MILF ‘still a revolutionary organization’ w/o BBL

THE MORO ISLAMIC Liberation Front (MILF) in a June 23 editorial at its Web site called for the reconstitution of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) whose members end their tenure today.

The Commission, which crafted the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) as agreed upon between the MILF and the Philippine government in 2014, “still exists,” the MILF said in its editorial entitled “Commissioners exit, BTC stays.” “However, as of June 30, this year, all the BTC Commissioners are considered resigned. It is up to the next administration to reconstitute this body. The truth is that it is only through this body that the MILF, which is still a revolutionary organization, can engage all agencies of government especially Congress,” the group said.

The MILF noted that the Commission’s “term of office... shall cease [only] upon the enactment of the BBL and its ratification by the people called for the purpose.” Any “idea” that “seeks to replace or replicate what has been agreed by the Parties... [is] certainly... not acceptable,” the group said further. It also noted: “As of now, the original BBL crafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission is being archived. The 16th Congress did not pass it. For what reasons, we are aware of many of them[,] but they are already in the dustbin of history. Only the hard lessons-learned therefrom are of use to us, the peacemakers.”

The BBL was derailed in Congress in the aftermath of the Mamasapano killings of Jan. 25, 2015 — a police encounter in the course of a terror hunt that led to the massacre of 44 operatives in the hands of the MILF and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

“The BBL is not an ordinary piece of legislation,” the editorial said. “It was and still is in the nature of a legislated agreement. Thus, it should conform to the letter and spirit of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which is an obligation of the Parties especially the government.”

PHL, INDONESIA EYE ‘SEA MARSHALS’

The Philippines and Indonesia are in talks for the possible deployment of “sea marshals” to avert maritime kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf. Outgoing Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin clarified that Indonesian authorities cannot enter Philippine territory unless consistent with the principle of “hot pursuit” for which there had been prior agreement between the two countries. “The agreement was based on the 1975 border pact that if you apply the principle of hot pursuit, their forces can run after a criminal or terrorist if the [incident] happened in their territory and run[s] into our area,” said Mr. Gazmin, who met on Sunday with his Indonesian counterpart, Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, to discuss how Indonesia may actively join in the Philippines’ internal security operations in the event of another kidnapping. —