If BBL is not approved

The fate of the Bangsamoro Basic Law in Congress now hangs in the balance. We do not know yet what fate will befall it. But I squirm every time someone says: “the alternative to  BBL  is war!” Excuse me! Not true. While BBL is the best case scenario, its possible demise does not mean there is no other way but that we all go to war. Let me remind everyone. There are other ways to peace assuming both sides in the negotiations table really want peace. Negotiations or peace talks to forge a peaceful settlement is ONLY ONE OF THEM.

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PATHS TO PEACE — Here are a few. Addressing the root causes of UNPEACE is a must. Like bringing justice for all by giving redress to grievances—including generational grievances of the bangsamoro. Also, improving the lives of the suffering poor, the deprived and those suffering from “exclusion” is another path to peace. Attending to the needs of the victims of conflict, the evacuees and assisting them go back to normal lives, rehabilitating their disrupted livelihood. We need not go into peace talks to know all this. Of course, the bottom line is to implement the laws and get everyone to abide.

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BBL’S ALTERNATIVE — The alternative to the non-approval of the BBL, if that becomes inevitable, is the amendment and the enhancement of the present ARRM law or Republic Act NO. 9054. The ARMM LAW is now constitutionally compliant. It can be enhanced by the new provisions in the BBL, minus those that are constitutionally questionable. Although the ARMM is viewed by some as a “failed experiment”, correcting those empirical deficiencies can help make it succeed.

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INCLUSIVE — One of the issues raised against the BBL is that it is only to address the concerns of the MILF. Improving and enhancing the ARMM law can  be more “inclusive” than the BBL because it can contain the best provisions of the MILF agreement, plus inputs from the MNLF 1996 final peace agreement and of course, the IPRA law of our lumads.

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FALL BACK — Finally, if all else fails, then the constitutional shift to a federal parliamentary system of  government is the final fall back position. It means rightfully giving what is right and just, not only to the bangsamoro but to all Filipinos as well.

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MATI ATTACK — The NPA attack of the police station in the heart of Mati City last weekend shook everyone a bit. More so because the AFP just days before the attack, announced that Davao Oriental was already “insurgency free”. I think the NPAs intentionally challenged that public declaration by simply saying: “Hey, what are you talking about? We’re still around.”