Palace renews commitment to push for BBL passage

Malacañang has renewed its commitment to push for the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) after 43 percent of Filipinos expressed belief that there has not been much improvement in the situation of Muslims in the country.

“I think this only confirms the resolve of why we need to have a real, a comprehensive solution when it comes to peace and order and security

in Mindanao,” deputy presi- dential spokesperson Abigail Valte said yesterday over radio

dzRB.

“The need for help of our fellowmen there cannot really be denied and it should not just be what you can hand down, you will have programs, but there should really be a comprehensive peace solution for them,” she added.

According to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, 43 percent agreed while 25 disagreed that in the past few years, there has not been much real improvement in the position of Muslims.

The SWS survey also showed that Filipinos gave a + 23 rating to the Aquino administration on restoring peace in Mindanao, up from the + 12 rating on the same category last March. Moreover, 52 percent of the respondents are satisfied with the peace efforts of the government.

The same survey also showed that 40 percent agreed to trying to improve the position of Muslims, even if it means giving them preferential treatment.

If passed into law, the BBL will be the legal basis for the creation of an autonomous Bangsamoro entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

A product of the peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front ( MILF), the BBL provides for a new political setup and provisions that improve revenue- and wealth-sharing arrangements in order for the Bangsamoro government to be more effective in implementing socio-economic and development projects.

However, the BBL remains pending in Congress as lawmakers are questioning some of its provisions that they said are unconstitutional.

Malacañang reiterated that the passage of the BBL is still one of the best solutions to the problems in Mindanao, especially in terms of establishing good communities that would help improve the lives of Muslims.

The leadership of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) believes that the passage of the BBL will jumpstart the creation of jobs in the envisioned Bangsamoro because stability in the region will result in more investments and businesses.

TESDA deputy director general for Policies and Planning Irene Isaac noted that aside from the expected improvement in peace and security, the economic provisions of the BBL would also help improve the economy of the region.

“These provisions will put the Bangsamoro in a good position to jumpstart job creation in the area, and TESDA will definitely be there to help the Bangsamoro government equip the people for these jobs when they come,” Isaac said.

“We also expect to see more infrastructure projects like roads and bridges with more government funding as outlined in the basic law,” TESDA director general Joel Villanueva added.

TESDA is one of six government agencies that helped draw up the socioeconomic development packages for the decommissioned combatants of the MILF.

Government peace panel member and former agriculture secretary Senen Bacani said the economic provisions in the BBL would also help Mindanao catch up in terms of development and would even enable Mindanao to contribute to the country’s economic growth in the near future.

Bacani noted that the ARMM has a poverty incidence of 48.7 percent as of 2012 and is home to some of the poorest in the country.

Studies attribute this underdevelopment to the decades-long armed conflict as well as to the incomplete devolution in the current regional government.