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Duterte nixes separate security forces for Bangsamoro region

March 27, 2018 | 2:35pm

Duterte nixes separate security forces for Bangsamoro region

Soldiers in hijabs take selfies with President Duterte after he declared the liberation of Marawi City in October 2017. AFP

SULU, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said that he will not give the proposed Bangsamoro region its own regional armed forces and police, neither of which are included in the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law.

"It stays to the commander-in-chief," Duterte said Monday at the provincial gymnasium in Jolo, the capital town of Sulu province.

Duterte issued the pronouncement as he urged Sulu residents, who are predominantly Tausug, to resolve ethnic rivalries that may affect implementation of the Bangsamoro Basic Law measures, which Congress is holding hearings on.

Duterte had aired concerns on whether leadership in the new region should be by region or by ethnic group.

He said that Suluanos (Tausug people who are residents of Sulu), Sama and Yakans in Basilan may not get along with ethnic groups in Central Mindanao like the Maguindanaons, Iranon, Maranao and other indigenous people's groups.

READ: Duterte worried Bangsamoro Law might not address ethnic rivalries

"Meaning to say if you Tausug want the Maranao will lead like the present ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao)," Duterte said.

ARMM Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman is actually a Yakan from Basilan province. He succeeded Ansaruddin-Abdulmalik Adiong, a Maranao, and Zaldy Ampatuan, a Maguindanaon. Ampatuan, whom Adiong replaced in 2009 in the aftermath of the Ampatuan massacre, succeeded Parouk Hussin, a Tausug.

The position of regional governor is elective.

"I do not mean that I do not trust you, but I also mean what I say. Whether you like it or not there's one thing I cannot give in, the regional armed forces and regional police. It stays to the commander-in-chief," Duterte said.

BBL does not propose own police, military

The draft Bangsamoro Basic Law, which is posted on the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, holds that "the defense of the Bangsamoro shall be the responsibility of the Central Government."

The draft BBL only tasks the central government to create a Bangsamoro Military Command, which will be part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and which "shall be organized, maintained, and utilized in accordance with national laws."

The BBL also creates a Bangsamoro Police to maintain peace and order in the region. The draft clearly states that "it shall be part of the Philippine National Police."

The Bangsamoro Police, however, will be governed by a Bangsamoro Police Board, "which shall perform the functions of the National Police Commission in the Bangsamoro Government." That board will be part of the National Police Commission.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process clarified that it is a misconception that the new region will have its own separate security forces and that while the military and police organizations will have different names, they will function like a regional police office or military command.

"The police and military in the meantime should belong to only one (government). I suggest you elect a president that is not stupid. One that will not wrest the government and use the military to rebel against his own government," Duterte added.

The proposed Bangsamoro region will have a parliamentary form of government. The Bangsamoro Parliament will elect its chief minister.

The president also reminded Sulu residents and officials that the new region will need support from the central government in its early years.

"When you start a new system, it's wobbly like a baby learning to walk, which needs assistance," Duterte said.

Government, MILF affirm commitment on 4th anniversary of peace deal

The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Tuesday affirmed their commitment to peace as they marked the fourth year since the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the peace deal reached after 17 years of negotiations.

"The Bangsamoro Basic Law is not just a part of the implementation of the CAB but is meant to address the commitment of the government with the MILF and the Bangsamoro people. The milestones of the peace process are a reminder of how far we’ve come after the signing of CAB in 2014," Undersecretary Nabil Tan, deputy presidential peace adviser, said in a release from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

The BBL is meant to implement the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

The CAB has been instrumental in milestones in the peace process, OPAPP said.

"In a landmark event in the Bangsamoro Peace Process, 75 high-powered and crew-served weapons from 145 MILF combatants were ceremoniously turned over to the Independent Decommissioning Body on June 16, 2015," it said.

The agreement also paved the way for cooperation in creating a "Peace Corridor" during the 2017 Marawi siege. The corridor, which was secured by the military and by the MILF facilitated the entry of humanitarian aid to displaced civilians and the rescue of 255 Marawi residents trapped in the city.

"The CAB, BBL, and the comprehensive peace process is not for the benefit of the MILF but about addressing the historical injustices suffered by the Bangsamoro communities," MILF Implementing Panel Chairman Mohagher Iqbal said.

"The peace process hopes to achieve the contribution to the prosperity and resilience in Mindanao such as job opportunities for the youth, education for our children, infrastructures, incomes for home-grown businesses, and delivery of primary services especially to conflict-affected areas," he also said. — with Jonathan de Santos in Manila