Stakeholders in the BBL

“DOES the Bangsamoro issue concern us at all?” This was the question I overheard a fellow local government official ask another colleague. We were huddled over coffee discussing matters relevant to our communities when the issue of the Bangsamoro and the basic law being drafted to create it cropped up.

We are a province cozily nestled in the bosom of the Sierra Madre, and from where we are, Mindanao seems to be a far-away land. The physical distance separating us makes us wonder whether or not we are genuine stakeholders in this issue. It is important to determine that – otherwise, we might end up as either kibitzers or hecklers who simply compound the already confusing noise.

My view from Rizal is that – despite the physical distance – we are stakeholders in the issues hounding the Bangsamoro and its proposed basic law. We have a lot to win and much to lose depending on how the issue is handled and a conclusion reached.

We see some win for local governments across the nation if the Bangsamoro concept is proven to be viable and sustainable.

We believe in greater regional and local autonomy. The Bangsamoro model gives a lot of latitude to the proposed autonomous region when it comes to developing its natural resources and benefiting from their use and disposition. It also looks like the Bangsamoro constituents will have a powerful say on which of their natural resources are tapped and exploited and which ones are not.

That has long been an aspiration in many other regions. In Rizal province, for example, the permits and licenses for major quarrying projects are issued at the national government level with only a token assent from the local governments concerned.

Experience showed us that intense quarrying activities may have destructive effects on the environment. When such effects are felt by the host communities, the blame usually goes to the local governments – which have no major say at all in the permitting and licensing processes.

We hope that the Bangsamoro would end up as a possible model for regional autonomy.

We see some losses, too. They frighten us.

For example, we do know that there are provisions in the draft basic law that create the impression that the Bangsamoro is designed not as an autonomous region but as an independent state of sorts.

Particularly disconcerting are the proposed provisions for an independent police force, independent commissions on elections, audit, and civil service.

The lawyers among us argue that such provisions would not pass the test of constitutionality. That is secondary among the concerns of fellow local government executives. What frightens us is the emergence of a virtually independent state which has the best of both worlds – feeding off the hand of the national government and off the fruit of the land within its jurisdiction.

We were told that the draft basic law does contain a provision which entitles it to an “asymmetrical relationship” with the national government. That provision apparently allows it to enjoy more powers and privileges than other local government units.

We can only respond with a puzzled “why?”

We reeled under the adverse effects of the creation of a super Metro Manila region in the past. Would this be a repeat of a decision that merely resulted in lopsided development?

We are also worried over the possibility that the Bangsamoro is a model for “ethnic autonomy” – not of an authentic and ideal regional and geographic autonomy. In other words, our countrymen there are being given greater powers than the rest of the country simply because they belong to a specific ethnic and/or religious group.

If that is the intention or the consequence, then that would be a not-so-good precedent. Other ethnic groups might as well make their own clamor for Tagalog, or Cebuano, or Bicolano autonomy.

Given such concerns, two other things puzzle us. As it turns out, every Filipino has a stake on the creation of a super autonomous region in that part of the country. Why was there no effort at educating us all and getting our buy-in?

Second, if every Filipino has a stake on this issue, why would the plebiscite be participated in only by a handful of provinces?

Shouldn’t we all be asked whether or not we approve of the draft basic law?

There are fears that the draft basic law could be a sure-fire formula for the geographical fragmentation of the country. That is a valid fear. Already, we may be emotionally fragmented on that issue.

After all, we all do have a stake on the Bangsamoro. The sooner such stake is recognized, the greater the chance of preventing the further emotional fragmentation of the country.