Gov’t confident of Bangsamoro Law passage in Congress

MANILA, Philippines - The government is hopeful that Congress will pass the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

Speaking at the opening of the international conference on inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue for peace in Cotabato City over the weekend, presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Deles said the government’s political roadmap is firmly in place.

“We are fully confident that we are installing a process which will ensure, within an acceptable and doable time frame, that the Bangsamoro Basic Law which will be enacted by Congress, will live up to the people’s expectations as a measure worthy of broad-based support, and one that is faithful to our Constitution,” she said.

Deles lauded the conference organizers for seeking to foster inter-religious and intercultural dialogue as a tool for peace to take root and last for the benefit of everybody.

“Peace is about coexistence and inclusion. In no way is it a one-way street,” she said.

“Peace is for all of us, and thus requires a shared commitment from all of us as well. Today, this commitment is fully fleshed out in this diverse assembly.”

Deles said she sees people of varying levels of experience and expertise, of divergent faiths and ethnicities coming together to secure the much-elusive peace.

“We cannot simply talk peace forever,” she said.

Deles said structures must be built for peace and the communities prepared for the transition from conflict to peace while bringing down the barriers that have kept it away.

“With the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) last March, all of these components are not only possible, but very much within our reach,” she said.

The CAB envisions the creation of a new Bangsamoro region to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao after the Bangsamoro Basic Law is passed in Congress and ratified in a plebiscite.

Deles said all the parties concerned are striving to meet the standards that President Aquino had set during the CAB signing.

“The Bangsamoro Basic Law will be a law that is equitable, practical and empowering and which serves the interests of the entire nation,” she said.

Deles said the nation had waited for 17 long years for a mutually binding and acceptable peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“We can be bold in taking a few more days, if not weeks, to ensure a more refined and strengthened draft Bangsamoro Basic Law to be stewarded by the leadership of both houses of Congress through a legislative process and thereafter for ratification through plebiscite,” she said.

Deles said Aquino is determined to wield the democratic process to install the Bangsamoro as a partner in ensuring common prosperity, collective security, and good governance in the four corners of the Philippine archipelago.

“We in the government take our shared journey to peace through the Bangsamoro very seriously,” she said.

Carrying the theme “Peace is Living Together: Religion and Cultures in Dialogue for Peace and Reconciliation in Mindanao,”” the two-day International Conference of Cotabato is organized by the Archdiocese of Cotabato, the Community of Sant’Egidio, and the Muhammadiyah, with the support of the European Union, the Italian government and Notre Dame University.