LAWMAKERS have accused the Moro Islamic Liberation Front leadership of sabotaging the peace talks by refusing to surrender its fighters who were supposedly involved in the massacre of 44 police commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last January 25.
House Independent Bloc Leader and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said the refusal of MILF vice chairman Gadzali Jaafar to surrender their men will diminish the already-eroding support for the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
Senate President Franklin M. Drilon also expressed concern at the diminishing support for the bill and said at a graduation ceremony of the Benguet State University that the bill may not be passed by the target date of June 11 because of lawmakers’ concerns.
“I hope the MILF will surrender its men to show confidence building measure after lawmakers’ support for the BBL eroded because of the Mamasapano incident,” Romualdez, a lawyer and president of the
Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa), added.
While the intention of the BBL is good which is for lasting peace in Mindanao, Romualdez said the people perceived that the deaths of policemen from SAF was deliberately carried out by the MILF.
“The voluntary surrender of its men involved in the clash must be observed and the complete return of government firearms and personal belongings of killed policemen seized by rebels should be made without conditions,” Romualdez said.
Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the 75-man ad hoc panel tasked scrutinize the BBL, echoed Romualdez’s position that Jaafar’s statement would not help the passage of the BBL.
“I still believe that we can pass the BBL. But I hope they will surrender their fighters to show confidence building measure and help restore the trust of our colleagues into passing the law,” Rodriguez, said.
“The government will ensure their (MILF fighters allegedly involved in the clash) right to due process, right to counsel and presumption of innocence,” Rodriguez added.
Drilon, for his part, admitted that the draft BBL has numerous provisions that are inconsistent with the 1987 Constitution that is why amendments will be appropriately introduced during the plenary debates to prevent legal questions in the future.
“We have to fix the language of the BBL in order to conform with the provisions of our Constitution. The BBL will not be approved as submitted because it will just open the floodgates for the filing of legal suits that would derail the gains of the administration on peace and order,” Drilon said.
He agreed to earlier contentions that the BBL judiciary should be under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, matters on elections should fall under the Commission on Elections, programs and projects related to civil service must be lodged with the Civil Service Commission and auditing rules and regulations must be under the sole control of the Commission on Audit.
According to him, the June 11 deadline earlier promised by Congress leaders for the passage of BBL can still be adjusted depending on the pace of the lawmakers on how to deal with the proposed amendments in order to align the BBL provisions with that of the Constitution.