Rex Education to publish first comprehensive law book on the Bangsamoro Organic Law

Rex Education is set to publish the first comprehensive law book that will tackle the details of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

The book, “Moral Governance: An Introduction to the Bangsamoro Organic Law,” has five distinguished lawyer-authors: Mohammad Muktadir Ahmad Estrella, chief of the legal services division of the Civil Service Commission for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and senior lecturer at the University of the Philippines Manila and Notre Dame University College of Law; Joss Allen Pilapil, partner at PALM Law; Jake Ogario Leoncini, partner at PALM Law; Xavier Alexen Aseron, partner at PALM Law; and Kevin Buen Marquez, Associate Solicitor at the Office of the Solicitor General.

The BOL, a landmark legislation signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018, abolished the ARMM and provided a regional government for the BARMM.

Its ratification, however, was followed almost immediately by the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, thus there is little literature that dives into the specifics of the law.

“This is a peace legislation that is aimed to bring just peace in Muslim Mindanao by addressing centuries worth of historical injustices committed against the Bangsamoro. The Bangsamoro Government is the only parliamentary form of government in the Philippines. Thus, there is an existing need and interest to explain how a parliamentary set-up in an autonomous regional government works in a presidential form of national government within the parameters of the 1987 Philippine Constitution,” the authors said.

To aid students and practitioners of law, the book aims to introduce a unified understanding about the direct relationship between Bangsamoro history and existing legal mechanisms within the 1987 Constitution that recognize autonomy in Muslim Mindanao.

“In the current national social and political landscape, while there is general perception about the issues concerning the peace and order situation in Muslim Mindanao, there is little to almost non-existent understanding about how the Bangsamoro Organic Law directly addresses the root causes of the conflicts in the said region. It is high time that the rest of the nation finally understands that the historical injustices committed against the Bangsamoro were always justified by various legal instruments. Hence, it is also only by law that these wrongs may be justly corrected,” the authors added.

True to the advocacy of Rex Education, the book “Moral Governance: An Introduction to the Bangsamoro Organic Law” champions education on the landmark measure.

The book is now in production and is set to be released in the second half of the year. It will be available on Rex Book Stores nationwide and through the Rex E- store at https://www.rexestore.com