Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino lV stressed Friday his colleagues crossed party lines to approve the Bangsamoro Basic Law on third and final reading, saying this type of teamwork could also alleviate Filipinos from the rise in prices.
“We are happy to see wide support for the BBL. We are hopeful that it will help usher in peace and development to the Bangsamoro region,” said Aquino, who co-sponsored and co-authored the measure.
He said members of the bicameral conference on the BBL would ensure this could help improve lives in Mindanao,” said Aquino.
The opposition senator was referring to some contentious provisions of the Senate version, which he hopes could be ironed out during the bicameral committee conference.
“With the BBL…we’ve proven that we can work beyond political lines to pass reforms that will benefit the people. We should do the same to alleviate Filipinos from the rising prices,” added Aquino. referring to his proposal to suspend the TRAIN Law.
In a related development:
• Once enacted, the proposed BBL would be a tool to quell terrorism threats, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief-of-Staff General Carlito Galvez Jr. said.
“I was informed that the third reading and final reading was already approved by the [House of Representatives and Senate], we’re so happy, as I have said that the BBL is one of the antidotes [to] the terrorism [problem],” he said Thursday.
A day after President Rodrigo Duterte certified the BBL as urgent, the Senate and the House of Representatives passed on second and third reading the bill which aims to hopefully end decades of conflict in Mindanao.
“I believe they [Moro Islamic Liberation Front] are very happy with the passage, this is a long way negotiation since 1997 and we had a ceasefire and i believe this is a very positive milestone,” Galvez said.
Once the BBL is passed into law, it would serve as the enabling law of the 2014 landmark peace deal between the government and the MILF, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro aims to grant greater autonomy to the Bangsamoro region.
Aquino filed Senate Bill No. 1798, which seeks to rollback TRAIN’s excise tax on fuel when average inflation rate surpasses the annual inflation target over a three-month period.
The Senate passed the BBL on third and final reading last night, with amendments that recognize the rights of indigenous peoples living within the proposed core territorial jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro. Timuay Datuwata, Lambagian leader from Upi, Maguindanao whose ancestral domain lies within the proposed core territory, said their proposals were nothing new.
“We just want the BBL to explicitly recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act, a national law which sets the minimum standards of recognition of IP rights. IPRA has never been implemented in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. This time, we hope it will be,” Datuwata said.
Several senators sponsored “IP amendments” including the freedom of choice of all indigenous peoples within the Bangsamoro territory “to retain their distinct indigenous and ethnic identity.”
There was also the provision on the Free, Prior, Informed Consent or FPIC to be secured from indigenous people should their ancestral domain be part of the territory to be included in the contiguous or adjoining territory, as well as in the exploration, development and utilization of natural resources.
Another provision which was included in the Senate version is the Non-Derogation Clause, which guarantees that the BBL shall not, in any manner, diminish the rights and benefits of the Non-Moro IPs in the Bangsamoro, under the 1987 Constitution, national laws, particularly RA 8371 or IPRA.
The senators who sponsored the “IP amendments” were Senators Franklin Drilon, Ralph Recto, Joel Villanueva, Risa Hontiveros, Loren Legarda and Grace Poe.
“We are happy that President Duterte has certified this bill as urgent. And we are happier that the senators did not sacrifice IP rights in exchange of (sic) expediency,” said Mabel Carumba, an IP rights advocate from Mindanao Peoples Peace Movement.
“The IP rights advocacy within BBL has come this far, and we hope for an inclusive BBL for an inclusive peace in Mindanao,” Carumba added.