BBL, Rodriguez get more boos in city

By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent

THE president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) here has expressed opposition to the substitute Bangsamoro bill being pushed by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez even as two councilors and a religious leader joined ex-vice Antonio Soriano in giving the congressman a thumbs-down over the House ad hoc committee’s 51-17 vote in favor of the proposed measure.

Councilor Alexander Dacer gave Rodriguez a failing mark for his role in pushing for the approval of the proposal, saying the congressman’s position did not reflect the sentiments of Cagayan de Oro’s majority.

“Zero gyud kay nagpaka-ulaw siya sa mga Kagay-anon,” said Dacer.
Dacer’s pronouncements came evebn as lawyer Rey Raagas, president of the IBP-Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro chapter, declared that he was opposed to the BBL in its present form, a position being held by Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., chairman of the Senate’s local government committee, who said he would not endorse the “flawed” proposal.

Raagas said the bill raises serious legal questions.

“I do not favor of the BBL as presently proposed because of its inconsistences with the Constitution,” said Raagas.

But he said he was for a basic law for the proposed territory that would provide an inclusive and meaningful autonomy in line with the aspiration for self-governance of Muslim Filipinos, lumads, and other groups in Mindanao.

Another lawyer, Councilor Ramon Tabor, said he was caught by surprise over Rep. Rodriguez’s seeming turnaround the day the House ad hoc committee which he chairs, voted in favor of the proposed law.

Tabor said Rodriguez was on the right track, and his position and  pronouncements about the proposed Bangsamoro law right after the Jan. 25 Mamasapano killings in Maguindanao reflected the majority’s sentiments until the this month.

“To be honest, from the very start, he (Rodriguez) was doing well. He was correct about his findings about eight major provisions in BBL that were unconstitutional. But in the end, nawala ang tanan for the reasons that I am not privy of,” Tabor said.

Former vice mayor Soriano, who was the first to sharply criticize Rodriguez right after the House ad hoc committee vote, said the congressman can expect his popularity ratings to plunge as he continues to push for the approval of the proposed law.

Soriano said Rodriguez was endorsing a proposed law that most of his constituents and the majority of citizens across the country, including many Muslim Filipinos in western Mindanao, find very unacceptable.

Soriano said Rodriguez and other congressmen should have worked to improve and strengthen the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) instead of doing what Malacanang wants.

The Armm law, according to Soriano, is constitutional.

The former vice mayor also called on congressmen not to sweep the Jan. 25 Mamasapano killings under the rug, and make sure those responsible for the brutal killings of the 44 members of the police’s Special Action Force (SAF) are brought to justice.
“Those who killed the SAF 44 should be jailed, and resigned National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima should be charged in court. We want to see the Armed Forces held accountable, too, over their failure to respond and provide reinforcement to the SAF men in Mamasapano,” he said.

“Kini gyud unta nga mga punto ang totokan sa gobyerno, dili kanang BBL,” said Soriano.
Meanwhile, a leader of an evangelical group in the city expressed dismay over Rodriguez’s position on the BBL.

Like Councilor Dacer, “ang akong ihatag ni Congressman Rufus nga grado, zero gyud,” said the pastor who requested anonymity.

The minister said he felt that Rodriguez and other congressmen were risking the future of Mindanao, and “unnecessarily put our families in harm’s way.”

“Delikado ang akong mga anak ug  ilang kaugma-on kay patay ra  gihapon ang sangpotanan anang BBL. So si Rufus, zero gyud.”

He said the BBL, despite the revisions, is what the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) wants so they could be in power in the proposed territory and at the same time, receive more public funds from the government.

The pastor said his group was worried that the proposed law, if approved, would be susceptible to abuse.

“Kinsa man ang mapihig? Kita ra gihapon nga mga tawo. Patay ang mahitabo ana,” he said.
He said even Rep. Rodriguez admitted that the BBL would not end the decades-old Mindanao conflict, and that it was merely a “small step” towards peace.

“Who among them can guarantee us peace? Can Rufus give us the assurance that there will be peace if they succeed in having the BBL approved? Dili oy,” the minister said.
Lawyer Jose Alejandre Pallugna opined that Rodriguez did his best as chairman of the House ad hoc committee “given the present political circumstances under which his committee worked with Mamasapano incident, and all.”

But Pallugna said it was now time for the senators to carefully examine the provisions in the proposed law.

“The BBL should be discussed fully in the Senate, and explained fully to the people as it will affect millions of Filipinos and the next generations. I believe that we need a  basic law to govern the Muslim areas in accordance with Muslim culture  and traditions,” Pallugna said.