Palawan seeks exclusion from Bangsamoro entity

MANILA, Philippines - The people of Palawan are opposed to the inclusion of the province and Puerto Princesa City to the Bangsamoro entity, Palawan Rep. Frederick Abueg said Wednesday.

 

The lawmaker from Palawan authored House Resolution (HR) 1514 titled "A Resolution directing the House Ad Hoc Committee to exclude the Province of Palawan and the City of Puerto Princesa in the proposed Bangsamoro Entity and to include the three Representatives of Palawan as regular members with voting rights in the House Ad Hoc Committee."

 

"History speaks for itself, the people of Palawan consistently resist the inclusion of the province to the ARMM in four successive plebiscites held during the time of then President Marcos, Aquino and Ramos, wherein the negative votes therefrom cast were more than eighty-five percent (85%) of the total votes," Abueg said in the resolution.

 

Under HR 1514, three Representatives from Palawan including Abueg, Franz Alvarez and Douglas Hagedorn will be included in the Ad Hoc Committee.

 

The said committee was formed to "review and evaluate the comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and propose a basic law for the establishment of a Bangsamoro entity within a time frame of six months."

 

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III recently submitted the draft of the Basic Basic Law (BBL) to Congress. The proposed law allows the creation of a special autonomous Muslim region.

 

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