Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles
hailed the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for its
support to the provision of genuine autonomy in the Bangsamoro, a
development anticipated with the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law
(BBL) and its subsequent ratification in the envisioned core territory.
“We would like to express our appreciation to the CBCP for its support
for the Bangsamoro Basic Law, as we would like to allay the concerns of
the Conference over the issues of territorial integrity and national
sovereignty,” Deles said.
“We want to grant self-determination and autonomy to our Bangsamoro,”
CBCP President and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said.
However, the archbishop also cautioned against possible threats to the
territorial integrity of the country, saying “we want to ensure that
this pursuit of self-determination also take into consideration the
territorial integrity of our country that we should make sure that no
secession result from this law.”
Deles, however, also reiterated that the BBL will not lead to secession or the alleged dismemberment of the country.
“We understand the concerns of the bishops about the
issue of self-determination and we would like to make the firm assurance
that the threat of secession is amply precluded by the letter and
spirit of the draft BBL itself, official statements on-the-record as far
as the parties are concerned, a formal agreement on the decommissioning
of MILF fighters, and a recent survey reflecting an overwhelming
majority of our Muslim brethren professing their pride in being
Filipinos.”
Deles was referring to a survey which showed that 96 percent of
residents in the prospective Bangsamoro region profess pride in being
Filipino. According to Deles, this is “a formidable social and
psychological barrier against any groups with secessionist or separatist
agenda.”
Decommissioning, on the other hand, will “effectively demobilize former
combatants and account for their firearms,” which will in turn “bring
them into the mainstream of enterprise as well as meaningful social and
political participation.”
Archbishop Villegas also called for vigilance in the passage of the law
and stressed the need for consultations in the process, saying the CBCP
will be submitting their position paper on the Bangsamoro to Congress.
“We appreciate the Conference’s calls for greater consultations,” Deles
added. “A large number of consultations have already been held and are
still being held not only by the peace panels but also by the Bangsamoro
Transition Commission and both chambers of Congress. The House of
Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro has recently finished
its 36th and final public consultation, while consultations in the
Senate are still ongoing.”
“For the government’s peace panel alone, I understand that we have been
able to conduct no less than 400 consultations already since 2010,”
Deles added. “These extensive consultations were held with many
different stakeholders and at varying levels.”
Ad Hoc Committee Chairman Rufus Rodriguez has previously noted that the
consultations held for the Bangsamoro Basic Law are among the most
extensive in the history of the Philippine legislature.
The proposed BBL, filed as House Bill 4994 in the House of
Representatives and Senate Bill 2804, is the enabling law of the
Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed between GPH and MILF in
March of last year. It aims to establish a Bangsamoro region to replace
the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. (OPAPP)
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