Lunes, Pebrero 2, 2015

And Justice For All

Bangsamoro Basic Law: Why Phil. Gov’t Is Wrong in Advocating It

Tragic is an understatement, if you will describe the demise of 44 PNP-SAF members who were sent to Mindanao to serve a warrant of arrest to two alleged terrorists is all over the news for the past week. You can see different people posting all sorts reactions and emotions – ranging from disbelief to sadness – on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networks. Now, everyone is wondering: What really happened that day?

Last Sunday, January 25, 2015, three platoons of the elite SAF (Special Action Force) of the PNP (Philippine National Police) were sent to Tukanalipao in Mindanao – a place believed to be a guerilla enclave. Their mission was to serve a warrant of rest to a high-ranking Jemah Islamiya explosives expert Zulkifli Bin Hir aka Marwan and Basit Usman. However, the SAF troops were intercepted by 300 members of the MILF (Moro-Islamic Liberation Front) and BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters). What happened next will forever be etched in the minds of the remaining members of the PNP-SAF unit, which was composed of 70 specially trained police officers.

Outnumbered, the SAF officers attempted to retreat and take cover, but were immediately engaged by BIFF militants. Our servicemen were gunned down; corpses were even fired at with multiple bullets as if making sure that they are really dead. Their ammunition, firearms and personal belongings were taken away by the rebels, as ordered by a BIFF leader named Ameril Umbra Kato. This was according to a statement given by a military official who asked that his anonymity be kept.

All in all, 44 law enforcement agents were brutally killed like wild animals.

Why the Bangsamoro Basic Law – the law that started it all – should be stopped

In 2011, President Noynoy Aquino and his allies in Congress enacted the Republic Act No. 10153, re-scheduling the elections in ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) to synchronize with regular national and local polls. Such act also paved the way for the President to have power to appoint officers-in-charge, replacing outgoing ARMM officials. This move was considered against the 1987 Constitution provisions stating that top ARMM officials shall be elected. The Palace’s publicists branded this move by President Aquino as necessary to make ARMM an exponent of peace and progress in the region. Although several critics of the law, which were mostly leaders in Muslim Mindanao, doubted the validity of the law and brought it before the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, the tribunal upheld its validity.

However, Pres. Noynoy had a change of heart. He made a 360-degree turn and described the ARMM a “failed experiment.” He then directed the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process to create a “government peace panel” that will sit down with Moro Islamic Liberation Front representatives. A “framework agreement” was signed by the panel on October 2012, creating a Bangsamoro autonomous government over a much larger area in Mindanao. Aquino appointed Professor Miriam Coronel Ferrer replacing Leonen as he was appointed to the Supreme Court.          

Executive Order N. 120 was issued by President Aquino on December 17, 2012, creating a Transition Commission to create a draft law to replace the organic act that governs ARMM. Later on, a draft was submitted by the Transition Commission to the President. Changes were made to some of its contents and then, it made its way to Congress where it is still pending.

Constitutional Law experts question the validity of the BBL. The BBL is considered a clandestine move to dismember the Republic, according to former Solicitor General Estelito Mendoza while retired Supreme Court Justice Vicente Mendoza believes five aspects of the BBL will not pass constitutional scrutiny. Justice Mendoza also objected the use of the term “territory” in the BBL, saying this is like a land independent from the Republic of the Philippines. This is not like the provisions in the 1987 Constitution, which calls for “autonomous regions” in Muslim Mindanao and in the Cordilleras. The term “ARMM” meets that constitutional mandate, but the term “Bangsamoro territory” does not. In fact, it suggests more than just land in the southern part of the country because based on its historic name, “Bangsamoro” includes the oil and gas rich province of Palawan.

The BBL has provisions virtually allowing the Bangsamoro to operate as an autonomous region in form, but as an independent nation in substance. This means that if the BBL be finally enacted into law, nothing could stop its “autonomous government” from establishing its own militia, monetary system, police force and even passport and immigration regulations. It seems that the Bangsamoro government will take on a parliamentary type of government, which is an indication that it will not operate within the 1987 Constitution.

Another reason that the BBL should not be enacted into law is the strong possibility that Bangsamoro officials could stock on loose high-powered weapons, which proliferate in the country, and use it to declare independence from the Republic.

The preparation of the BBL has Malaysian participation, which is something that invites suspicion. The ongoing conflict between the Philippines and Malaysia over Sabah means that two countries clearly are not in good terms. So why the participation? What experts fear is that if anything happens, the parliamentary government of the Bangsamoro could easily adjust to that of Malaysia.

Another possibility that many experts fear that could come out of the enactment of the Bangsamoro Law is the increase in terroristic activities not only in the Philippines, but also to the rest of the world. As you can see, the Middle East and other parts of the world are still struggling with terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). Intelligence reports reveal that many of the terrorists are being trained in the southern part of the Philippines under the auspices of local Muslim terror groups including MILF and BIFF. If the BBL is enforced, the country will not be able to stop “autonomous region” from making their land a training ground for all these terrorists.

Another compelling reason the BBL should be void is that it is not the president’s responsibility to create a public office such as the Transition Commission, but the Congress’. This means that the creation of the Transition Commission is unconstitutional, following the ruling of the Supreme Court in Biraogo v. Truth Commission.

So you see? The President urging the immediate enactment of the BBL means he could be committing a culpable violation of the Constitution.

The whole country is mourning about the massacre of 44 police commandos,

Now, do you want this to happen to our country?  

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