GPH, MILF to Congress: Don’t waste time, pass proposed BBL

The chief negotiators of the Government of the Philippines – Moro Islamic Liberation Front (GPH MILF) peace panels appealed to the two chambers of Congress once more to “stop wasting time and work” on the immediate passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The appeal was coursed through an open letter to Congress.

“Time is short, but there is still time. We ask our legislators to work for the immediate passage of the draft law on the Bangsamoro. Time is of the essence, and opportunity knocks only once,” said GPH peace panel chair Prof. Miriam Coronel–Ferrer and MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal in a joint letter addressed to members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

“We are at the cusp of closing a major armed conflict that has divided our people for decades. But we cannot reach our destination without the goodwill and show of statesmanship from our leaders in the august halls of Congress, in whose hands the legislative power lies,” the two peace panels’ heads stated.

More ideal autonomous gov’t They stressed that the Bangsamoro law will establish a more representative and responsive autonomous government correcting the structural flaws found in the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“The BBL will sustain the development initiatives that have flourished under the current ceasefire and the normalization programs provided for in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB),” the two peace panel chairpersons said.

Path to peace “The passage of the law will pave the way for the decommissioning of thousands of weapons and combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),” Ferrer and Iqbal stressed.

They also noted that the enactment into law of the BBL would enable the peaceful transition of an armed group into regular members of society that can participate and compete in free and fair elections in the country.

“Let us allow the MILF to proceed to the third and last stage of their struggle: from pure armed struggle from 1972 to 1997; political struggle from 1997 to the passage and ratification of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law ; to democratic struggle where their rights and aspirations are pursued solely through civilized and democratic means.”