THE House Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law chaired by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez submitted the substitute version of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law to the plenary of the House of Representatives on Monday afternoon.
Rodriguez said the substitute bill “will provide the groundwork which the foundations for peace and development in Mindanao shall be laid.”
“These are the first, small steps towards achieving lasting peace in Mindanao,” Rodriguez said.
He said the substitute bill, House Bill 5811, which the ad hoc committee passed two weeks ago, has major amendments that will not create a Bangsamoro nation but a new region under “one flag, one country.”
Rodriguez said House Bill no. 5811 will seek the repeal of Republic Acts No. 9054 and. 6734, the laws governing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm).
He said the substitute measure no longer has the unconstitutional provisions like the Wali as the titular head of the Bangsamoro region, and reverted the offices of the Ombudsman, Civil Service and Audit to regional extensions of the national government agencies.
Rodriguez also said the bill also reverted ownership of “strategic resources” like oil, uranium, petroleum and other sources of energy back to the national government.
Rodriguez said critics should carefully read the substitute bill which is now named as “the Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.”
“This 91-page document is not a miraculous pill that would somehow end all hostilities in Mindanao, and usher in a golden era of peace in the region,” Rodriguez said.
“Centuries of violence, injustice, discrimination and misunderstanding among our brothers and sisters in Mindanao will not be magically swept away once we pass this bill,” he said.
But the bill, Rodriguez said, would offer “the chance to achieve peace by addressing all these issues and thrusting them into the public consciousness.”
Buhay partylist Rep. Lito Atienza questioned the lack of quorum at the start of the plenary.
Eventually, a total of 193 congressmen answered the roll call paving the way for the induction of the substitute bill to the House plenary. –froilan gallardo of mindanews
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