Polarizing Christians and Muslims

I am sad to see that as a result of the Mamasapano raid, the mutual trust and social cohesion that had been nurtured between Christians and Muslims, in some sectors, had been greatly eroded. The exchanges in the social media have even turned nasty and starting to go out of bounds. Let’s hope we can overcome this growing tension. Social healing is important.

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BBL DEAD? — I heard congressional leaders now saying that the draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in Congress is good as “dead in the water.” There is this feeling of  distrust—and even hatred and fear—on the MILF due to the recent killing of SAF commandos and the confirmation that indeed, the MILF appeared to be not capable of managing the security of the territory from terrorist elements. It is predicted that the BBL will no longer get the approving vote in both the Senate and the House.

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ALTERNATIVE — The nagging question is: what is the alternative to BBL?

If BBL will not be approved, all is NOT lost. The aspiration of the bangsamoro can still be addressed, in a best case scenario, if the present ARMM law, (R.A. 9054) be amended or enhanced putting therein the salient features of the peace agreement with the MILF. Moreover, it will be more inclusive than the BBL because we can also consolidate therein the output of the tripartite review of Misuari’s MNLF 1996 peace agreement. This will be one road map for all bangsamoro. Just thinking aloud — just in case.

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AFP & PNP — The explanation of the AFP officers that they failed to save the lives of the trapped PNP SAF commandos because they (AFP) did not want to disrupt the on-going peace process with the MILF is not acceptable to many. There are indications that this is driving a deep wedge between the AFP and the police with their civilian supporters. I think it is best that this is addressed urgently. Otherwise, we have a deeply divided Philippine security sector.

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TRUTH COMMISSION — To clear all doubts and to get all those responsible for the Mamasapano incident accountable, an independent “truth commission” be organized. The commission can be the umbrella group that will consolidate  all the ongoing investigations in the House, the Senate, the ombudsman, and all the other groups looking into the incident.