ZAMBOANGA CITY, PIA – Civil society leaders in Mindanao has urged Congress to separate the issue of the Mamasapano incident and the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
“Truth and justice must be sought on the Mamasapano case but it must be dealt with separately from the BBL. We believe that the BBL is aimed at sustaining trust and confidence in our government and the gains of peace so we could avoid another Manasapano,” said Alih S. Aiyub, secretary-general of the National Ulama Conference.
Other civil society leaders also expressed their dismay over several congressmen petition to suspend hearings on the BBL until Congress concludes its own investigation of the Mamasapano incident.
Last Wednesday, 52 out of the 75 members of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) signed a petition calling on the leadership of the House of Representatives to reopen first their probe on the Mamasapano incident before resuming the hearings on the BBL.
Currently, there are already two reports on the Mamasapano incident that have been made public – investigations made by the Philippine National Police’s Board of Inquiry and a number of Senate committees.
“While it is their prerogative to seek the resumption of the probe (on what happened in Mamasapano), this should not be prejudicial to the resumption too of the House discussions on the BBL which ironically could precisely be the key to resolving the age-old conflict in the Bangsamoro in a fundamental way,” said Augusto “Gus” Miclat Jr., executive director and co-founder of the Initiatives for International Dialogue.
Dean Benedicto Bacani of the think-tank Institute for Autonomy and Governance said the petition will only cause “further delays” in the passage of the Bangsamoro bill.
“This will further delay the passage of the BBL. There is also no guarantee that the deliberations (on the BBL) can resume even when such investigation (on the Mamasapano incident) is concluded since any finding can be a stumbling block to the passage of the BBL,” he said.
The Friends of the Bangsamoro, which is composed of several peace advocate groups, said that although they agree on the need to ferret out the truth over the Mamasapano incident and give justice to the victims, Congress should also bear in mind the gravity of passing a measure that will prevent the repetition of the tragic incident.
“We are concerned that time is now running short and the task ahead remains urgent and sizable. We ask the members of the executive committee on the BBL to again convene and resume their sessions on the BBL. We enjoin them to continue their consultations in refining the BBL as needed,” the group said in a statement.
“We look forward to the timely passage of the BBL as the foundation and mechanism for the long-desired peace and development for Muslim Mindanao. Let’s all move forward with the BBL,” it added.