A FORMER chief justice of the Supreme Court warned Tuesday that failure to shift to a federal system could lead to the “disintegration of the republic” given the threat of secession by various Muslim rebel groups.
In an interview on ABS-CBN, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno said a federal system could accommodate “substantive demands” in the agreement signed between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014.
A faction of the Moro National Liberation Front led by founder Nur Misuari is also seeking the full implementation of the group’s 1996 peace agreement.
“You have this national security problem posed by the rebellion of the communists in the countryside and more importantly, the threat of secession by the MILF and the MNLF—these are ticking time bombs,” Puno told ABS-CBN News.
“Unless we are able to somehow satisfy their demands, we can be looking at the possible disintegration of the republic.”
The government seeks to combine the MILF and MNLF agendas into a single enabling law to be submitted to Congress by July this year, but the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law under the MILF agreement hit a wall in Congress over questions on the constitutionality of certain provisions.
Lawmakers also questioned the sincerity of the MILF after the killing of 44 police commandos in the group’s stronghold in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in 2015.
Puno said the Duterte administration had a good chance to move toward federalism and address constitutional problems raised over the MILF agreement, but said the government must act soon.
Reports said Puno is being considered to head a 25-person committee to study changes to the Constitution.