Murad to Duterte administration: Pass BBL before shift to federal gov’t
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By Veronica Pulumbarit, GMA News
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) should come before the Philippines shifts to a federal form of government.
Murad made the statement in a speech delivered for him by MILF Central Committee secretary Ahmad Amer at the forum on Global Autonomy, Governance, and Federalism on Wednesday.
Murad said the MILF supported the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in its efforts to establish a federal form of government.
"But since the Bangsamoro has a separate, historical experience and narrative from the rest of the Filipinos, the negotiated political settlement that took almost 18 years of long, protracted negotiations must necessarily lead to a unique solution, which we simply referred to as the [Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro]," Murad said.
"The implementation of the CAB, particularly its political track, which means the passage of the [BBL], must precede this shift from unitary to federal form of government," he added.
The CAB was signed on March 27, 2014 following negotiations between the Aquino administration and the MILF.
The CAB recognized the legitimacy of the cause of the Bangsamoro people in southern Philippines and provided for the creation of a new autonomous political entity, the BBL.
"While federalism is generally good for the entire Philippines, we should not lose sight of the uniqueness of the Bangsamoro situation,' Murad said.
"We cling to the CAB as the solution to the centuries-old Bangsamoro problem, and any legislation that discards it, or simply selects provisions out of it, is to us mutually disadvantageous," he added.
"The MILF holds on to the commitment of President Duterte to implement the CAB first with the passage of the BBL, and then the prospective Bangsamoro government shall serve as a template of a Philippines federal state," Murad said.
Congress’ passage of the BBL, which would have established a new political entity for the Bangsamoro people, was stalled after the deadly Mamasapano incident in 2015.
Forty-four members of the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police were killed on January 25, 2015 during a failed police operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.