Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on October 08, 2014

LAST September 30, 2014, our office in Ateneo de Davao University received a letter invitation from the Senate Committees on Local Government and Peace, Unification and Reconciliation to attend the Joint Public Hearing on October 8 and 9, 2014 at the Notre Dame University Gymnasium, Cotabato City to discuss the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) or the Senate Bill No. 2408.

For their reference and documentation, they also asked our office to provide the said committees a position paper on the said bill.

We were able to draft a seven-page position paper. I decided to share a portion of the said position paper and our recommendations in my column today.

The position paper we submitted presents some of the concerns of the Al Qalam Institute on the Bangsamoro Basic Law, as well as appreciations and recommendations on this proposed law.

The introductory part of the position paper is as follows:

“We believe that the Bangsamoro is a work-in-progress. Muslims, Christians, and indigenous peoples of this region will have to ultimately define the fate of this political project.

The Al Qalam Institute, while it gives recommendations regarding the Bangsamoro Basic Law, still stresses the need for inter-religious and intra-religious dialogues - horizontal peace processes - between and among the peoples of Mindanao who have been divided for centuries in terms of culture, religion, and political ideologies.

We are entering a new era: an era that has the potential to have the most significant and long lasting impact on peace and development in Mindanao.”

Our recommendation is based on the output of the Ateneo Study Group on the BBL. They are summarized as follows:

1. “When reading the BBL, we must be fully conscious all the time of the Bangsamoro context – its history, the injustices, the invisibility and neglect committed against them. It is in this context that Social Justice became the framework of the bill, that is, the need to rectify historical injustices by legislating a form of autonomous government where they, the Bangsamoro, can truly be self-governing, consistent with the fundamental tenets of the right to self-determination, where the people themselves are empowered to decide for themselves and chart the direction of their future. We must also read the BBL by expanding and liberalizing our rules on statutory construction especially when issues already border on constitutional questions. The constitution was not written to suit the conditions of the time when it was drafted but it was formulated in such a way to accommodate future realities. Today, 27 years since the ratification of the 1987 constitution, the landscape has already changed and we need to keep up with the changing needs of the time to be more responsive to the clamor of the people.

2. In the ensuing debates, congress must not forget that in the Bangsamoro, religion is the basis of everything. From religion, all others (governance, justice, culture, relationships, family, etc.) come to life. What is religious is political and conversely, what is political is religious because the two are so intertwined in the life of the Muslims. Therefore, no religious test must be used to assail the autonomy being granted to the Bangsamoro. After all, under the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981), Article 1 states that:

“Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have a religion or whatever belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.”

3. While we appreciate the BBL for its intent to democratize public spaces where people can participate through political party building, sectoral representation and the likes, we still propose that in order to ensure that the Bangsamoro government shall function in the ideals of accountability, transparency, truthfulness, democracy and human rights, provisions establishing mechanisms to eliminate corruption must be incorporated such as but not limited to anti-nepotism, anti-dynasty, and freedom of information and access to public records clauses.

4. One of the pressing concerns is whether this proposed law will pave the way for the Bangsamoro territory to secede from the Philippine Republic, but if we are to look closely at the title and preamble of this proposed bill, it aims for the creation of an autonomous entity but one that is still in line with the constitution hence the necessity for the passage of the bill through an act of congress. It implicitly recognizes the authority of the Philippine government vis-à-vis that of the Bangsamoro political entity.

5. There are new terms that have not existed yet in the legal lexicon, at least, for the Philippine system. They must be articulated with clarity and certainty in the BBL in order to avoid misinterpretation. Among these are asymmetrical relations, parity of esteem, Wali as titular head, and fusakainged. A clause explaining how these concepts can be operationalized in a way that is easily understood by the ordinary people, will be much appreciated.

6. It is with critical urgency that we participate in the discourse for the Bangsamoro. As we join in the discussion, we express critical support to the BBL because we believe that it is one opportunity for peace in Mindanao. But our support goes without scrutiny, our intention being, is to be able to produce a BBL that is inclusive and widely acceptable by the people of and in the Bangsamoro. The whole process we have seen so far is one of “coming in” “than moving out.” We must seize this moment rather than lose this to disarray. We will remain true to our commitment that we are still one country, one Philippines.”

These six points are important for all of us to know and appreciate. We may criticize the BBL, but we must also be ready to provide our possible suggestions and recommendations.

Mussolini Sinsuat Lidasan is the director of Al Qalam Institute for Islamic Identities and Dialogue in Southeast Asia based in Ateneo de Davao University. Follow him on Twitter @mussol22.