By Paolo Romero, Philippine Star 

MANILA, Philippines - The leader of the independent bloc of lawmakers in the House of Representatives said yesterday the petition against the agreements with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) before the Supreme Court should be welcomed as it would lead to the crafting of a better Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said the petition filed by the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) against the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) would help Congress craft a constitutional and legally accepted BBL.

“The Philconsa petition will serve as the lifeblood and heart of the peace agreement signed by the government and Moro rebels. We support peace, but any agreement should be in consonance with the Constitution and existing laws. This will help prevent a half-baked peace measure and not give false hopes,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez is the president of Philconsa, which filed the petition last week to declare the FAB and the CAB as unconstitutional. Both agreements were the basis of the BBL drafted by Malacañang.

“The beauty and essence of democracy are to ensure that all laws, rules and regulations, and programs of the government are in consonance with the Constitution and must also protect the rights of everybody,” he said.

Romualdez said the filing of the petition “is very important to make democracy a very healthy process because it is a very fragile thing if not respected and taken care of.”

The House adjourned last week without passing the BBL amid strong opposition from lawmakers on various provisions of the draft that they said would endanger the country’s territorial integrity and the authority of the national government.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, one of the sponsors of the BBL, said the petition would have no effect on the deliberations on the draft when Congress opens session on next month.

“I believe the Supreme Court will dismiss this (petition). It will not grant them a TRO or an injunction because the agreements have yet to be implemented,” Rodriguez said over dzBB radio.

First step to peace

Meanwhile, a member of the government peace panel that negotiated the peace agreement with the MILF said the approval of the BBL is the first crucial step to achieve peace and prosperity in Muslim Mindanao.

“This is a component of a larger process and numerous approaches to achieve peace and prosperity in Mindanao,” Mohammad Al-Amin Julkipli said.

Once the BBL is passed. it cannot guarantee peace instantaneously on its own, according to Julkipli.

He said what the BBL does is to provide and set the conditions that will allow for peace to prosper, adding that peace does not happen overnight.

“Based on my presentation on the comprehensive peace agenda, I  want to impress upon everyone that the process we are undertaking is long, difficult, and sometimes bloody because the objective is not easily achieved,” Julkipli said.

“That is why it cannot happen with just one brush of a pen and when President Aquino signs the law and submitted to a plebiscite we still cannot see its immediate impacts such as reconstruction and development,” he added.

Julkipli said BBL implementation is from 10 to 20 years based on the Bangsamoro Development Plan, which has short term, medium term and long term aspects.

“Passage of the BBL is already a recognition that the first step is being implemented based on this whole endeavor,” he said.

Asked if an unpassed BBL would triger war in Mindanao, Julkipli doubted this.

“There is something we have to be very careful about that if the BBL is not passed war could break out in Mindanao. This is not true,” he said.  – With Celso Amo