Two Muslim lawmakers on Wednesday expressed dismay over the move of their fellow Moro who led the petition before the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
Anak Mindanao party-list Reps. Amihilda Sangcopan and Makmod Mending expressed their sentiments after Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan II filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition asking the high court to review the legality and constitutionality of the BOL.
“While we recognize the right of every citizen to contest the state’s laws and policies through the courts, we are surprised that a fellow Moro, who never lifted a finger to work for peace and unity, would seek to nullify BOL before the high court,” Sangcopan and Mending said in a joint statement.
Last Tuesday, Deputy Speaker and Sulu Rep. Munir M. Arbison said the challenge mounted by Tan II against the BOL is bound to fail.
“Anak Mindanao has been at the forefront of efforts at the House of Representatives to pass a Bangsamoro law acceptable to the majority of national legislators,” they said.
They said “the struggle to have this law approved has been long, difficult, and painful for us and other Moro leaders.”
Like Arbison, Sangcopan and Mending expressed strong belief that the BOL will hurdle constitutionality test.
“Public hearings were conducted in Mindanao before the law was approved by the two chambers of congress. Gov. Tan had every opportunity to voice out his opposition to this landmark legislation and suggested revisions during those days or even through mass media,” said Sangcopan and Mending.
The two lawmakers also stood by the legality of the BOL.
“We trust that RA (Republic Act) 11054 (BOL) will stand the test of Constitutionality and that premium should be placed more in the pursuit of peace and unity. It is now time for Mindanaoans to stand up and show this nation that Bangsamoro Organic Law transcends politics of patronage and that we will unite against those who sabotage peace for their own interests. Anak Mindanao is stronger, together,” they added.
Arbison argued that the BOL can withstand the constitutionality test and any other inquiry with regards to its legality, even as he chided Tan’s move as “blatantly misguided, erroneous, and misleading.”