Ex-SC justice: BBL unconstitutional

MANILA, Philippines - Retired Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Vicente Mendoza warned yesterday that the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) could reduce the powers of the national government and lead to the break-up of the Republic.

Speaking before a House of Representatives ad hoc committee, Mendoza said the proposed law is   beyond the power of Congress to pass.

At least five of its provisions are unconstitutional, he added.

Mendoza said the bill might end up like the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) that the SC declared unconstitutional in 2008.

“I regret, however, that despite the splendid progress made toward the peaceful solution of the Mindanao conflict, I still entertain doubts concerning the constitutionality of certain concepts and provisions embodied in House Bill 4994,” he said.

The ad hoc committee on the proposed BBL chaired by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez resumed deliberations at the House yesterday after holding public hearings in Mindanao last week.

Mendoza said the bill refers to the envisioned Bangsamoro region as a “territory” and “ancestral homeland,” when the term “territory” in law refers to a part of the country separated from the rest or a geographical area under the jurisdiction of another sovereign power.  

The phrase on the recognition of the right of the people to self-determination to chart their political future reinforces the notion that Bangsamoro is a separate political entity under the jurisdiction of the Philippines, he added.

Mendoza said such a political entity is only a little different from that of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity in the voided MOA-AD. – With Jose Rodel Clapano