 

Malacañang has been saying the delay in the submission of the draft legislation to Congress is caused by the administration’s desire to ensure the proposed Bangsamoro law will meet constitutional standards.

 

The draft was supposed to have been submitted to Congress on May 5, three weeks after the Bangsamoro Transition Commission submitted the proposed Bangsamoro law for the government’s review.

 

After the review, the Palace sent the draft back to the commission with comments and statements of concern about how certain provisions were written by the panel.

 

Both sides do not talk about the gaps, but that it is taking too long to close them suggests the differences are serious.

 

As a result of the delay both Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Senate President Franklin Drilon said they were unsure whether Congress could enact the proposal before yearend.

 

“They are being realistic …  on the timetable,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing Wednesday, referring to Drilon and Belmonte.

 

Lacierda acknowledged that the first quarter of next year was a better timetable, as suggested by Drilon.

 

“Certainly, we would hope that we can expedite the process, but we realize that it has not yet been submitted to Congress,” he said.

 

Each provision scrutinized

 

In his State of the Nation Address to a joint session of Congress on July 28, President Aquino sought Congress’ “understanding” for the delay, saying “it is important to scrutinize each provision we lay down.”

 

“To the best of our ability, we aim to advance a bill that is fair, just and acceptable to all,” he said.

 

“If we are able to legislate the Bangsamoro basic law before the end of the year and conduct the necessary plebiscite, we will be able to give the Bangsamoro Transition Authority one-and-a-half years to show positive change,” he said.

 

P2.7B for implementation

 

In case of delay, the President said, “the period for proving that it was right to choose the path of peace will naturally be shortened.”

 

The government has earmarked P2.7 billion for the implementation of the Bangsamoro law, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad told the House appropriations committee on Wednesday.

 

Abad said the allotment was in anticipation of the passage of the Bangsamoro law at the end of the year or early next year.

 

“We anticipate it. The President has made his appeal to Congress that if we can enact the organic act at the end of this year or early next year then the Bangsamoro Transition Authority will take over and begin to govern the Bangsamoro area,” he said.

 

It will be difficult to scramble and provide for the necessary legislative requirements if the administration is to wait for the passage of the law, Abad said in reply to a question from Cebu Rep. Gabriel Luis Quisumbing, a vice chair of the committee.

 

Necessary support

 

“The appropriation is also an expression of willingness to help the executive to make provisions once the authority is there. This show of support is necessary. I think there will be discussions with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on how we will implement this program,” he said.

 

Abad also stressed that the Bangsamoro budget is different from the budget for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

 

In his budget message to Congress, President Aquino said a proposed budget of P2.7 billion was to be lodged in various agencies to implement the Bangsamoro law.

 

The appropriation will be used for the disarming of combatants, the conversion of bases into productive economic hubs and other interventions, as agreed upon in the peace agreement between the government and the MILF.

 

“The regions that will be covered by the [Bangsamoro basic law] have a potential to become a new point of economic interest. These interventions, which will be undertaken through this law, will allow the people in the region to create the road toward their own prosperity,” Aquino said.

 

Transition in ARMM

 

The ARMM is proceeding with the transition work in anticipation of the passage of the Bangsamoro law.

 

“We are currently conducting an assessment of our progress and are planning our remaining months in office. These are the finishing touches to the transitional preparations,” ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said on Wednesday.

 

He said the focus of the transition effort was the upgrading of infrastructure and social services in the region.

 

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has maintained its momentum in developing projects, which are on time and with large savings, Hataman said.

 

“The DPWH has a target that the entire road network will be paved by 2016 if the allocation will continue. And we are giving you the assurance that there are no ghost projects and no graveling because these are all paved roads,” he said.

 

Hataman said all the infrastructure projects as well as the projects of the Department of Health were geo-tagged for transparency and accountability.

 

For investments, he said the Regional Bureau of Investments met its 2014 target of P2.5 billion in May.

 

“We have agencies that have already surpassed their targets, like the [Board of Investments]. Another P1 billion was added to its target for the remaining months,” Hataman said.

 

Data banking

 

The challenge now, he said, is obtaining and managing accurate data on the constituency and government programs in the region.

 

“Our ultimate goal right now, most especially for the transition, is data management. The ARMM will celebrate its 25th year in November but to be candid, there are no clear information and data even on agriculture, health and education,” he said.

 

The World Bank is helping the regional government develop data banking and management, he said.

 

“I think we are still at 50 percent, but we will cover 100 percent of the data needed before we turn over this government to the [Bangsamoro],” he said. –with reports from DJ Yap in Manila; Karlos Manlupig, Inquirer Mindanao

 

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