Rachelle M.
Nessia
CEBU CITY,
May 28 (PIA) --- The proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will change the lives
of the next generation of Filipino-Muslims, says Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer,
chairman of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) Peace Panel.
In a media briefing held
today at AFP Central Command, Camp Lapu-Lapu, Ferrer explained that BBL
will pave the way for development programs to be introduced in the
region.
“For every year that we
delay stabilizing the peace and order in this area, this will have an impact on
the next generation of Filipino-Muslims,” she stressed.
Ferrer said the proposed
law will help enforce peace and order in the region since members of the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) - which she described as “the strongest
armed group in the country today” – are willing to put down their arms as their
weapons and combatants will be decommissioned under said law.
The briefing kicks off
the nationwide information drive for BBL conducted by the Office of the
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) in partnership with the
Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in strategic areas across the
country.
The campaign aims to
inform the public on the key provisions of BBL in the midst of prevailing
misconceptions about the law.
During the briefing,
Chairman of the Government of the Philippines Peace Panel Prof. Miriam
Coronel-Ferrer discussed the key features of BBL and answered questions from
the media and members of the Cebu Blogging Community (CBC).
Ferrer pointed out that
one misconception over BBL is that members of the government and Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) panel drafted the law.
“This is not true. The
BBL was drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission which was created by an
executive order issued by the President on December 2012,” she clarified.
The creation of the
Bangsamoro is provided for under the Philippine Constitution, which states that
“autonomous regions shall be created in Muslim Mindanao… within the framework
of this Constitution and the national sovereignty as well as the territorial
integrity of the Republic of the Philippines.”
Under the BBL, a new
form of government that is parliamentary in structure will be introduced in the
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region while providing them with fiscal autonomy.
“This will provide a
reformed institution where they compete for political power peacefully through
a democratic process,” explained Ferrer. (rmn/PIA Cebu)