Questions about the Bangsamoro

framework agreement

Published on 16 October 2012

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Written by TONY LOPEZ

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THE Bangsamoro Framework Agreement was signed yesterday in

Malacaang, with no less than President Aquino and by the British-
educated Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in attendance.

Aside from Malaysia, which had harbored Filipino terrorists and rebels in
the past, the agreement seems to be sponsored by the United States which
wants to put up a base in Mindanao to check the Chinese in the South
China Sea, and Japan which wants the US to continue policing the Pacific
and neutralize the increasingly belligerent Chinese.

The participation of Malaysia, the US, Japan and other nations lends
international character to the agreement and could be misinterpreted as
giving the Moro Islamic Liberation Front a status of belligerency.

Yesterdays signing comes 36 years after the December 1976 of Tripoli

Agreement between the Philippine government and Moro National
Liberation Front Chair Nur Misuari. It was negotiated in secrecy by Imelda
Marcos with Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi. It called for cessation
of hostilities and an autonomous government in southern Philippines.
Manila reserved its competence on foreign policy, national defense, and
mines and mineral resources. In the 1977 plebiscite, five provinces joined
autonomyTawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Lanao del Sur, and Maguindanao.

On October 7, this year, President Aquino declared the Autonomous

Region for Muslim Mindanao as a failed experiment. Well, the ARMM
was riddled with corruption and incompetence. Up to 98 percent of its P20
billion annual budget went to PSpersonnel services.

Many of the people continue to feel alienated by the system, and those
who feel that there is no way out will continue to articulate their grievances
through the barrel of a gun. We cannot change this without structural
reform, Aquino said.

The new Bangsamoro Framework Agreement creates a new political entity

Bangsamoro, which to a pedestrian means Moro nation. This name, says
Aquino, symbolizes and honors the struggles of our forebears in
Mindanao, and celebrates the history and character of that part of our
nation.

Aquino is gung-ho. He says this Framework Agreement paves the way for
a final, enduring peace in Mindanao. It brings all former secessionist
groups into the fold; no longer does the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
aspire for a separate state. This means that hands that once held rifles will
be put to use tilling land, selling produce, manning work stations, and
opening doorways of opportunity for other citizens.

The President assures all that the national government will continue to
exercise exclusive powers of defense and security, foreign policy,
monetary policy and coinage, citizenship, and naturalization. The
Constitution and lawful processes shall govern the transition to the
Bangsamoro, and this agreement will ensure that the Philippines remains
one nation and one people, with all of our diverse cultures and narratives
seeking the common goal.

More questions than answers

However, a quick reading of the 2,973-word Framework Agreement gives
rise to more questions than answers.

Like what is a ministerial form of government? Does it mean simply

calling officials of Bangsamoro prime minister and his cabinet members
ministers?
What is an asymmetric relationship between Manila and the Bangsamoro
government? Does it mean that the central government in Manila is strong
and the Bangsamoro government is weak.

The agreement provides that any Mindanao territory where ten percent of
its qualified voters agitates to join Bangsamoro may do so provided its
joining is approved by majority of qualified voters of the area in a
plebiscite.

That sounds to me like rule of the minority. In a constituency, one half of

the population usually are the voters. Majority of one-half is 25 percent
plus one person. So a quarter of a population may maneuver to have a
territory under Bangsamoro even if that territory is majority Christian. A
majority-Christian province or city should not be allowed to join the
Bangsamoro government.

Transition Commission controlled by MILF

The agreement provides that a 15-man Transition Commission shall be
formed by Aquino. Majority or eight of its members shall come from the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The TC will last until the elections
of 2016 and will draft the Basic Law that will be passed by Congress and
which will implement the Framework Agreement.

But the most important question is: What happens to the firearms of the
MILF?

The Framework Agreement talks about the MILF decommissioning its

forces, but sets no timetable. The timetable is in the Annex which is not
made public. Both parties are to commit to work to reduce and control
firearms in the area and the disbandment of private armies and other armed
groups.

It is not clear whether the MILF must surrender its firearms. In fact, law
enforcement shall be transformed from the Armed Forces of the
Philippines to the police force for the Bangsamoro. This means the MILF
will be recognized both as a police force and as a regular army in the
Philippines.

Without the surrender of firearms by the MILF, there wont be any letup in
the Philippine Muslim rebellion.

The ball is now with the MILF-controlled Transition Commission and the
Christian-dominated Congress to work out a practicable and enforceable
peace agreement with our Muslim brothers.