Lest the nation forget, there is a revised draft of the controversial Bangsamoro Basic Law which has been submitted by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and its allies in the government to Congress for enactment into law. The BBL calls for the creation of an autonomous Islamic region in Mindanao to be called the Bangsamoro which will supposedly replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The Bangsamoro plan under the BBL was the brainchild of ex-President Benigno Aquino III who, from all indications back then, was eyeing the Nobel Peace Prize.
Although the BBL idea was promoted by the Aquino administration as a lasting solution to the peace and order problem in Muslim Mindanao, it was fraught with trouble and controversy from the start.
First, the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, composed of representatives of the Aquino administration and the MILF and tasked with drafting the BBL, was created by an executive order signed by Aquino without the support of any enabling law. That’s unconstitutional because the power to create a public office is within the exclusive power of Congress, not the president.
Next, the creation of the transition commission was made on the sly. That was suspiciously unusual because Aquino’s minions had the habit of publicizing everything Aquino did, no matter how miniscule or insignificant.
Third, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) was not even represented in the transition commission. No peace plan in Mindanao will succeed if it does not take into account the views of the military establishment.
Fourth, the MILF’s top representative in the transition commission deliberately refused to use his real name in all documents pertaining to and in all meetings held by the commission. He publicly admitted that he was using an alias, that of Mohagher Iqbal.
Using this fictitious name, Iqbal enjoyed a compensation and an expense account paid for by public funds. He also signed the draft BBL using that fictitious name. Under Philippine law, the use of a fictitious name in official documents is a criminal offense.
The government’s top representative in the transition commission justified Iqbal’s use of a fictitious name. This official said that Iqbal’s safety justified his use of an alias. It was also argued that the panel allowed Iqbal to use a fictitious name.
There is, however, nothing in the law governing the use of an alias which states that one’s personal safety is a valid reason to allow one to sign an official government document using a fictitious name.
Fifth, right after the transition commission submitted to Aquino the draft BBL, Aquino objected to numerous provisions in the draft BBL and returned it to the commission for alteration. What those objectionable provisions were was kept a secret from the public. Even the news media were not allowed access to those objectionable provisions.
Sixth, after the transition commission sent to Aquino a revised draft of the BBL, Aquino endorsed it to Congress for the latter’s approval. This was the first time the public and the news media found out about the contents of the revised draft. Again, what the revisions were remained a mystery.
Experts in constitutional observed that the revised draft had many legally objectionable features. To all intents and purposes, the revised draft called for the creation of an Islamic sub-state in Mindanao, with a budget larger than that of the AFP. Ex- Supreme Court Justice Vicente V. Mendoza, an undisputed expert in constitutional law, was very critical of the revised draft.
Seventh, legal experts also discovered that the revised draft was an attempt to circumvent a 2008 ruling of the Supreme Court which declared as unconstitutional a similar draft agreement with the MILF. Then Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales wrote that decision.
In January 2015, 44 members of the special elite force of the Philippine National Police sent to Mamasapano in Maguindanao to enforce a warrant of arrest against a notorious, heavily armed bandit were massacred by armed Muslim rebel groups. Since then, public opinion was irreversibly against the BBL.
Truth to tell, the revised draft created so much division among the Filipino people that even the passive sectors of society started to question the motive of Aquino in doggedly pursuing the enactment of the BBL by Congress.
Fortunately, the revised draft was vehemently opposed in the Senate by then Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. Despite intense pressure and lobbying from Malacañang, the Senate refused to accommodate the revised draft, and it simply lapsed into oblivion when the May 2016 national elections ensued.
Eighth, the Commission on Audit (COA) discovered that the office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, which supervises the government panel in the transition commission, leased 300 cars in 2015, and refused to reimburse to the national treasury almost 700 million pesos it is legally required to return. The COA noted that the government panel already had 23 government-owned vehicles at its disposal.
Malaysia has actively brokered the BBL endorsed by Aquino. That’s something to be wary about because Kuala Lumpur desperately wants to legalize its illegal occupation of North Borneo or Sabah, which legally belongs to the Philippines, and the BBL seems like the ideal means to accomplish that objective. If a broker is needed in this regard, Indonesia, not Malaysia, is better suited because Jakarta has always been above-board in its dealings with Manila.
About two months ago, however, the transition commission once again sent a draft BBL to President Rodrigo Duterte for his endorsement to Congress. So far, the contents of the new draft BBL are undisclosed. All there is available is the oral assurance from the transition commission that the new draft BBL does not have the same questionable features of the first draft BBL.
Mohagher Iqbal, or whatever his real name is, has been visible in this latest move to bring back the BBL. Like ex-President Aquino III before him, President Duterte is dealing with someone who is using a fictitious name. Worse, Malaysia is still in the picture.