‘We don’t need BBL’ opined town exec in Zambo Sur

TUKURAN, Zamboanga del Sur—‘We don’t need BBL, was the statement raised by  Mayor FrancisvicVillamero when interviewed on his opinion on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law recently at his office here.

He said his town does not need the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law to attain peace in Tukuran. He added that when he had a talked with his Muslim constituents he explained to them that they don’t need BBL to co-exist peacefully with each other.

He also said that for many years now, both Christians and Muslims lived and co-existed peacefully in the municipality. So, there is no need for a new system to solve the problem on peace because there is no problem to be solved on the first place.

The mayor has cited some provisions in the BBL that would cause chaos if approved. First, he strongly believed that the opt-in provision should not be approved because said provision is creeping. That is, provinces and municipalities not included in the territory of BBL, because of such provision may be included in their territory.

With regards to territory, another concern of the mayor is the provision on municipal waters. The area prescribe in the BBL is much bigger compared to what the Local Government Code’s measurement on what should be the area of the municipal waters. This is disadvantageous to their municipality, said the mayor. According to him, theirs is a coastal municipality so said provision is a treat to the livelihood of their fishermen. And the municipal water of Tukuranis much lesser than the required measurement of the municipal waters under the BBL.

Mayor Villamero also finds the provision in the BBL regarding the creation of institutions which resembles national institutions like Civil Service Commission, PNP, LRA and more. According to him, if a proposed law, like BBL, will create institutions duplicating those which are under the national government or authority, such law does not seek autonomy but rather a separate government.