League of Bangsamoro Organizations reaffirm support for the passage of CAB-Compliant BBL

• Apr 28, 2017
• League of Bangsamoro Organizations reaffirm support for the passage of CAB-Compliant BBL
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The League of Bangsamoro Organizations (LBO) have reaffirmed their unequivocal support for the passage of a CAB-compliant Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) during a Two-day 1st Bangsamoro Peace Mission spearheaded by the Mindanao Peace Weavers (MPW), All-Out Peace Coalition, and the Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) held on April 24-25, in Cotabato City.

The same commitment was also made during their visit to the MILF Administrative Camp in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao on April 24.

The delegation of the network of networks to Camp Darapanan headed by Gus Miclat, Secretary General of MPW met with the two high ranking members of the MILF Central Committee; 1st Vice Chairman Ghadzali Jaafar, also the Chairman of newly- expanded Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), and the MILF Implementing Peace Panel Chair Mohagher Iqbal.

During their visit, various questions were raised by the delegates including CSOs from Manila.

Jaafar said the BTC have already conducted two plenary sessions. “We adopted the previous house rules and carry on the standing committees. The BBL’s official document that we also adopted is the HB4994 and distributed its article to different standing committees formed”.

These committees are Political Autonomy chaired by Iqbal, Fiscal Committee is given to Atty.  Raissa Jajurie, Justice Committee chaired by Firdausi Abbas , Basic Rights Committee was tasked to Hussin Amin, the Transitory Provisions is chaired by Atty. Jose Lorena, while the Constitutional Amendments and Coordinating Committee headed by BTC Chair Jaafar.

Asked about convergence with the MNLF Misuari group, Jaafar told the delegates that there is a mechanism initiated by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and that is the Bangsamoro Coordination Forum (BCF) wherein they can formally meet.  The MNLF Sema group is now part of the BTC.

The BTC chairman believes that the concern of the Sema group in the crafting of a draft BBL maybe the same with Misuari’s party when it comes to the unimplemented provisions of the 1996 Final Peace Agreements signed between of the GRP and MNLF. 

In the conversation event in Cotabato City, the LBO leadership expressed their firm support for the BBL.

“As a united organization of the Bangsamoro, LBO stands firm on its principle to not get out from its comfort zone in bringing out and pushing its petitions made during the two Bangsamoro Peace Leaders Summits conducted where hundreds of leaders and organizations attended. That, we will continue to call on the leadership of MILF that if the BBL is diluted and not passed in Congress, then the MILF must go back to its original clamor and demand for independence,” said Fayediyah Samanodi, an LBO woman officer. 

Some members of the LBO attended the event sensing that there was this so-called ‘color coding faction’ in the Philippine politics. 

Over this concern on the government approach to solve the Moro Question for the right to self-determination, Datu Ali Al-Moro said, “We hate that the Bangsamoro struggle and the resolution thereof be tagged along or hijacked by individual political interests of any dispensation. We don't care at all if it shall be solved by the ‘dilawans’. We don't care at all if it shall be solved by the ‘pulahans’”. 

What we care about is that the Mindanao conflict must be solved once and for all. Paumanhin lang po. Huwag nyo na po kami isali sa mga kulay kulay na yan. Dahil simula nang magkaroon ng digmaan sa Mindanao, hindi na makulay ang buhay ng mga Bangsamoro," he lamented. 

Among other issues brought out during the conversation that caught the attention of CSOs were the proposed expansion of the ARMM and the questions on why not use the ARMM as a transitional government during the transition period?

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