High-powered firearms, ammos seized in GenSan

GENERAL SANTOS CITY --- Police operatives recovered several high-powered firearms and ammunition in separate raids in two villages here iver the weekend early last week.

Superintendent Marcelo Morales, Region-12 police director, said last May 29 that the illegal firearms were seized from the houses of three suspects during the search operations on May 27 and May 28 in Barangays Labangal and Bawing.

Armed with 11 search warrants, Morales said elements from the Police Regional Office (PRO)-12 and the Makar Police station swooped down on a community situated at a disputed property in Espina Estate, Barangay Labangal last May 27.

Operatives arrested a resident identified as Rocky Sirag after yielding an improvised Barrett rifle with two caliber 50 live bullets and a loaded improvised rifle grenade, he said.

Based on their records, Sirag has a pending arrest warrant for grave coercion.

Morales said a 12-gauge shotgun with five bullets and a caliber 45 handgun with seven bullets were found at the house of Jeffrey Taban, who was not around during the operation.

In Barangay Bawing, he said joint PRO-12 and Tambler Police Station personnel served search warrants in four houses at Purok Upper London, with one turning out positive for illegal firearms.

He said the operatives arrested resident Abubakar Palalisan following the recovery of a Bushmaster rifle and a 5.56 long rifle with 58 live bullets at his house.

Prior to the operations, Morales said they received information regarding the proliferation of illegal firearms in the two communities.

Police are verifying the possible involvement of the suspects in criminal activities, especially in the spate of shooting incidents in the city.

Morales said he has ordered the tracking of the original owners of the seized firearms. The suspects would be charged with violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act. (PNA - Cotabato/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

Workers' group seeksm inimum wage hike

METRO MANILA --- A labor group called for a minimum wage hike as the workers' buying power decreased amid rising prices of basic goods.

Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said last  May 27 that with the price hike of basic goods and fuel, partly due to the tax reform law, the minimum wage should be increased to P800.

"Nagrereklamo na kami noong wala pang TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law) na mataas na 'yung inflation. Here comes the TRAIN... merong two-pronged relation sa inflation, kaya napakabilis at napaka-furious ng inflation," Tanjusay said.

The ALU-TUCP explained that the current P512 minimum wage is only worth P326 in Metro Manila. This is down from P357 last month, when prices of basic commodities were lower.

Tanjusay added that the government should also grant a separate P500 cash subsidy for minimum wage earners.

"Dapat maglabas din ang gobyerno in the form of subsidy to augment the wage increase na ibibigay ng employers so that workers would be able to cope with inflation," he said.

Meanwhile, upon the order of President Rodrigo Duterte, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said he has directed the regional and tripartite wage boards to discuss the effects of the TRAIN law on workers.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, meanwhile, told CNN Philippines they will step up monitoring of stores to guard against profiteering.

"We monitor 400 stores per week and given directions from PRRD, we shall double that this coming weeks," Lopez said.

He said, however, manufacturers and supermarkets have been following the suggested retail prices (SRPs) for fear of being penalized.

Lopez added that they will closely monitor agricultural products in wet markets as prices fluctuate.

"We will suggest to DA (Department of Agriculture) to consider putting SRPs or price controls, that will be set accordingly to supply and demand situations per week," Lopez said.

Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua earlier said the tax reform law is not the cause of higher prices of basic goods, as it contributed less than half a percent to the country's inflation rate in April.

He added that other factors are behind the spike in commodity prices, such as the depreciation of peso, the rise in fuel prices, and profiteering. (Xianne Arcangel, CNN Philippines/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

1.4-M learners expected to troop to schools in R-12

GENERAL SANTOS CITY --- Around 1.4 million learners or students are expected to troop to the public schools in Region-12  on June 4 for the opening classes.

Dr. Arturo Bayocot, Department of Education (DepEd) Region-12 director, said last May 30 that the figure is based on their enrollment target in all grade levels for this school year 2018-2019.

Bayocot said they initially enlisted around one million learners during the early registration in January. Enrollment is currently ongoing in all public schools within the region's nine school divisions.

"We're still looking for more students and I'm hoping that we will be able to reach out to all of them within the week," he said.

The official said they have assigned teachers to track down learners who are not yet enrolled and even visit them in their houses if necessary.

To facilitate this, he said local schools and teachers have reference records of all learners as they progress to the next higher grade levels.

Bayocot said the initiative is part of DepEd's ongoing OplanBalik Eskwela and the Brigada Eskwela or the annual National Schools Maintenance Week (May 28 – June 2).

DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones and other agency officials led last May 29  the national kick-off of the Brigada Eskwela at the New Society National High School in Barangay Apopong here.

The activity included an exhibit of various education-related programs and projects, groundbreaking of New Society National High School's training building, and a forum on DepEd's National Drug Education, Prevention and Control Program.

Bayocot said the Brigada Eskwela is given a "new face" this year as it is no longer just focused on the physical readiness of the schools.

He said the activity "now includes programs that involve the readiness of the child."

"While we're making our schools ready, how about our learners? Have we reached the unreached children? Are we sure that our enrollment is already maximized? These are questions that we also have to look into," she said. (PNA - Cotabato/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

Regional wage boards ordered to fast track review to increase minimum salary

Wage boards to review minimum salary increase

METRO MANILA — The Labor Department  has ordered its wage boards to speed up the review to increase the salary of minimum wage workers in several regions amid rising prices of goods.

Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad III  said last may 28 that Central Luzon, Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Davao Region are already up for a minimum wage increase as its last raise happened over a year ago.

"May regional boards na lagpas na sa isang taon ang kanilang current wage orders. So wala nang sasagabal sa kanila na magtaas ng sahod. Decision ng board ay iba-iba ang timing. (Ang) regions na mas mataas ang inflation at mas hinog na, malamang magtataas ng wage," he said in a media briefing.

National Wages and Productivity Commission Executive Director Maria Criselda Sy said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has ordered the wage boards of Regions 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11 to confirm if there is a sustained "extraordinary" increase in prices of basic commodities within the last six months.

President Rodrigo Duterte has also ordered the regional boards to look into a possible wage increase.

"Sila ang binigyan ni Secretary ng instruction na pabilisin na ang pag-conduct ng consulation at public hearing. At i-consider na lahat ng nangyayari ngayon so that they can immediately issue the wage order," Sy said in a media briefing.

She added: "Kung sustained ang pagtaas ng prices of commodities, within six months ay sunod-sunod, pwedeng pag-aralan ng board at i-recommend sa commission. Ang commission ang magco-confirm."

The National Wages and Productivity Commission is the body under the Labor Department that sets minimum wages per region and grants increases upon its boards' assessment and recommendation.

Sy added that Metro Manila is also up for assessment even if the minimum wage in the region was increased in October 2017.

The wage commission said once the regional boards issue their recommendations and they are confirmed by the commission, it will take 30 days for an increase order to be issued.

The National Wages and Productivity Commission and representatives from the Departments of Trade, Energy, Finance, Agriculture, transportation board, and Central Bank will convene on June 5 to discuss the possible hike in minimum wage.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has reported inflation moved at a faster pace at 4.5 percent in April from 4.3 percent in March — both breaching the Bangko Sentral's target of two percent and four percent for the year.

Prices of goods and services reached a three-year high last February at 3.9 percent  and has since continued the trend. Prices of most commodities spiked after the tax reform law kicked in beginning January 1.

The PSA pointed to higher prices in the following commodity groups: alcoholic beverages and tobacco, clothing and footwear, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, furnishing, household equipment and routine house maintenance, health, transport, recreation and culture, restaurant, and miscellaneous goods and services.

Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua earlier said the tax reform law is not the cause of higher prices of basic goods, as it contributed less than half a percent to the country's inflation rate in April.

He added other factors are behind the spike in commodity prices, such as the depreciation of peso, the rise in fuel prices, and profiteering.

Meanwhile, a militant bloc at the House of Representives filed last May 28 a bill seeking to increase the nation-wide minimum wage to P750.

Anakpawis Representative Ariel Casilao said the Makabayan bloc filed a bill to increase the minimum wage to P750, because based on the Family Living Wage, a Filipino family of six needs P1,160 per day to live.

He said the bill also aims to abolish the regional wage boards.

Bello said DOLE will study the proposed 750-peso wage hike.

"Pwede naman pag-aralan 'yan then after studying, we will make our recommendation to Congress," he said. (CNN Philippines Staff/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

High-powered firearms, ammos seized in GenSan

GENERAL SANTOS CITY --- Police operatives recovered several high-powered firearms and ammunition in separate raids in two villages here iver the weekend early last week.

Chief Superintendent Marcelo Morales, Region-12 police director, said last May 29 that the illegal firearms were seized from the houses of three suspects during the search operations on May 27 and May 28 in Barangays Labangal and Bawing.

Armed with 11 search warrants, Morales said elements from the Police Regional Office (PRO)-12 and the Makar Police station swooped down on a community situated at a disputed property in Espina Estate, Barangay Labangal last May 27.

Operatives arrested a resident identified as Rocky Sirag after yielding an improvised Barrett rifle with two caliber 50 live bullets and a loaded improvised rifle grenade, he said.

Based on their records, Sirag has a pending arrest warrant for grave coercion.

Morales said a 12-gauge shotgun with five bullets and a caliber 45 handgun with seven bullets were found at the house of Jeffrey Taban, who was not around during the operation.

In Barangay Bawing, he said joint PRO-12 and Tambler Police Station personnel served search warrants in four houses at Purok Upper London, with one turning out positive for illegal firearms.

He said the operatives arrested resident Abubakar Palalisan following the recovery of a Bushmaster rifle and a 5.56 long rifle with 58 live bullets at his house.

Prior to the operations, Morales said they received information regarding the proliferation of illegal firearms in the two communities.

Police are verifying the possible involvement of the suspects in criminal activities, especially in the spate of shooting incidents in the city.

Morales said he has ordered the tracking of the original owners of the seized firearms. The suspects would be charged with violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act. 

(PNA - Cotabato/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

Koronadal dru­­­­g bustnets ‘notorious’ pusher

KORONADAL CITY --- Police said they arrested a "notorious" drug pusher who is allegedly linked to a local drug group during a buy-bust operation at a remote village here in the evening of May 29.

Superintendent Ronald Allan Penaverde, Koronadal City police chief, identified the suspect as construction worker Hermogenes Marcos Flores, 35, a resident of Purok Malipayon in Barangay Topland.

Penaverde said Flores was nabbed near his home at around 9:30 p.m. after selling a sachet of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu to a police asset who posed as a buyer.

He said operatives recovered from the suspect two more sachets of suspected shabu with an estimated value of P2,000, various drug paraphernalia, and P500 marked bill used in the buy-bust. 

The drug operation was witnessed by officials of Barangay Topland and media workers.

Penaverde said Flores is in the local police's drug watchlist.

"He was used by a local drug syndicate as conduit in the trading of illegal drugs in the area and nearby barangays," he said. (Alejandro Saludo, PNA - Cotabato/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

MILF hopes BBL to include 'more' of its inputs

MANILA --- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said last May 30  it hoped lawmakers would come up with a draft Bangsamoro Law that is as close to the version proposed by a transition commission.

While the Senate's and the House of Representatives' versions were "not exactly" watered down, the MILF wants "more," said the rebel group's vice chairman for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar.

These include restoring the full block grant for the Bangsamoro from government revenues as the development of Moro lands will need more funds, Jaafar told ANC's Headstart.

"Gusto namin 'yung mga proposal namin sa BBL maipasok 'yan lahat. Hindi man buo, at least it will not be diluted or it will not be watered down," he told ANC, referring to the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

(We want our proposals to be included in the final version of the BBL. If not all our proposals, at least the final version should not be watered-down.)

Jaafar co-chaired the Bangsamoro Transition Commission which drafted the BBL and submitted it to the Senate and the House.

The two chambers passed their respective versions late Wednesday and a bicameral conference will convene to reconcile the drafts before President Rodrigo Duterte can sign it into law.

Jaafar said the House version had nine amendments to the Transition Commission's proposal.

The BBL will create a Bangsamoro political entity with greater autonomy in place of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which Jaafar believes is a failed experiment.

Passing the BBL is among the requirements under the peace deal between the MILF and the government under former President Benigno Aquino III in 2014.

The BBL failed to pass under Aquino due to public outrage over the 44 police commandos in a botched anti-terrorism operation in the remote town of Mamasapano in January 2015.

The state troops encountered rebel forces, including MILF forces, as they hunted down Malaysian bomb-maker Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, who was eventually killed. (ABS-CBN News / Google News PH/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

23 firms in R-12 engaged in ‘endo’

GENERAL SANTOS CITY --- At least 23 companies in Region-12 or Soccsksargen have been found by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to have engaged in illegal labor contracting practices.

Sisinio Cano, DOLE Region-12 director, said last May 29 that these companies were discovered to have been employing labor-only contracting or contractualization schemes in the hiring of workers in the last two years.

Cano said the findings were based on the series of inspections and assessments conducted by the agency on business establishments in parts of the region since 2016.

“We have issued compliance orders to these companies but their cases are currently on appeal before the Office of the (Labor) Secretary,” he said in a radio interview.

Cano said they submitted the names of the 23 companies to the central office the other month in compliance with a directive from President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

He said six of them were included in the list issued by the agency last May 28 of the top 20 companies in the country that were found engaged in labor-only contracting practices.

These are the Dole Philippine Inc. (Dolefil) based in Barangay Cannery, Polomolok town in South Cotabato; General Tuna Corporation in Barangay Tambler, this city; KCC Property Holdings in Barangay Lagao here; Sumifru Philippines Corp. in Barangay Poblacion, T’boli, South Cotabato; Dolefil Allah Valley Operations in Surallah, South Cotabato; and, Dole-Stanfilco in Barangay Crossing Rubber, Tupi, South Cotabato.

The six firms account for 21,540 contracted workers, with Dolefil topping the list with 10,521.

The fruit giant, which is owned by Japanese trading giant Itochu Corp., was number two among the top 20 companies with the most affected workers.

Labor-only contracting is an arrangement “where the contractor or subcontractor merely recruits, supplies, or places workers to perform a job, work, or service for a principal.”

Such practice, along with end-of-contract or “endo” and “555” schemes, is prohibited under the Labor Code and DOLE Department Order No. 174.

Cano said the inspections covered the principal or main companies, contractors and sub-contractors as well as affiliated entities like cooperatives.

“Based on our findings, we issued compliance orders for the regularization of the contracted workers,” he said.

Of the 23 cases currently pending before the Office of the Labor Secretary, he said one was recently resolved as the company involved has agreed to comply with the agency's previous order. (PNA - Cotabato/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

HUDDLE -

HUDDLE --- Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri with officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front during deliberations on the Bangsamoro Basic Law. (Rappler - Sourced photo/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

Alms for Muslims from unlaw fulsource forbidden

COTABATO CITY --- A Muslim cleric reminded last May 27 all Muslims that charity from unlawful sources is “haram” (forbidden).

Alms-giving is one of the acts Muslims may perform during the month-long fasting, according to Islamic Cleric Abuhuraira Abdulrahman Udasan, the grand mufti of Central Mindanao.

Udasan joined Muslim religious leaders in the launching in Guindulungan, Maguindanao of the First Maguindanao Ramadhan Festival where he talked about the ideal traits in the observance of mandatory fasting.

He said money from illegal drug trade is not permissible for Muslims or institutions to accept as gift.

“If one is aware of the haram source of the gift, it is forbidden for him or her to accept,” he said.

“Accepting proceeds from gambling and usury are also haram,” he added.

Guindulungan Mayor Midpantao Midtimbang welcomed the Islamic preachers for choosing his town as the venue for the festival launching.

Maguindanao (2nd District) Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu, the event guest speaker, stressed unity and understanding among Filipino Muslims for the province to move forward.

Mangudadatu said he was glad to be given the opportunity to share his blessings to children and senior citizens of Guindulungan town. (Edwin Fernandez, PNA - Cotabato/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

Bangsamoro region ‘lesser than ARMM’ feared

MANILA --- The Senate and the House of Representatives  approved the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL),  but watered down the proposed powers of the new region it will create to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The approved versions fall short of government commitments in the peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), forged to end the decades-long conflict with the dominant Muslim rebel group.

The string of substantive amendments to the original version of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) sparked fears that the Bangsamoro region in the final version will even be “lesser than ARMM” and betray the intent of the measure.

“A BBL far lesser than ARMM, in powers and authority, is not the BBL we aspire for. Anything less than the status quo is unacceptable. Be mindful of the amendments. The devil is in the details, they say,” Assemblyman Zia Alonto Adiong posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday night, May 30, as senators deliberated on BBL in the plenary.

ARMM local government units already exercise powers to conduct cadastral surveys, for example, but the Senate removed this.

Lawmakers also pressed for technical language in the law that stakeholders see as a symbol of their struggle for self-determination, revising the Preamble to remove such declarations. A historical recognition that Moros once occupied Palawan, giving its residents "the right to identify themselves as Bangsamoro, was removed.

Next battleground: Bicam

The passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law brings the implementation of the peace deal with the MILF closer to reality – a success by itself.

ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman celebrated the passage of BBL. “We express our gratitude to the 17th Congress, and to the men and women who stayed the course to pass this law,” he said in a statement on Thursday, May 31.

But the work is not over and, fortunately for the stakeholders, the amendments are not final.

The real battle for the powers of the new Bangsamoro region will take place during the bicameral conference committee hearings, when the Senate and the House reconcile their versions of the proposed law.

Senators and representatives most supportive and most critical of provisions in the proposed law make up the bicameral panel.

Hataman highlighted the need to make the final version compliant with the Comprehe nsive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed between the government and the MILF in 2014.

“We in the ARMM continue to push for a BBL that is compliant with the previously signed Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, as the passed measure is brought to the table of the bicameral conference scheduled next month,” he said.

The MILF is expected to push hard to restore removed provisions.

'Massacred'

These concerns tempered celebrations for the passage of the BBL. Marawi resident Drieza Lininding, who was at the Senate to witness the deliberations, said the original version of the BBL was “massacred.”

“Dapat ba tayo magbunyi at matuwa dahil sa wakas maaprubahan na sa Kongreso ang BBL? Kahit alam natin na ito ay na 'masaker' at binago mula sa orihinal nitong bersyon ng BTC?” Lininding said in his Facebook post.

(Are we supposed to celebrate and be ecstatic because Congress finally approved the BBL? Even if we know that it was 'massacred' and amended from the original version of the BTC?)

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, the sponsor of the bill in the Senate, was forced to accept amendments during marathon hearings. His repeated appeals to retain provisions the BTC fought for fell on deaf ears.

Debates were faster in the House, but major amendments were also introduced there.

Heated debates

Senate debates heated up towards midnight on Wednesday (May 30), hours after the House passed the BBL.

At one point, Senator Risa Hontiveros stood up to call on her colleagues to support the implementation of a long delayed peace agreement. Debates were also suspended several times for government peace advisers to appeal to senators proposing amendments.

Among the significant amendment in the Senate is the deletion of a section listing the reserved powers of the national government, effectively removing the Bangsamoro region’s power over all other areas not on the list.

The Senate also abolished the proposed power of the Bangsamoro government to create, divide, merge, abolish, or substantially alter provinces and cities.

In the House, Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate lamented how the proposed law was “downgraded” in terms of territory. He voted against the passage of the BBL.

The congressional representatives allowed only one plebiscite for cities and provinces to decide whether or not to join the Bangsamoro region. The BTC version proposed to hold a plebiscite every five years for a period of 25 years.

“Isang mahalagang usapin din ang pagtanggal sa exclusive control ng Bangsamoro ng power and energy, natural resources, public utilities, Bangsamoro police, at iba pa (The removal of the Bangsamoro region’s exclusive control over power and energy, natural resources, and public utilities is also an important topic),” Zarate said.

Both chambers also lowered the Bangsamoro region’s annual block grant – its share in the national internal revenue – from the proposed six percent (P72 billion) to five percent (P59 billion).

The schedule of the bicameral conference committee hearings have yet to be announced. It is expected to have its report ready for ratification on the morning of July 23, when Congress resumes session for the 3rd Regular Congress, in time for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature before his State of the Nation Address.  (Rappler with reports from Mara Cepeda and Camille Elemia / Google News PH/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

A look at the evolution of the Bangsamoro Basic Law

This is what we have after trusting the peace process.
(Artwork by Uela Badayos)

WITH just days to spare before yet another break, the 17th Congress of the Philippines passed the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) on third and final reading. Amid the cheers are those skeptical of whether the version of the law the country needs is what Congress approved.

The version passed by the Senate, however, is the fruit born of a debate that lasted almost two decades.

At long last

Just hours after the House of Representatives, in a 227 to 11 vote, approved their version of the bill, the upper house with all 21 senators present approved what was known as Senate Bill 2408 on its final reading.

The 21-0 vote came around 1 a.m. on May 31.

There has been some applause from the stakeholders.

Governor Mujiv Hataman, the Administrative Region in Muslim Mindanao which the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region is slated to replace, praised the legislative branch for the law’s passage.

Prior to the law’s approval, Hataman discussed the significance of Bangsamoro to the Moro people.

Not everyone is pleased with the version that has been approved. Veteran journalist and known administration critic [who?] in a post discussed the reasons for Rep. Sarah Elago’s (Kabataan party-list) decision to vote against House Bill 6475.

Earlier reports said that the Senate’s version of the BBL would be different from the initial proposal of Malacañang and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission.

The Bicameral Conference Committee is expected to immediately convene to reconcile conflicting provisions in the versions passed by the House and the Senate.

Tracing the origins of the BBL

The creation of the Bangsamoro Region has long been touted as part of the solution to the decades-long conflict between the government and Moro insurgent groups, particularly the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Peace talks with Moro insurgents started in the 1970s, but were derailed in 2000 when President Joseph Estrada declared all-out war with the MILF.

Another attempt at attaining peace, the Tripoli Peace Agreement of 2001, would give birth to one of the first incarnations of the Bangsamoro: the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

The Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, which government and MILF panels were scheduled to sign, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2008, derailing the creation of a Moro homeland.

Following years of further negotiations with the MILF, the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro was presented by the Palace in October 2012. In December the same year, President Benigno Aquino III issued Executive Order 120 creating the Transition Commission that would draft what would become the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

In 2014, the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) was signed, seemingly signalling a final end to hostilities and national support for the creation of a new Bangsamoro region.

Mamasapano

Despite the CAB and an earlier cease-fire agreement signed in 1997, encounters between the government and the insurgents still took place.

The 2015 Mamasapno Clash, where more than 60 Filipinos — including 44 members of the police Special Action Force — died in a firefight with members of the MILF, the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and so-called Private Armed Groups, soured public opinion towards the bill and the peace process in general.

According to surveys, support for the BBL dropped to 23 percent from 44 percent after the incident, which a police panel later determined had partly been caused by poor planning and coordination on the SAF operation against international terrorists in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

Hopes for the BBL were revived with the election of President Rodrigo Duterte, the first president from Mindanao.

The siege of Marawi by Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorists — groups with a different grounding than the MILF and Moro National Liberation Front — in 2017 spurred renewed action on the BBL, which is meant to address the historial injustices and grievances of the Moros and IPs in the southern Philippines.

Duterte had previously urged swift passage of the law at his first State of the Nation Address and in speeches after. He promised to shepherd the bill through Congress and, last week, certified the bill as urgent. (Dan Manglinong, InterAksyon/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

ENLIVENING THE HERITAGE

 ENLIVENING THE HERITAGE--- The Bureau on Cultural Heritage of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao conducted a forum on Islamic Heritage last May 30 in Cotabato City as part of the National Heritage Month celebration.

Engr. Marites K. Maguindra, BCH-ARMM executive director, said the forum highlighted the deep Islamic heritage of the Moro people and its influence in their culture. She said they want to help ensure the preservation of this heritage for the sake of future generations.

Bangsamoro Grand Mufti Abuhuraira Abdurrahman Udasan, the guest speaker, said the most important Islamic heritage is the glorious Qur’an, which is a blessing from ALLAH (S.W.T.) and a guide to all Muslims.

“In this sense, we have to rely on the Qur’an in recording the history of Islam. It plays the role of correcting all the corruptions and extortions, ” he said.

The activity was participated in by representatives from different agencies of the ARMM. It was also supported by the Regional DarulIfta’ and the Bureau of Madaris Education of the Department of Education.

The 2018 National Heritage Month celebration carries the theme, “Pambansang Pagkakaisa para sa Pamana,” which highlights the role of a common heritage as a unifying force, contributing to national unity. (Bureau of Public Information - ARMM/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

Mamasapano holds SK federation election

MAMASAPANO, Maguindanao --- The Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation in this town conducted an election last May 29 held at the Sangguniang Bayan building.

Mamasapano Mayor Tahirodin Benzar Ampatuan told this publication that the, the SK Federation election was done peacefully in the presence and under the guidance of the Municipal Local Government and Operations Office as the lead agency in the conduct of the election.

Acting as observers were representatives from the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines who acted also as security forces, education district supervisors, and election officer assigned in the town.

The mayor expressed his thankfulness for their support and cooperation for the success of the event.

The election determined who among the  14 SK presidents of the municipality would take the post as SK Federation president, vice president, secretary, treasure, auditor, and sergeant-at-arms.

Following the election exercise, the winning SK Federation president down to sergeant-at-arms took their oath of office before Mayor Ampatuan.

The mayor reiterated to them their duties and functions as federation officers such as management of funds and drafting of development plans and programs for the sector they serve.

“And in regards to your co-youths or young people, teach them the importance of values and not to inflict illegal drugs or any illegal activity in their minds. Be humble because a humble public servant is more effective rather than an arrogant  one,” he added. (Anne B. Acosta/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

House version of BBL measure disappoints Muslim groups

THE Senate is confident that the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) it has just passed complies with the Constitution, but that is exactly why not everyone in Muslim Mindanao is rejoicing.

It is with the House of Representatives’ version of the proposed charter for an autonomous Muslim homeland in Mindanao that they are disappointed, and the grumbling is ominous.

Voting 21-0, the Senate approved the proposed BBL at 1 a.m. on Thursday (May 31) , just in time as the 17th Congress adjourned its second regular session. It will return for the third regular session on July 23.

The House, voting 226-11 with two abstentions, passed its version at 5 p.m. on Wednesday (May 30), but the bill was not the work of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) that helped the government lay the plan for a new autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao.

The newly passed BBL “does not inspire hope in our hearts that we of the Bangsamoro will receive justice to set right all the injustices committed against our people,” the Suara Bangsamoro group of Muslim activists said in a statement issued in Cagayan de Oro City on Thursday (May 31).

No Bangsamoro control

“This milquetoast that they’re passing off as BBL leave the Bangsamoro with no control over the resources of the area they define as our autonomous areas,” said Jerome Succor Aba, the group’s national chair.

“Just like in the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), this BBL appoints the new Bangsamoro political entity to facilitate the wholesale selling of our territories and natural resources to foreign corporations under the guise of bringing growth and development to Bangsamoro areas,” Aba said.

Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao said the belief that the House version of the proposed BBL did not represent the aspiration of the Moro people was the reason he voted against the measure.

“The approved law was very different from what I believe autonomy and self-determination should be,” Casilao said in a statement on Thursday (May 31).

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said the original proposal was the product of negotiations among the government, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and the Moro National Liberation Front, but it was watered down.

“The substituted HB 6475 (House Bill No. 6475) set aside all of these efforts,” Zarate said.

Malacañang pleased

But Malacañang said on Thursday it was pleased with the passage of the Senate and House versions of the bill that President Duterte had earlier certified.

“We are hoping that you know congressmen (and senators) will also exert efforts to make sure this BBL will withstand judicial scrutiny, having learned already from the lessons of the earlier MOA-AD (memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain),” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said, referring to the proposed agreement on ancestral domain that the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo negotiated with the MILF in 2008 but that the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, who sponsored the measure and led the debates in the Senate, expressed confidence that the chamber’s version was “compliant with the Constitution and [could] withstand scrutiny by the Supreme Court.”

Zubiri said the Senate was able to “weed out” provisions that “earlier muddled our intentions to improve the lot of fellow Filipinos in Muslim Mindanao.”

He said the Senate version “gives great latitude to the Bangsamoro people ‘to assert their political and economic self-determination, and pursue development programs for their people according to their peculiar historical, cultural, religious, and national identities.”

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III told reporters that the BTC may not have gotten 100 percent of what it wanted but the Senate version fixed its proposal and made it compliant with the Constitution.

Important concepts

“All the important concepts [proposed by the BTC] are there — block grant, special development fund, taxing power, and parliamentary structure,” Pimentel said.

Told that Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez had concerns on the constitutionality of making a law that would make an autonomous Bangsamoro region happen, Pimentel said Congress was actually “building upon the gains of the ARMM” and enhancing its autonomy.

“We will survive the test of constitutionality because this is still the autonomous region mentioned in the Constitution,” he said.

But Fatima Pir Allian of the Moro group, Nisa Ul Haqq Fi, said the passage of the House and Senate versions of the proposed BBL was not a cause for celebration.

The House bill that passed, she said on Facebook, was not compliant with the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the final peace agreement signed by the government and the MILF in 2014, stilling the guns in Mindanao.

The agreement provided for the establishment of an autonomous Bangsamoro region that would replace the ARMM and for the decommissioning of the MILF’s fighting force.

“It has changed in form and substance,” Allian said.

Dilution of proposal

Sultan Maguid Maruhom, director of Ummah Fi Salam, said he was worried the dilution of the original proposal could affect the acceptability of the proposed BBL to the Bangsamoro, but he hoped the Senate-House conference could fix the flaws.

ARMM Governor Mujib Hataman and Maguindanao Governor Ismael Mangudadatu said they appreciated the work of the 17th Congress.

But Mangudadatu, whose province is the home base of the MILF, said that he hoped the final version would be parallel to the original work of the two sides. (INQ.net  with reports from Allan Nawal, Jigger Jerusalem, Julie Alipala, Leah Agonoy, and Edwin Fernandez / Google News PH/MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

Palace on BBL: 'Let's find common ground'

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